Our History

In the mid 1980s Pastor Tim Douma, his wife Carolyn, and their children moved from Holland, Michigan to the Garfield Park neighborhood with the idea of planting and growing a church in Chicago. That initial worship gathering in the South Loop would become Loop Christian Ministries and eventually Loop Church. Throughout the years our community has rejoiced and wept together, worshiped much, communed frequently, and blessed many as they went on to other parts of the world. All this time God's steadfast providence and a few characteristics have been constants.

We seek to engage our city and communities

A few of the ways this has manifested has been through neighborhood tours, fielding a team for the dragon boat races in Chinatown, and hosting a vacation bible school in Bronzeville.

We seek to equip

Many people are in the city for shorter periods of time. Over the years we have had students, out of town visitors, retirees, and a series of pastor interns as part of our community. The list of Loop Alums is substantial.

We move location frequently

Partly by necessity, but also as God calls us, we have relocated many times within the city. One of our early church mottoes was, "On the move, In step with the spirit." This has made us a resilient community that is regularly required to reflect on God's faithfulness and provision.

We seek to bring about justice

Our care for our neighbors (everyone) and our world runs deep. This has been manifested starting back in the midst of the AIDs crisis when we partnered with an organization to grow vegetables hydroponically for people living with HIV, and continuing to today as we sponsor refugees, advocate for racial justice and take action to mitigate climate change.

God has been constantly faithful to Loop Church as we have moved about God’s city seeking to act out God’s will.