Scripture
The Bible is our anchor — read, preached, and lived, week in and week out.
About
Rooted in Geff since 1854
A country congregation with long memory and an open door — seven generations of families, still meeting on the same rise east of town.
Our story
1854
Pleasant Grove is founded on land donated by a local farming family, a mile's walk from the crossroads that would become Geff.
1897
The white-clapboard sanctuary that still stands today replaces the original log meeting-house after a lightning strike.
1968
The fellowship hall is added; potlucks, weddings, and the annual Fall Festival move under one roof.
Today
A small, multi-generational congregation led by Pastor Jason Smith. Sunday school, morning service, and a Sunday-night Bible study keep the week framed.
1897
photo · 1897 sanctuary · sepia
portrait · pastor jason
Our pastor
Jason Smith
Pastor · Pleasant Grove Christian Church
Jason has pastored Pleasant Grove for [N] years. He preaches plainly, visits faithfully, and believes the gospel is still good news on an ordinary Sunday morning in southeastern Illinois.
He and his family live nearby; you'll find him in the fellowship hall before service with a cup of coffee and time for a conversation.
What we believe
A plain, welcoming faith.
Jesus
At the center of everything: the crucified and risen Christ, alive and at work today.
Grace
We come as we are. Grace meets us there and doesn't leave us there.
Baptism
A public 'yes.' We baptize believers by immersion, the way the early church did.
Communion
Bread and cup every Sunday — a weekly remembrance and a shared table.
Community
Faith is not practiced alone. We belong to one another, and to the grove.
Our motto, unpacked
Gather.
Around the table, in the sanctuary, at the potluck. Every Sunday, and a lot of ordinary weekdays in between.
Grow.
In the scriptures, in prayer, in the slow work of becoming more like Christ — together, not alone.
Go.
Back out into Geff and beyond. Faith that stays inside the building isn't what we're after.