Bringing Your Denomination With You: Radiant OPC Church Plant in Peoria, Illinois

Our Story

When you are planning to move across the state to start a new job or to be closer to family, you will undoubtedly consider the churches in the area you will be moving to. For some, the lack of confessional churches in the area may halt the moving process altogether. Not being able to worship in a solid, confessional church is too significant. Others might consider the next best option and run with that. Perhaps a church that takes some departures (e.g., a contemporary-style worship service), but nevertheless faithfully preaches the gospel, will suffice; maybe even a confessional Baptist church will do. But have you considered simply bringing the denomination that you love with you?

Radiant Orthodox Presbyterian Church was formed, in large part, because one of our core families was moving to Peoria, Illinois, in 2022 and they simply were not satisfied with any of the churches in town. They loved the OPC too much. Every church has its quirks, no doubt, and one should not consider the work of planting a church whimsically. It is a serious matter that requires significant effort and time commitments from its initial members. Nevertheless, something was missing—enough for this family to initiate an OPC plant.

As this family decided to move to Peoria, they began discussions with our Presbytery’s Regional Home Missionary (RHM), who very graciously aided them in bringing the OPC with them to Peoria.

For some context, Peoria is a city of a little over 110,000 people with many churches packed into it. There are some solid, gospel-preaching churches here. Peoria, however, has hardly been touched by the rich confessionalism offered in churches that are committed to an ordinary means of grace ministry. There are not even old CRC or RCA holdouts, and to my knowledge, there never have been. With only two PCA’s in town, along with a couple of non-NAPARC micro-presbyterian churches on the outskirts of town, there is certainly a need for another NAPARC church to bring the rich, historic Reformed faith to a town that has been widely influenced by Anabaptistry. In fact, if my math is correct, based on the estimated membership at both of the PCAs in Peoria, just under 2% of the city has been reached by NAPARC churches. The need is quite clear.

Radiant OPC, therefore, began as a dream to bring the OPC to Peoria. But, along with that, it began with hopes to revive the much-tarnished view of Reformed churches in the city. The family that intended to bring the OPC to Peoria had relatives already living in Peoria. Those relatives, along with many other families, had been scarred by a church that claimed to be “Reformed” due to overbearing leadership, excessive/flippant discipline, and unbiblical teachings about men, women, and the family. Thus, Radiant OPC was formed not only to bring the rich tradition of historic Reformed confessionalism to Peoria, but also to bring the rich healing that comes from being in a church that is not trying to be anything other than biblical and confessional.

In January 2023, the first informational meeting was held, with a Bible study and core group forming in February 2023. The first worship service was held in May 2023, which included the baptism of a covenant child. Monthly evening services began in July 2023, with the work being received as a mission work of the Presbytery of the Midwest in September 2023. Weekly worship services began in November 2023, meeting in a Holiday Inn in East Peoria. In August 2024, the mission work moved to the location where we currently worship, the Peoria Chinese Christian Church, on the far north side of town. Our Presbytery’s RHM, Bruce Hollister, drove down from Joliet, IL, each week to lead worship and bible studies, clocking in some 50,000 miles in his car!

I got involved in December 2024, when I preached for Radiant for the first time. I then candidated in January, was notified of their intent to call me in February, and the Presbytery extended a call to me in March 2025 to serve as the church planting pastor. I accepted the call on the condition of finishing seminary, which I did on May 15, 2025. My family moved to Peoria on May 17, and I was ordained and installed on May 30.

Our Mission

Radiant OPC is not all that unique in its mission and vision. We desire to faithfully preach the gospel to those who will listen and welcome those who will come. It could be said that our uniqueness stops at the Westminster Standards—that is to say, we are not a “homeschooling church” or a “big family church” or some other fill-in-the-blank church. To be sure, many within our church love homeschooling and big families. My point is simply to say that our identity as a church is truly confessional. We are not interested in identifying ourselves as a church with anything beyond the Bible and the summary of its system of doctrine in the Westminster Standards.

As a mission work, we desire to evangelize the city and to welcome new converts to the body of Christ. Yet, due to the unique history of some within the church, we also want to be a place of refuge and healing for those who have been a part of abusive churches. We want to be a church that says, “Presbyterianism is not equal with abuse of church office!” We want to be a church where the heart of Christ is on display in each member of the church as people who are gentle and lowly in heart.

Last, it should be noted that we are a church interested in making the Reformed faith accessible. If we believe that the fullest expression of Christianity is Reformed confessionalism, we want to make that Christianity accessible to all. When we evangelize, it is not with a vague notion of Christianity in general, but with the full-orbed Reformed Christianity that we confess in our Standards. That ought to be accessible to anyone inquiring about what we believe, whether that be the unconverted, the lifelong member of the OPC, or anyone in between.

We try to be accessible by speaking plainly in our church material. One example of this can be seen in the explanation of our worship on our website. This explanation is available as a printable pamphlet that we give to all of our visitors. We also try to be accessible to those unfamiliar with the Reformed faith even in the little things, like our bulletins, church website, and our logo. These little things matter for first impressions, and we want that first impression to be positive, especially for those who may have never been in a church or who have never been in a church that uses a bulletin.

Our Work

Currently, Radiant OPC meets for worship at 11am at the Peoria Chinese Christian Church (10039 N. Garden Ln., Peoria, IL 61615). We have taken a break from our other activities for the summer. In September, we will resume our typical activities, including Sunday school (9:30am), a men’s and women’s Bible study (alternating Tuesday evenings), and monthly youth events.

If you are in the Peoria area and you or someone you know would like to join us for worship, we would love for you to join us!

How You Can Pray for Us

As a young church plant, there are several ways that you can pray for us. Pray for:

The power of the Spirit in my preaching and ministry to the congregation
More opportunities for outreach and evangelism
The Lord to raise up men to serve as elders and deacons
A culture of evangelism within the church
Unity within the church
Trust in the Lord’s power to build his church, not in our own strength
Protection against spiritual attacks on my family and the church

Want to Bring Your Denomination with You?

I hope the story of the formation of Radiant OPC is more than a notification of another church plant. I hope this story sparks an interest in more mission work of this kind. Perhaps you are moving soon or have recently moved to a place without an ordinary means of grace ministry. Perhaps you have lived where you are for some time but are bereft of a confessional Reformed church and long to worship in the denomination you once called home.

Each denominational structure is different, but it might be possible to bring your denomination with you. All it takes is beginning a conversation. Begin conversations with those whom you think might be interested. You do not have to be an up-and-coming elder or deacon—only a believer interested in seeing the work begun. Once you have a group with some interest, contact your Regional Home Missionary. If your denomination does not have this role, contact whoever oversees church planting, or even the nearest minister, and ask if he can help. Perhaps he will begin a conversation with your Presbytery or Classis that will help bring a church planter to you to bring a planting mission to life. The most important thing to do throughout the process, however, is to pray. Christ builds his church by his Spirit through prayer.

RESOURCES

Subscribe To The Heidelblog!
Download the HeidelApp on Apple App Store or Google Play
Browse the Heidelshop!
The Heidelblog Resource Page
Heidelmedia Resources
The Ecumenical Creeds
The Reformed Confessions
The Heidelberg Catechism
The Heidelberg Catechism: A Historical, Theological, & Pastoral Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2025)
Recovering the Reformed Confession (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2008)
Why I Am A Christian
What Must A Christian Believe?
Heidelblog Contributors
Support Heidelmedia: use the donate button or send a check to

Heidelberg Reformation Association
1637 E. Valley Parkway #391
Escondido CA 92027
USA
The HRA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization

Post authored by:

Kevin Godsey
Kevin Godsey (MDiv, Mid-America Reformed Seminary) is the church planting pastor of Radiant Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Peoria, Illinois, where he lives with his wife and kids.
More by Kevin Godsey ›