How LIFE Got Its Home Office Location
In the spring of 1986, the board of American Messianic Fellowship (AMF)[1] was planning for the fall kickoff of the ministry’s Centennial Celebration to mark a century of God’s faithfulness.[2]
My wife, Lori, and I were living with our family at 7448 North Damen Avenue in Chicago. The six-flat building, which had served as AMF’s international headquarters since 1954, combined office and living space. It was a short commute from our third-floor apartment to the second-floor office.
We were hosting a party in our apartment to welcome a new coworker who had moved into a room on the first floor. During the party our children were playing on the second-floor landing when they saw a man wearing a hat exiting through the front entryway. A bit later, we discovered the man had broken into the building through a back door on the first floor, entered a couple of the bedrooms, and stolen some of the valuables of our new coworker.
When Swannee Currie (Director Bill Currie's wife and my mother-in-law) learned of the break-in at the building and that her grandchildren had seen the burglar, she became more insistent that the deteriorating neighborhood indeed was not a safe place for our staff. A new headquarters needed to be found.
By May, the Damen Avenue property was listed with a realtor and quickly a contract was pending with a September closing date. The hunt for a new building began in earnest!
For a century, the ministry always had a Chicago address, relocating as Jewish demographics shifted. However, in recent years the urban Jewish community had been shrinking as more families sought better living conditions outside the city. Real estate and taxes were cheaper in the suburbs, so the decision was made to widen the search for new ministry facilities outside the city limits.
One of the ministry’s early headquarters, back when it was known as the Chicago Hebrew Mission.
Bill Currie had been the director since 1974. For a dozen years he had navigated the busy highways from his northwest Indiana home to the north side of Chicago, an 80-mile round-trip commute. Not unexpectedly, the search for a new home office soon focused on the southeast suburbs.
The decision that staff would not be housed in the new headquarters narrowed the search to office buildings. For me, it was a challenge to envision exactly what it would look like to combine multiple offices and meeting space in the buildings we investigated. A few places were memorable. One had a terrarium with a huge boa constrictor! Swannee quickly eliminated that venue as a possibility.
A real estate office for sale in Lansing, Illinois held promise. Located on Ridge Road, a main thoroughfare, it had ready access to the interstate highways. The L-shaped building with two floors seemed to offer sufficient space for our needs. Some significant renovation would be needed and the parking lot was quite small. But the inclusion of an apartment on the second floor, with a rooftop swimming pool, was an attractive plus for a staff family looking to relocate.
The decision was made that this was the building for us. Bill and Swannee went to the Bank of Highland to sign the purchase papers. When Bruce Leep, the bank president, learned the purpose of the Curries’ visit, he had a suggestion. “There's a property in Lynwood that is being foreclosed on by the bank. You should take a look at it. I think it would suit your purposes and the price will be right.”
Bill had spent enough time looking at buildings. “I think we've found the place for us.”
Swannee said, “Well, it wouldn't hurt to look at one more.”
So, the Curries drove over to the 19550 Burnham Avenue address, just two buildings south of the Lansing border – and a mile west of the Indiana state line. The two-story building had an attractive brick front with a glass entryway. Parking was ample. Two spacious first-floor offices were matched with two on the second floor, one of which was leased. Impressive!
The former owner, Klaus Klemm, was a plumbing contractor of note. A Christian man of integrity, he had put quite a bit of pipe in the ground on some big projects during an economic downturn. Developers for whom he had done work were late in paying him, so he was unable to pay his vendors and the mortgage. Reluctantly, he declared bankruptcy and retired, forfeiting the building to his creditors.
Behind the front offices, the Curries discovered the attached warehouse. On the far wall was a high garage door large enough for semitrucks to pull into the back of the two-story tall building. The floor was littered with remnants of the plumbing business, including assorted pieces of pipe, cutting oil, and miscellaneous items Mr. Klemm had left in the building.
Bill and Swannee considered the options. This was a far more substantial facility than the one on Ridge Road to which they initially had been drawn. The front offices of this building would need some redecorating, certainly. But Bill began envisioning how the warehouse could be renovated into usable space for a training center. Board members and office staff alike agreed: this would be a great location and facility.
The contract was signed, with a proposed move-in date in September. However, the title search revealed the building was two inches over the property line of our neighbor to the north. Art Johnson, an excavator who had dug trenches for Mr. Klemm’s jobs, agreed to deed over four inches to us to clear the title. In exchange, he would be paid what was owed him at the time of closing out of the proceeds from the sale.
This proved to be a “win-win” for all concerned – especially when the bank let us begin moving in and renovating our new building, though the closing didn’t take place until mid-November. By then, we were already well up and running.
Thankfully, the offices were in very good shape. New carpeting was laid, the walls painted, and a new phone system installed. Furnishings moved down from the north side were augmented by purchase of additional desks and office equipment.
The back end, where the warehouse was, presented a significant challenge. Just cleaning out the detritus from the plumbing business was a major undertaking. Matt Kimmel, a local believer with expertise with building projects, drew up plans for the remodeling of the back end, which included adding a second floor inside the warehouse.
Holes were cut in the concrete for windows. Walls were framed, plumbing and electrical work completed, then HVAC, lighting, drywall, and flooring installed, and finally paint applied. Within weeks, the first floor of the warehouse was transformed into a kitchen and dining area, along with restrooms and a meeting area. A more recent installation is a recording studio for Life in Messiah’s growing media productions.
The added second floor of the former warehouse provides a two-bedroom apartment with a full bath and kitchen/living room. Four “dorm rooms” add capacity for guests or out-of-town staff who visit. Spacious washrooms with shower stalls are just down the hall.
Behind the building stands the two-car garage, with a loft for extra storage. (The original “inside garage” is still in use for storage, not vehicles.)
Were you to visit our Lynwood office today, you would find the front offices well-occupied by the home team carrying out normal functions of a business office: reception, accounts payable and receivable, receipting, legal/government matters, etc. The phones ring with all manner of calls, some business, some ministry related. Our favorites are when the caller has a spiritual question (especially if searching for the truth about the gospel) or shares a prayer request or answer to prayer.
The storeroom and mailroom brim with gospel literature and a growing library of Life in Messiah publications. A faithful core of volunteers regularly assist with mailings and projects around the building.
Executive Director Levi Hazen’s office is typically only at rest when he is traveling. His TOV Podcasts typically are recorded here. Overseeing the global ministry, connecting with LIFE’s affiliates in Canada and Hong Kong, studying the Word, collaborating with like-minded ministries are all in a day’s work.
We are grateful for the Lord’s provision of the place LIFE has called home for (hard to believe!) almost four decades. In this place the gospel has been preached, prayers lifted to heaven, recruits trained, holidays celebrated, board decisions made, and new ministry efforts launched. And what a blessing that God not only gave us a building but populated it with a committed home team dedicated to “pleasing the Audience of One” as we carry out LIFE’s mission: sharing God’s heart for the Jewish people.
Written by Wes, Life in Messiah Global Ambassador
Have you ever experienced God’s clear guidance when making a big decision? What is something you learned in the process?
We want to say a heartfelt thank you to those who have been praying, volunteering, and supporting Life in Messiah’s ministry over the years. When looking back on LIFE’s history, we are always reminded of the goodness and greatness of a God whose “ways higher than [our] ways” (Isaiah 55:9). Thank you for joining us in sharing God’s heart for the Jewish people!
If you are curious about key events and memorable anecdotes on LIFE’s timeline as an organization, check out these blogs on Life in Messiah’s name, founding, and logo.
Endnotes:
[1] Founded in 1887, the ministry which began as Chicago Hebrew Mission had its name changed to American Messianic Fellowship in 1953. In 1993, the corporate name was changed to AMF International. Life in Messiah International was adopted as the DBA in 2008.
[2] Dr. George Sweeting, President Emeritus of Moody Bible Institute, would be the guest speaker at the November 1986 kickoff banquet.