Ivanhoe Congregational Church

About this church

Ivanhoe Congregational Church worships Sundays at 10:00 a.m. at 21078 West Illinois Route 176 in Mundelein, with online services for people joining remotely. The congregation is part of the United Church of Christ and describes a welcome grounded in sharing God’s love. Current podcasts, prayer resources, and livestreamed worship extend that identity beyond the historic sanctuary.

Ivanhoe was founded by 16 people in 1838, making it the first church organized in Lake County. The present New England-style sanctuary was built in 1856 and is listed on the Illinois Registry of Historic Places. Its history also records an early anti-slavery resolution and probable Underground Railroad participation, connecting the congregation’s public service to more than recent programming. Today’s mission partnerships include Northern Illinois Food Bank workdays, Lake County PADS support for people experiencing homelessness, breakfast and oversight at The Night Ministry’s youth shelter, disaster-recovery trips, Christmas gifts, and knit or crochet projects. The building story and named partnerships give visitors a strong sense of place: a rural pioneer congregation that adapted its classrooms, fellowship space, online ministry, and outreach while retaining a 19th-century worship home and a long pattern of responding to community needs.

Researched from the church’s official website and reviewed August 24, 2026. Sources: Official homepage, Sunday time and current church life · Official online ministries page and remote worship · Official mission page, named food, shelter and disaster partnerships · Official history page, 1838 founding, 1856 sanctuary, UCC identity and anti-slav

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