Church History

Deliverance Mission Christian Church was founded January 19, 1997 by Pastor Monty and his then wife, Pastor Camilla Weatherall. They began this ministry as a bible study group in their apartment located at 1001 N. Church Street in Belleville, Illinois. The total number in attendance for that first bible study were three - Pastor Monty, Pastor Camilla, and a young man who was a member of the Nation of Islam. Following the first worship service, Pastor Monty jokingly questioned God and His call on their life to pastor.

By June of 1997, the home bible study grew to 17 attenders, outgrowing the tiny apartment.  Pastor Monty then felt the tug on his heart to start meeting regularly on Sunday Mornings. With no money, no building, and only 17 members and a mustard seed size amount of faith, Pastor Monty began his search for a facility. After one month of searching, God opened a door for DMCC to hold its first official worship service on June 8, 1997, at 300 N. Charles Street.

There was a congregation already worshipping in that facility who graciously opened its doors and allowed DMCC to hold Sunday morning services free of charge.  After worshiping there for six months, Deliverance Mission moved to a community center located at 116 West A Street. It was there that God led a young man named of Tyrone Thorpe to DMCC. Tyrone had recently rededicated his life to the Lord and was eager to serve in the kingdom however leadership saw fit. His name in DMCC's history is fitting because he was the first adult male to commit to attending worship services each Sunday.

In 1999, DMCC would move again this time returning back to 300 N. Charles Street as sole occupiers of the facility. Once they begin holding services there, the congregation grew from averaging around 20 in worship attendance to about 70 men, women, and children. For the first time, DMCC was faced with a great challenge of outgrowing a facility. The search for a new building was on.

In 2002, in what could only be described as a miracle, with no money, no credit history, and no guarantors, DMCC was approved for a loan to purchase its very own church building at 215 S. Jackson Street. But, before one worship service was held, DMCC took another step of faith solidifying the miracle status. With the only vote in DMCC's history, it decided that in addition to closing on a new facility, if the church was going to grow to the level of its vision, Pastor Monty had to resign from his managerial position at United Parcel Service and become a full time pastor. That's right, DMCC closed on its very first building and hired a full-time pastor and a part time office administrator within seven days of each other. It was important for Pastor Monty that another staff member was added because he did not want to be the only person receiving a salary from the church. Once settled at 215 S. Jackson Street, DMCC began to take off. By 2004, those 70 men women and children had grown to over 200 and DMCC would have to add a second worship service to accommodate the new worshippers all without a praise team, band, or live music. in 2007 to commemorate DMCC's 10-year anniversary, the Lord directed Pastor Monty to lead DMCC into blessing someone from the surrounding community with a brand new (2007) car.  This never seen before act of generosity garnered attention from international and national news outlets such as the BBC of England, MSNBC, and a host of regional news stations. Pastor Monty stated that it was important to him that the community knew without any doubt that DMCC was committed to improving the lives of the people in our region. To confirm that indeed it was the Lord Who prompted Pastor Monty to lead the church in giving away the car, the young lady who was blessed with the car stated during a news feature, that her car broke down two days prior to the car giveaway and as she sat in her car, with tears, she asked God why didn't He love her like He loved everyone else. The Lord clearly demonstrated His love for her and also cemented DMCC as congregation internationally known for its generosity.

In 2008, after growing to nearly four hundred in attendance, once again, DMCC began experiencing the wonderful challenges that comes with outgrowing a facility. And again, a step of faith was required as DMCC would begin searching for a new worship center. This would prove challenging because as the congregation was looking to purchase a new facility, the United States was entering into its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.  After being denied a loan by financial institutions, Pastor Monty, who recently became a serious student of faith, declared during Sunday services in March of 2009 that the congregation would not need the services of a bank in order to move. After sowing the biggest financial seed to date, DMCC would successfully negotiate the terms of the lease agreement to begin hosting worship services at 3 Emerald Terrace on May 10, 2009. When asked why He accepted a lease agreement, Pastor Monty stated, "Because when we move into the Wal-Mart facility, we won't have to concern ourselves with selling this one."

After navigating through a crisis that threatened the very existence of DMCC, through nothing but love and faith, the congregation bounced back and grew greater than ever, both spiritually and numerically. In addition to the several hundred worshipers who physically congregate at 3 Emerald Terrace on Sunday Mornings, DMCC's weekend services can be seen by several thousand each month on line via web-stream.

On December 15, 2017, after just one-month shy 21 years of serving the people as Deliverance Mission Christian Church, DMCC officially changed its name to Love Church God spoke to Pastor Monty in 2008 about changing the name of the church, but it wasn't until 2017 that He felt the timing was perfect to initiate the change. Under this new name, the mission of the congregation remains the same. To Love God, Love Neighbors, and Love Ourselves.

After 24 years, our congregation is poised to continue preaching the gospel of the kingdom into all the world as a witness to the nations as well as furthering our commitment to loving people in our region. Someday soon, this document, chronicling the history of this great church will be read from the halls of our new worship center located 1549 Frank Scott Pkwy Belleville, Illinois also known as the former Scottish Rites location, as well as throughout satellite congregations in the Metro-Area. Today Pastor Monty along with the love of his life, First Lady Kimberly Weatherall are excited about positioning our church to partake in God's absolute best.

To God Be the Glory.