New church to open on Montrose Avenue
by BRIAN NADIG
The nondenominational Storehouse Church is scheduled to open in March in the former home of the First Chicago Community of Christ, 5701 W. Montrose Ave.
Founded in 2005 by pastors Lou and Mirian Ramos, Storehouse Church has operated at 2500 N. Talman Ave., but the church sold the building and has been holding services on a temporary basis at the Casa Central Auditorium, 1335 N. California Ave. About 150 people regularly attend its Sunday morning service.
Storehouse, which is named for a verse in the Bible, purchased the Montrose property in part because it is convenient to public transportation and expressways, according to church senior leader for outreach ministries Mark McClendon. Members live throughout the Chicago area, but most are from the North Side, McClendon said.
The church, which has undergone renovations in recent months, occupies a 15,000-square-foot parcel at the southwest corner of Montrose and Major avenues.
The property went up for sale after First Chicago Community of Christ, which until the early 2000s was known as the First Chicago Reorganized Church of Latter Day Saints, closed about 2 years ago. The First Chicago congregation was founded in the mid-1940s, and the church was constructed about 10 years later.
Storehouse plans to hold Sunday at its new location at 10:30 a.m. and a prayer service of Bible study on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. "We will be inviting everyone from the community to our first service," McClendon said.
The church sponsors youth activities such as basketball and volleyball and serving meals in a homeless shelter, McClendon said.
The church also offers a leadership ministry which encourages participants to view their leadership as a resource to have a positive effect on others. The church’s Web site states that by 2020 it hopes to have two Chicago campuses and two international locations and to have trained 100 people through its leadership program.
The church also has a leadership program for teens.
