Little information is available as to the size or the growth of the Chapel following the events of late 1934. Not until a short note is printed in the Lombard Spectator, March 28,1940, relating to Easter Sunday attendance, do we learn anything of the size of the Chapel. I quote, "Lombard Bible Church had 150 attendants Sunday, while last year there were 112 and the Lombard Gospel Chapel reports 140 over the 135 of last year."

The Chapel seemed to reach a plateau and probably was smaller, (see pages 27 & 28) with not much growth after January 1935. This is not to say that the Chapel was dying off, that it was not. However, with the lack of a full time worker, the work seems to have suffered as far as new growth. (This is strictly my personal observation as I gathered information about the Chapel)

Lombard Bible Church on the other hand was growing. Starting with about 30 the first Sunday of 1935, they saw their numbers almost double during the first year. And, as just mentioned, Lombard Bible was nearing 150 by 1940. While Lombard Gospel Chapel, for the most part, was unchanged during the same time period.

In spite of the differences in Church Government, the people from the Chapel and the Bible Church continued to work together on various occasions. Just three months after the "split", the young people of both churches combined to present a special service for "Young Folks". We have this account from the Lombard Spectator, March 28,1935.

Gospel Chapel Invites

Young Folks Sunday

A service of special interest to all young people of high school and college age is to be held in the Lombard Gospel Chapel, 40 West Ash street, this coming Sunday, March 31, at 6:30 p.m. The "W" club gospel team of Wheaton College will conduct this meeting...

The theme of the meeting is to be "Christ _ a Living Savior" and will be presented in quartet numbers, instrumental selections, and personal testimonies. A cordial invitation to attend this service is extended to all the high school and college men and women of the community.

The young people of the Lombard Bible church, a new local group which worships in the social hall of Ballou apartments on South Main street, will join in this service in the Gospel Chapel Sunday evening.

The young people of the Chapel, in December 1936, decided to begin combining all of the young people's meetings with the Lombard Bible Church. They would meet each Sunday evening at 6:30 p.m. at the Bible Church. This practice continued until January of 1940. There were also times in which the group from the Villa Park Gospel Tabernacle joined in for special occasions. (This was the "hive off" church of 1931) click here to read more about the Villa Park Gospel Tabernacle

Gospel Young People

Arrange Special Meet

Young folks of the Lombard Gospel Chapel at 40 West Ash street, and the same group in the Lombard Bible Church, 9 North Main street, are inviting all their friends, young and old, to a joint meeting next Sunday evening at 6:30 in the Bible Church rooms on the second floor of the Hammerschmidt building, 9 North Main Street. Young people of the Villa Park Gospel Tabernacle will bring an inspiring message from God's Word in word and song. They are extending an urgent invitation to all interested, to come and receive cordial welcome.