A Church Born in a Basement in 1968
Faith Baptist Church stands on Armour Road in Bourbonnais, Illinois, in the heart of Kankakee County. The story of the congregation began in 1968 in the basement of a family home, where a small group of believers first gathered to worship. From that modest start the church has moved, expanded, and renovated through the decades and now marks more than fifty years of ministry in the community. Visitors stepping onto the grounds today find a church with deep roots in the local area and an active program that touches families, children, teens, adults, and seniors week by week.
"Truth, Faith, Love, Service"
Faith Baptist Church describes itself as a traditional, independent, Bible-believing Baptist church. The congregation takes the King James Bible as the final authority for all matters of faith and practice, and that commitment shapes every message, every song, and every program. Preaching is rooted in the King James text, congregational singing is drawn from the hymnbook, and a public invitation is extended at the close of every sermon. The motto Truth, Faith, Love, Service is the rhythm of a church that prioritizes biblical preaching, evangelistic music, inclusive ministries, and a public voice for the gospel in Kankakee County.
Sunday School, Morning Service, and an Evening Hour
The week at Faith Baptist is anchored by three Sunday gatherings plus a Wednesday night meeting.
- Sunday School at 9:45 AM
- Sunday Morning Service at 10:45 AM
- Sunday Evening Service at 6:00 PM
- Wednesday Prayer Meeting and Bible Study at 7:00 PM
The Sunday services feature the church's hallmarks: biblical preaching, evangelistic music, and congregational singing aimed at encouraging the believer and inviting the seeker. Audio recordings of recent messages are available through the church's sermon archive, and the morning service is livestreamed for those joining from home or on the road. Wednesday nights combine prayer with Bible study in a smaller, more conversational setting.
A Whole Church for the Whole Family
Family is central to the design of Faith Baptist's ministries. The church is a place that cares about people, and the calendar reflects that.
Children. Children ages three through twelve meet for Sunday School and Junior Church, where Bible stories come alive through games, songs, and interactive lessons. King's Kids, the church's Bible memory program, and a children's choir give kids additional ways to grow. Wednesday night classes extend the teaching through the week, and annual summer camps have become a highlight of the year for children in the wider community. Newborns and toddlers up to three years old are welcomed into a safe, caring nursery so parents can take part in services.
Teens. The teen ministry gathers middle and high school students for Sunday School, a dedicated Teen Church, and weekly TNT sessions, or Teens Need Truth. Monthly activities build friendships across the year, and the Teen Choir and Teen Soulwinning outreach give young people hands-on ways to serve. Summer camps round out the schedule.
Ladies. Women's ministry centers on weekly Sunday School classes, quarterly fellowships, and hands-on community outreach. The annual fall craft and bake sale lets members put their skills to work for the church. Nursery care is provided on Sundays and Wednesdays so that mothers can fully take part.
Men. Men's ministry meets for weekly Sunday School, occasional prayer breakfasts, an annual camping trip, and informal summer pick-up softball games that have become a tradition of their own.
The Buses That Have Run for Forty Years
The Bus Ministry is one of the most distinctive features of Faith Baptist. For more than four decades the church's volunteer drivers and helpers have picked up children, teens, and adults every Sunday morning. The buses bring riders to Sunday School, the Morning Service, and an Afternoon Church gathering at 3:00 PM. Each ride is meant to be as lively as the services themselves: games, songs, candy, and monthly promotions fill the time, and short Bible lessons are shared along the way.
Bibles on Park Benches
The Bible Handout Ministry is another outreach that sets Faith Baptist apart. Volunteers set up tables in parks, on sidewalks, in town centers, and at community events to give away free Bibles and share a clear presentation of the gospel. Every handout is treated as a divine appointment: a moment to listen, talk, and pray. The ministry has distributed thousands of copies of God's Word, and many who first met the church through a free Bible have since trusted Christ and grown in faith.
Iglesia Bautista Fe: The Spanish-Language Congregation
The Spanish-speaking ministry of Faith Baptist Church, Iglesia Bautista Fe, meets at the same Armour Road address and runs its own schedule of services.
- Sunday: Escuela Dominical at 11:15 AM, Servicio de la Mañana at 12:15 PM, Servicio de la Tarde at 6:00 PM
- Wednesday: Oración y Estudio Bíblico at 7:00 PM
Iglesia Bautista Fe held its first service on December 1, 2002, with twenty people gathered in a classroom. The ministry grew out of a burden for the Hispanic community in Kankakee and the surrounding area that Pastor Terry Anglea had carried for years, joined by missionary Keith Harrison, who had just returned from fifteen years of service in Argentina. The Spanish congregation now runs its own bus ministry for free Sunday transportation, a door-to-door visitation and soulwinning outreach that meets on Saturday mornings and Tuesday afternoons, and Rondalla and guitar music classes for worship.
A School on Church Grounds
Faith Baptist Academy is the church's K through 12 school, with classes from kindergarten through twelfth grade. The school is built around a Bible-based curriculum and weekly chapel services, with a focus on academic excellence alongside spiritual growth. Students can take part in teen outreach, sports, and fine arts competitions. Faculty are drawn from church members who share the same doctrinal commitments as the congregation, and the student body is known as the Knights.
Supporting Missions Around the World
Faith Baptist Church supports more than 200 missionaries and partners with missions-focused programs around the world. The goal is to spread the gospel, provide resources, plant churches where there is no local witness, and encourage every member of the congregation to take part in this work as a natural extension of the church's soulwinning emphasis. Members are welcome to give, pray, and go as their circumstances allow.
Pastor Terry Anglea and Reseeding Illinois
Dr. Terry Anglea was saved in 1975 at Calvary Baptist Church in Tennessee and felt the call to preach shortly thereafter. He graduated from Bible college and served for ten years as Assistant Pastor at Marion Avenue Baptist Church in Iowa before being called to Faith Baptist in June 1990. He and his wife Joyce, whom he met while still in college and married on June 16, 1979, have raised six grown children and enjoy spending time with their twelve grandsons and ten granddaughters. Under his leadership the church has grown numerically and spiritually, with a strong emphasis on soulwinning. He is also active in Reseeding Illinois, a program that plants and revitalizes independent, fundamental Baptist churches across the state, and church planting is listed as one of Faith Baptist's ongoing practices.
What the Church Believes and Practices
The church's stated beliefs are short and direct. Faith Baptist teaches that the King James Bible is the final authority for faith and practice, that God exists in Trinity as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that salvation is secure once received (often summarized as once saved, always saved), that the local New Testament church is autonomous, and that God created the earth in six literal days. In practice the church preaches from the King James Bible, sings from the hymnbook, encourages cheerful giving, promotes holiness in everyday life, evangelizes the lost, edifies the saved, exalts Christ, plants new churches in Illinois, and extends a public invitation at the close of every message.
Joining From Home
For those unable to attend in person, the Sunday Morning Service is livestreamed, and past services are available as both video and audio in the church's online Sermon Archive. The Livestream features a countdown to the next service, and giving is available online through the church's giving portal.
The Pastoral Staff
Faith Baptist is served by a team of pastors:
- Dr. Terry Anglea, Pastor
- Alan Miller, Associate Pastor for Outreach and Children
- Daniel Barajas, Associate Pastor and Spanish Pastor
- Mike Bragg, Associate Pastor and School Administrator
- Zane Waddell, Associate Pastor for Youth and Finance