History of Armitage Church

Armitage Church was founded in 1963.  The original storefront congregation of the mostly Appalachian whites reached a peak membership of about 100.  By 1974, when Armitage Church called Charles Lyons as their first full time pastor, their numbers had diminished to 25 members. 

The church was initially located in Humboldt Park.  By 1978 growth dictated the need to move to 4200 N. Keeler where they were able to rent a Lutheran Church.  Continued growth necessitated renting four additional buildings to accommodate the congregation.

During the four years on Keeler Avenue there were several opportunities to purchase suburban church buildings.  Armitage did not pursue any of these opportunities believing it to be God’s will to minister in the inner city of Chicago.

In October 1982, the 200 member congregation of Armitage Church took a giant step of faith by purchasing the decaying Logan Square Masonic Temple.  The purchase of this 54,000 square foot building jeopardized the very life of the congregation.  The gang ridden neighborhood had a long standing and well-deserved reputation for being dangerous, and the money needed to pay for the building was not readily available.

In the early 1990’s the church began to come under repeated attacks by radical groups.  The building and its vehicles have been repeatedly sprayed with graffiti and vandalized.  In 1991 Queer Nation and Act Up unsuccessfully attempted to take over the Easter Service, just as they had done at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City in 1989.  Then in 1994 there was a massive demonstration by a coalition of ten radical groups including:  Refuse and Resist, Sister Serpents, NOW, Queer Nation and others.  The demonstration was organized against the church on the one year anniversary of the death of abortionist Dr. Gunn.  Support by other local Christian churches was both spontaneous and overwhelming.  Our God prevailed that night and the demonstrators, being significantly outnumbered, disbursed back into the night from where they came. 

As we pursue being a church of such size and strength that we may impact Chicago and the cities of the world, it is our desire to multiply by starting multi-ethnic congregations throughout Chicago and the world.  Our goal is to birth 50 new congregations in the Chicago area by the year 2025.