Tent meetings and outdoor services continued
to have an important place in the evangelistic effort of the
church. In the Summer of 1907, a tent meeting was held at the
northeast corner of Kimball and Fullerton. The speaker for the
series was Dr. A. C. Dixon and his messages resulted in 30 additional
people in the church.
As more and more people found their way into
the church, small groups played an important role in their assimilation.
The Keystone League of Christian Endeavor,
a group of excited and zealous young men and women, was actively
involved in incorporating new believers into the life of the
church. In 1908, Kimball's K. L. C. E. received a banner for
the largest increase in membership and average attendance in
the Illinois Conference. This same group was instrumental in
establishing a mission in the Irving Park area of the city, recommending
to the Annual Conference that a Sunday School meeting place be
established with the view to starting a church. The Conference
took this under advisement and in 1916, a committee from the
Conference visited the area and decided to locate a mission in
rented facilities near 5200 W. Irving Park Rd. Rev.
L. C. Schmidt, then pastor of Kimball, was asked to supervise
the work. The K. L. C. E. at Kimball donated church furniture
and song books to the new mission. A student pastor from Moody
Bible Institute served the Irving Park Mission which was officially
organized on February 8, 1917. Though the congregation later
merged with an Evangelical Association church, the building from
the Irving Park Mission is now home to the Lockwood Bible Church,
located at Lockwood and Byron Avenues.
In addition to the K. L. C. E., Kimball began
a men's group known as the "Christian Brotherhood."
Missions organizations and fellowship groups thrived. Outreach
to the community included participation in the Temperance movement.
(Link to a picture of a temperance parade)
The church was characterized by a healthy balance of outreach
and fellowship.
Though the work continued to thrive, the additional
people and ministries taxed the church physically and financially.
The rapid growth of the church had necessitated the borrowing
of much money for land and buildings. The Sunday School, averaging
well over 200, was cramped for space. A parsonage still had not
been built. The city was expanding and the costs for improved
infrastructure was laid upon the property owners. Kimball was
faced with a test of its resolve.
