The history of the United Evangelical Church goes back more than forty-four years to a group of faithful servants in the Lord who began their service in Chicago. This happened in the early seventies with pastor Farah Fakhoury, pastor Isa Fakhoury and Dr. Sweilem Henein. The church has moved around between different places throughout these years.
In 1993, the church moved to its current location in the city of Des Plaines in the Northwest of Chicago. The Lord has blessed us significantly in that He enlarged our territory. Not only through the main worship hall and surrounding buildings but also through the growth of various church ministries which include worship, fellowship, outreach, prayer meetings and more.
In 2014, the church experienced a fresh touch from the Holy Spirit as he moved mightily upon the young people during a conference. On the Saturday night at the yearly Maranatha retreat, the Lord saved 14 people as they were deeply convicted upon hearing the message of repentance and faith in Christ.
A month later, friends and family members were also saved as a result of seeing their loved ones touched from that weekend. U.E church shifted drastically as new life was breathed into the congregation and are still experiencing the effects of that night to this day.
Our hope and prayer is that U.E. would exemplify the biblical model of the body of Christ: a Scripture-saturated & Spirit-empowered people, living for the glory of God. We know that through God’s grace and by faithfully observing of His word, the Chief Shepherd will lead us there! – U.E. Leadership
Our mission statement can be summed up in these 4 pillars:
1) Proclaiming | the whole counsel of God:
To faithfully declare the Scriptures as the inerrant, authoritative word of God in a way that is understandable and applicable to the life of the believer concerning his relationship with God and others. (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Timothy 4:3-4, Acts 20:27)
2) Praying | as a consistent posture:
To be a people of prayer and intercession. (Matthew 21:13, 1 Timothy 2:1-4)
3) Producing | Christ-centered disciples:
To train and equip disciples to grow in their relationship and ministry for Christ with sound biblical teaching. (Colossians 1:28, Ephesians 4:11-12)
4) Pointing | people to Jesus Christ:
To preach the Gospel to the lost and to teach disciples to grow in their relationship and ministry for Christ with sound biblical teaching. (Matthew 28:19-20, Colossians 1:28, Ephesians 4:11-12)
Dr. Wafik Wahba has been the Lead Pastor at UEC since 2007. Pastor Wafik is also a Global Christianity Associate Professor at Tyndale University College and Seminary in Toronto. He is the main speaker at the Arabic services.
Pastor Daniel Batarseh joined the church in 2015 as the youth/young adults pastor. He is currently the lead pastor of the English congregation, teaching both on Fridays and Sundays. Daniel has completed his Masters in Biblical Studies at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.
Sunday: English Service @ 10am
Sunday: Arabic Service @ 12pm
Tuesday: Ladies Meeting @ 7pm (Arabic)
Wednesday: Prayer Meeting @ 7pm
Friday: Bible Study @ 8pm
United Evangelical Church
2247 University Street
Des Plaines, IL 60016
(Northwest Chicago Suburbs)
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