The Red Brick Church is a conservative, evangelical church located in Stillman Valley, Illinois.
Although we're non-denominational, our church is similar to an evangelical free church.
We're only 10 minutes from the Rockford airport and 4 miles from Byron. People attend our church from Ogle, Winnebago, and Boone counties. Some of the communities represented in our church include Rockford, Cherry Valley, Oregon, Byron, Davis Junction, Winnebago, and the Rochelle area.
Though our church was founded in 1858, we continue to be as passionate as ever about the centrality of Christ and the sufficiency of His Word. Our purpose is to glorify God and maximize our joy by growing an extended family of fully-devoted followers of Christ. To that end, we want to be a local church where the truth comes into lively intersection with life — That means that on the one hand we will be true to the Word, but on the other we will consider what it means for how we live. Come visit!
Doctrinal Statement
While our church is not formally affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA), we have adopted the EFCA doctrinal statement as our statement of faith.
Our Pastors
Chris Brauns
Chris Brauns has been the pastor at the The Red Brick Church since January of 2005.
Chris is the author of Unpacking Forgiveness: Biblical Answers for Complex Questions and Deep Wounds, published by Crossway (2008) (Endorsements), When the Word Leads Your Pastoral Search: Biblical Principles and Practices to Guide Your Search, published by Moody (2011) (Endorsements) and Bound Together: How We are Tied to Others, in Good and Bad Choices, published by Zondervan (2013) (Review 1, Review 2).
Chris has written numerous articles including “Packing Unforgiveness,” and “Be Visibly Devoted to Be Pastorally Placed.”Chris frequently speaks and preaches in a wide variety of settings. He led a panel discussion at the 2011 Gospel Coalition national conference, is an Interviewee for a series of questions on Christianity.com, and was a keynote speaker for a national Peacemaker conference.
Chris and his wife Jamie have four children: Allison, Christopher, Benjamin, and Mary Beth. You can read more about Chris's background on his website.
David Bogner
David Bogner joined the staff at The Red Brick Church as Associate Pastor on February 2, 2020.
David brings a wonderful combination of (1) Theological education from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, (2) Experience in local church ministry including both youth and worship experience, (3) Successful careers in the secular work force, and (4) He is from our community and knows our church and many of our people.
David is actively working and involved with our youth, leading Bible Studies, organizing and leading youth events, connecting with our youth on a personal level, etc. In the absence of Pastor Chris, David has also lead and preached at several of our worship services and has been instrumental in the visitation of our congregation.
David and his wife Marcia have three children: Jeremiah, Anna and Abigail. Marcia is also very involved in our Ladies Bible Studies and leads a Moms in Prayer group for our local schools, teachers and students.
Interns
We offer personal pastoral internships for young men considering pastoral ministry. We have housing available right next to the church office that is big enough for a small family. Our interns have had opportunities serving with our youth group, children's program, music, and technology. Apply here.
EMU Church Planting to the Unreached Lao – Jeremy and Bonnie Ruth Farmer
The Farmers have been working in Cambodia since 2011. They live in the StungTreng Province and are learning to speak Lao with the goal to plant churches among the ten’s of thousands of unreached Laotians living in Cambodia. Jeremy also teaches at the Ratanakiri Pastor’s Institute in Khmer (the national language of Cambodia) with the team from Evangelical Mission to the Unreached (EMU). http://solidjoys.org/
Reaching and Teaching International Ministries
B and his wife K served for seven years as missionaries in Central Asia, working in evangelism, discipleship, and church planting. After returning to the US, B spent six years as a global trainer, traveling around the world to equip international church leaders for ministry. He desires to see the gospel spread and churches established among the nations of Central Asia. B is a graduate of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and K have three children.
Fellowship of Christian Athletes - Clayton Midtsem
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is touching millions of lives ... one heart at a time. Since 1954, FCA has been challenging coaches and athletes on the professional, college, high school, junior high and youth levels to use the powerful platform of sport to reach every coach and every athlete with the transforming power of Jesus Christ. FCA focuses on serving local communities around the globe by engaging, equipping, and empowering coaches and athletes to unite, inspire, and change the world through the gospel.
Our own "red brick", Clayton Midtsem, serves as the Northern Illinois Fellowship of Christian Athletes Area Director for Lee, Stephenson, Ogle, Winnebago, Boone and DeKalb counties. Clayton and his wife Cathy have been a part of the Red Brick Church since 2008.
Students of all ages and parents can learn more at http://www.fca.org
Campus Crusade for Christ/CRU – Karl and Megan Glendenning
CRU, formally Campus Crusade for Christ International is a College campus ministry. They have been on campuses for over 60 years, helping students come to know Jesus, grow in their faith and then go to their families, their communities and all over the world to tell others about God’s love. Karl and Meg serve with CRU at their global headquarters in Orlando, Florida on the training and development team.
If you are interested in supporting them financially or through prayer, go to https://give.cru.org/0588151
College students and parents can learn more at http://www.cru.org
Rockford Rescue Mission - A Safe, Caring Place for People in Need
Rockford Rescue Mission offers Christ-centered care to people struggling with challenges like homelessness, poverty, abuse and addiction. They do this as a State-Certified Recovery Home as well as Homeless Centers for Men, Women & Children. They also operate the Thrift Store at 20th/Harrison in Rockford as a low-cost shopping option for the community, with every purchase supporting the Mission’s life-changing programs. Open 6 days/week for donations and sales.
Thanks to donors & volunteers, Rockford Rescue Mission is able to offer all goods and services at no cost to their guests and residents as they seek to:
Rescue those in immediate crisis
Recover people’s dignity and sense of self-worth
Restore the lives of men, women and children
Ways for you to help: Give finances, physical items, your time/talents. Invite friends/family to join you for a tour. Share the word about RRM on social media. PRAY.
Learn more at www.rockfordrecuemission.org.
Any questions or ideas, call 815-965-5332 and ask to speak with someone on their Development Team or email: development@rockfordrescuemission.org.
Bread of Life at Valley Covenant Church in Stillman Valley
Bread of Life Ministry was started in 1999 by members of Valley Covenant Church who were grateful for God’s blessings in the lives of their families and chose to share these blessings with their community. The purpose of Bread of Life is to offer care and concern for those in need in our region by giving help to all who come to our distributions on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month. We provide hot meals; groceries, canned and boxed foods, frozen foods and meats, and personal care items; and books and reading material. We provide a welcoming atmosphere to all who come through our doors and distribute food to anyone in need. We encourage those we serve toward faith in Jesus Christ through gentle conversation, but we do not require a faith commitment of those we serve.