Small Church Making Big Impact for Missions

One of the Illinois District’s smallest churches is also one of its biggest givers. Industry Assembly supports more missionaries than the number of people who attend on Sunday.

Last year the western Illinois congregation – with an average attendance of 80 – gave $146,000 to missions. That ranked it eighth among the district’s nearly 300 churches. It supports 125 missionaries.

Their commitment is strong. When Industry Assembly embarked on a 5,000-square-foot addition in 2008, the church committed to pay cash in order to maintain missions giving. The building project took seven years.

Longtime children’s ministry volunteer Angela K. Hance says Senior Pastor Jon L. Keck once told the congregation that God had given impressed a promise on him: if they took care of the missionaries, the Lord would take care of them.

“There’s no other reason a town our size has been able to do what we’re able to do,” says Hance, 55, who runs a business in the village of about 300 people. “It can only be attributed to God. There’s no other way to describe it.”

Attendees don’t just give; they also go. The church takes a mission trip every other year, most recently to El Salvador in 2024.

Keck, 62, and his wife, Robbie Y. Keck, 63, have been in Industry since 2003 after serving a total of 12 years at nearby Macomb AG.

The Iowa natives have been longtime supporters of missions. Keck received inspiration from his maternal grandfather, who in his retirement from pastoring built a church in Africa and was involved in building churches around the U.S.

Keck was also influenced by his parents, who were faithful mission givers at Marshalltown AG (now Faith Church).

After graduating from high school, Keck earned a degree at Central Bible College (now Evangel University) before entering the ministry.

Although Robbie’s family didn’t attend church, at age 10 a neighbor invited her to a crusade at Burlington First. She started attending there each week and later accepted Christ as her Savior at a youth camp.

That led to studies at North Central University before she completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology at Western Illinois University in Macomb. Robbie has been a school psychologist for 33 years, mostly with the Macomb School District.

Her experience is one reason Robbie strongly supports children’s and youth ministries, the other foundation of Industry Assembly’s outreach to its community.

“If someone hadn’t reached out to me, I would not know the Lord,” says Robbie, who drives the bus on Wednesday night to pick up many of the 80 to 100 elementary-age students coming to its “Hometown Kids” program. “I feel like in our culture and community, God is calling us to expose kids to Christ.”

Ironically, when a deacon from Industry Assembly (then running about 40) contacted Jon about becoming the pastor, Keck wasn’t interested. He and Robbie wanted to pastor a larger congregation.

“The man said they had written down what they wanted in a pastor and everyone agreed, ‘That’s Jon Keck,’” the pastor recalls. “I told him, ‘If you’ve prayed about it, give Robbie and me time to pray about it as well.’”

His wife had a quick answer when he relayed the news: “I don’t want to leave Macomb.” Still, they met daily at church to pray during their lunch hour.

Jon says he immediately sensed the Holy Spirit telling him the couple was headed for Industry. After several more days of prayer, Robbie told her husband that God was leading them to go.

One thing that impressed the couple was the church’s commitment to keep Royal Rangers and Missionettes (now Mpact) going, even though participants had declined to about two dozen.

“They didn’t have many leaders but the old saints were still running it because of their heart for children,” Robbie says. “When we lost (leaders) through age, we decided it would be better to combine into one program.”

The mid-week meetings include a meal, although that usually means a sack lunch en route to the church to conserve teaching time. (The church hosts a meal on Sunday evenings for 50 teens who come to the youth service).

About five years ago, Industry Assembly started an annual dessert auction to raise money for missions, an event that nets between $6,000 and $8,000. This year the funds will help send 80 youngsters to kids camp in June or youth camp in July.

Illinois District Superintendent Philip B. Schneider calls Industry Assembly a place where the people have “bought in” to missions. Their example helps other Illinois churches see what is possible, he says.

“I’ve never seen a church so focused on their core values, which are missions and kids ministry,” says Schneider, 65. “For a church their size, they probably have the best children’s ministry in the nation.”

Robbie says what happens there is only possible with everyone’s support.

“We are the leaders, but we are only there because the church family is behind us,” she says. “They support everything we are doing and we are so appreciative.”

Jon says sometimes it’s easier to make a greater impact in a smaller area.

“Before we ever came here, I sensed God speaking to me that this would be a place for people to come from miles around,” he says. “We have people come to church here from as far as an hour away.

“I don’t want this to be a moment where glory comes to us,” Jon adds. “We haven’t done anything special. We’ve just tried to hear the voice of God and do what God called us to do.”