| Living Faith CWC Church History |
Our church theme, Caring for People Gods Way, is the cornerstone of everyday living by members of LFCWC. It encompasses the vision that God put on our Pastors heart as the seed, which brought forth that which is now called Living Faith Cathedral Worship Center (LFCWC).
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Rev. Larry S.
Bullock, the Founder, Senior Pastor and Teacher of LFCWC,
received a revelation while still the Assistant Pastor of
Ebenezer AMEC, in Evanston, IL under the leadership of
Rev. James C. Wade, its Senior Pastor and Teacher. The
Revelation was that there were multitudes of unchurched
souls in the northwestern portion of Cook County. These
were souls that needed a place where they could and would
find refuge. A place where they would be challenged to
grow in Christ and to live a life of faith in Jesus
Christ. Rev. Bullock received his second Masters Degree
(MDiv) in June of 2000 from McCormick Theological Seminar
in Chicago. Prior to that, on Jan 10, 2000, Rev. Bullock
submitted his Request for Permission to Organize
and Start a New Church. On Jan 22, 2000, he
received approval from Rev. Dr. William D. Davis, Jr.,
Presiding Elder of the St. Paul-Milwaukee District of the
Chicago Annual Conference of the 4th Episcopal
District of the AMEC. Thereafter, Rev. Bullock submitted
the application for Articles of Incorporation of LFAMEC
to the Secretary of State, which was approved on May 8,
2000. |
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Rev. Bullock
had, and continues to possess, the passion to win souls
for Christ. This was his impetus - the driving force of
his mission, which was to identify the lost.
Once identified, these souls would be nurtured and be
challenged to live fruitful lives to the glory of God.
Rev. Bullock proceeded with the development of a basic
plan for new millennium suburban church planting and
growth. He embraced
the model of the First Century Church, which was one of
ecclesiastical (bottom-up) and Episcopal excellence, and
most importantly, one of personal obedience to the
Word of God. The thrust of this great
apostolic work depended upon the power of the Holy Spirit
leading, nurturing, and sustaining the first century
church planters at all times. The essence of this first
century church-planting model is seen in how viable the
new faith communities became. It was truly the time for
prophetic outreach in the Fourth Episcopal District of
the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Rev.
Bullock is quoted as saying, The church must be
seen as the hospital ER for those who hurt.
It must be a place where the people of God not only
survive their bruises and hurts with the outside world,
but also are dependent upon the inerrant Word of God.
Rev. Bullock
continued to seek the Lords guidance and direction,
now regarding the location of the new church. God
miraculously answered his prayers. Rev. Bullock was asked
to preach at a funeral and to perform an infant baptism
of an unchurched family living in the Hoffman
Estates-Schaumburg area. They simply asked and Rev.
Bullock, in compassion, said yes to these seekers.
Rev. Bullock made himself available to meet the needs of
this family. They, along with Rev. Bullocks wife,
Dr. Gloria E. Bullock, and daughter, April, became the
first members of LFCWC. Rev. Bullock
was even more determined to craft a worship experience
[driven by the Laity] that aggressively welcomed such
seekers into the local worship experience. Another
innovative concept of the Value Added Church
(VAC) was implemented at LFAMEC that recognizes
that every soul won represents added value to the
community. He relied upon the approach posed by Rev.
Dr. Rick Warren as articulated systematically in a book
entitled The Purpose Driven Church: Growth
without Compromising Your Message and Mission.
In it he suggests, One of the major barriers to
church growth is people blindness
being unaware of social and cultural differences
between people. Rev. Bullock agreed that this type of
inculturation theology could help guide him in new church
planting. Rev. Bullock believes that a new pastor must be
aware of the cultural perspectives of a given community
in order to be able to effectively present his vision of
holistic ministry. It would allow new members to be
quickly assimilated and to be spiritually nurtured
thereby embracing the new vision as set forth in the
LFCWC Mission Statement that,
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