Who We Are
For over one hundred years, North Shore Baptist Church has welcomed in the name of Christ neighbors who have come to Chicago from all over the world. The result is a multicultural community that worships in four languages and is committed to our city and its needs. We are freedom-loving Baptists who respect and nurture each individual's unique journey toward God. Whether you have come to Chicago from the Philippines, Texas, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Milwaukee, Germany, Japan, Burma or have lived here all your life...you are warmly invited to grow in Christ and serve God with us.
We're probably not what you think of when you hear "Baptist Church." We don't tell you what you must believe, or offer simple answers to life's tough questions. Instead, we are deeply rooted in the good news of God's love shown in Jesus Christ, and find in that foundation the strength and guidance we need to live in today's world. For generations the people of North Shore have wrestled with the challenging issues of the day and responded in faithful, progressive, and even surprising ways. As a result, North Shore Baptist Church is...
We're probably not what you think of when you hear "Baptist Church." We don't tell you what you must believe, or offer simple answers to life's tough questions. Instead, we are deeply rooted in the good news of God's love shown in Jesus Christ, and find in that foundation the strength and guidance we need to live in today's world. For generations the people of North Shore have wrestled with the challenging issues of the day and responded in faithful, progressive, and even surprising ways. As a result, North Shore Baptist Church is...
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A multicultural Christian community
Worship is offered here in four languages: English, Japanese, Spanish and Karen. Even within language groups, North Shore members represent a variety of nationalities and ethnic backgrounds. We cherish the loving community that is God's gift to us in the midst of this diversity. Engaged with the city We are actively involved in responding to human need in our city through an after-school tutoring program, help for the homeless, advocacy for affordable housing and more. |
Members of different congregations greet one another during a joint worship celebration.
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Serving God around the world
Building houses for hurricane victims in El Salvador, building a church in the Dominican Republic, and supporting a ministry with commercial sex-workers in the Philippines (Samaritana Transformation Ministries, Inc., led by Jonathan and Thelma Nambu, NSBC's missionaries) are just a few recent expressions of North Shore's historic commitment to demonstrate God's love world wide.
Inviting others on a journey of faith
When something crucial in life is missing, or we need healing and new direction, God calls each one of us on a journey toward faith. We recognize that each person's journey is unique, and invite you to explore with us the wonders of God's love in Christ.
Building houses for hurricane victims in El Salvador, building a church in the Dominican Republic, and supporting a ministry with commercial sex-workers in the Philippines (Samaritana Transformation Ministries, Inc., led by Jonathan and Thelma Nambu, NSBC's missionaries) are just a few recent expressions of North Shore's historic commitment to demonstrate God's love world wide.
Inviting others on a journey of faith
When something crucial in life is missing, or we need healing and new direction, God calls each one of us on a journey toward faith. We recognize that each person's journey is unique, and invite you to explore with us the wonders of God's love in Christ.
how did we get here?
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Founded in September 1905, North Shore Baptist Church is located on the ancestral, unceded land of the Council of the Three Fires-the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations- as well as various other tribes including the Miami, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac, and Fox nations. The church has grown from a majority European-American congregation to include many other ethnic groups who have immigrated to Edgewater and Uptown in the last 100 years. The first effort to connect with newly-arrived neighbors was a Chinese Mission School established in 1924, which grew through the decades until it finally formed its own congregation, the Chicago Chinese Baptist Church, at Clark and Pensacola in 1980. The ties between the two churches have remained strong in subsequent years. In 1954, a Japanese congregation began worshipping at North Shore and recently marked its 65 anniversary, under leadership of Rev. Masaru Nambu for 48 of those years.
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1957 saw the formation of a mission to Spanish-speaking church-goers, which expanded to the establishment of North Shore Spanish Baptist Church, currently at Montrose and Hermitage. A later Spanish congregation was begun at North Shore in 1978, marking its own 25th anniversary in 2003. In addition, the church has nurtured a Filipino Fellowship since 1974 and two Korean congregations, besides scores of refugees from Hungary, Bosnia, Serbia, the Middle East, Burma, and Africa.
In the early years, the mission to other language groups was subordinate to the English congregation. In 1989, we amended the Constitution to state "the term 'Church' shall refer to the inclusive church comprised of all its language groups..." replacing "the term 'Church' shall refer to the English-speaking congregation." This change began the work of placing all congregations on equal ground as constitutive of North Shore Baptist Church.
In 1996, the church amended the Constitution to institute the "Pastoral Team," in which all language pastors were part of a non-hierarchical, collegial, and equally represented team. This team collaboratively guides the ministries of the church. The church gives care each year in nominations for Church Council and Ministry members to have representation from each cultural, age, and gender constituency of the membership. We continue to strive to live into a model of "one church, many cultures," in which the diverse cultures, languages, and views within our church work together to shape our collective identity and ministry.
In 1996, the church amended the Constitution to institute the "Pastoral Team," in which all language pastors were part of a non-hierarchical, collegial, and equally represented team. This team collaboratively guides the ministries of the church. The church gives care each year in nominations for Church Council and Ministry members to have representation from each cultural, age, and gender constituency of the membership. We continue to strive to live into a model of "one church, many cultures," in which the diverse cultures, languages, and views within our church work together to shape our collective identity and ministry.
