WHEATLAND SALEM CHURCH

Written byCarley Smith, Neuqua Valley High School, Class 01

Reverend Scott Field was appointed to Wheatland Salem Methodist Church, located on the corner of Route 59 and 95th Street, on July 1, 1980, for two reasons: to serve as pastor to the dwindling congregation of the church and to close the church because the District Superintendent’s perception that the church rural members would not adapt to the changing community. The congregation, which had lost 50% of its members from 1960 to 1980, was made up of farm families and their descendents. My grandparents, Don and Carley Smith, were included.

In all of the church’s history, which dated to 1952, its congregation had never been larger than 165 members. In 1980, having only 89 members, the church faced a tremendous challenge as its future depended on the will of the Lord to revive it. This all made for an ironic beginning to the intriguing journey of Wheatland Salem Church’s growth. 

From 1980, if human eyes were able to see twenty years into the future, the congregation of WSC and the District Superintendent would have been able to look in the revival of the Wheatland Salem congregation. Due to prayer and patience of the Lord’s guiding hand, along with the expansion of ministries to and for a wider range of age groups, the community of Wheatland Salem Church grew from a membership of 89 people in 1980 to a membership of 1,085 in the year 2000.

This expansion originated around 1852, when Wheatland Salem Church had pioneer beginnings as families of Pennsylvania German extraction settled southwest of Naperville. These families (the foundation of Wheatland Salem) held religious services in homes and the Copenhagen School.

The first church was built in 1860 on the corner of Route 59 and 83rd Street. Wheatland Salem Church was organized in 1860, and then finally built in 1870, one and a half miles west and two miles south of the Route 59 and 95th Street location. These two churches combined in April 1907, building the church on the corner of Route 59 and 95th Street.

Membership then increases from 52 members in 1909 to 108 members in 1927 because of the stable leadership in these years, due to the combination of the Evangelical United Brethern Church and the Evangelical Church in later years. With much prayer and study, Wheatland Salem was able to reconstruct the church for $28,000, debt-free after a fire burned the church to the ground in 1927. From this experience, the Pastor-Parish Committee and the congregation knew that with much prayer and study, God would help meet their needs, even though the membership continuously reduced in size, steadily declining from 1875 through the early 1980s.

Pastor Field believes that the turning point for the growth of Wheatland Salem Church “took place before (he) arrived.” Shortly before his arrival, there was a letter written and generated by Eileen Schroeder, still a faithful member of Wheatland Salem Church today, and the Pastor-Parish Committee of 1980, outlining the situation in which the church found itself. The committee included Florence Gregory, Carley Smith, Harold Kemmerer, Jim Schillinger and other Naperville pioneers. Indications were made that there would be a new pastor appointed by the bishop, and Mrs. Schroeder asked the congregation to pray for the renewal of the church. This request of the congregation is believed to be the beginning of the Lord’s redirection and renewal of the life of Wheatland Salem Church, and quite a revival it was.

Wheatland Salem, now situated at the corner of Book Road and 95th Street, is a beautiful, well-lit 43,000 square-foot facility which seats at least 300 people during its three Sunday services. It’s comfortable, airy sanctuary is a house of God whose blessings of renewal have over flown. As previously stated, the membership count for worship attendance was 904 persons (compared to 1980 when the count was 52.)

The sanctuary, which replaces the old wooden church, continues a 145-year tradition of Wheatland Salem Church. The old, wooden pews were even replaced with 300 padded blue chairs. The hymn lyrics being projected onto screens, and the sunlight windows, which outline the sanctuary are all under an arch pine ceiling.

“Wheatland Salem’s current building is one part of a three-part plan,” says Field to the Daily Herald reporter in November of 1997. The projected second and third phases of construction will open the church up for a bigger sanctuary with seating for 900 and classrooms for a private elementary school. The expansion of Wheatland Salem has much to do with the shift in focus of the church over the past 20 years. When Field arrived at Wheatland Salem in 1980, the congregation’s uncertainty of its continuation meant their purpose simply was survival. However, as the congregation began to grow and support itself well, members began to reach outwardly to the mission of inviting others to become followers of Jesus Christ. This caused the church’s change in vision and extensive expansion.

Although Pastor Field had no idea what he’d gotten himself into when he accepted the position as head pastor for WSC, he continues to marvel with other Naperville natives who have been fortunate enough to see the transformation of the Wheatland Salem Church through the years.

Moving into the 21st Century, Wheatland Salem continues to have a stunning future in its path. The concrete vision which seems to forge the way will be the assembly of stronger leadership resources, the expansion of ministries to and for a wider range of age groupings, possibly even the planning of another congregation, all underneath the most vital asset to what has been Wheatland Salem’s cause for growth: the congregation’s passion for the Lord’s guiding hand which will continue to direct them into the future with promise.

11/01