Who We Are
Plymouth Brethren Christian Church
The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church is a global Christian fellowship with a community of more than 50,000 members worldwide. It traces its roots to Plymouth, England, where its first permanent meetings began in 1829. The PBCC preaches a gospel of grace, godliness, and giving. Congregants live, work, and pray as ‘Brethren’—a community of families held together by common Christian belief. Like all Christians, the PBCC community is united in its shared Christian belief founded on the Holy Bible.
The PBCC congregation (about 200 people) has been part of the Chicago area since the late 1800s and at our current location since 1979.
We are a community driven by care and compassion. We are self-reliant while still contributing to the neighborhood’s where we live and work, as well as to causes where there is need. Our members run family-owned businesses, pay taxes, employ local people, and contribute to the economic wellbeing of the area where we live, work, and pray. Church members volunteer their time and donate to many causes around the world.
We have created a way of life around our core tenets of care and compassion, one we wish to practice without outside discrimination or interference. In this, we are like all close-knit communities, both religious and secular. Anyone who seeks to portray the church and its practices as outside of the mainstream are plainly unfamiliar with our true practices and beliefs.
Although we are close knit, we integrate with the local communities in which we reside through our business interests and charitable work. Members of the church typically own or operate their own business. These businesses provide a robust source of employment to the wider community, as many as 80% of employees being non-church members. These businesses frequently contract with suppliers and vendors outside the community, stimulating local economies in the process.
PBCC members are passionate about learning and Plymouth Brethren students attend its innovative school network — One School Global. We support the communities in which we live, work, and serve through the Church’s charitable arm, the Rapid Relief Team. Our children attend public schools until Grade 3. Once enrolled, they are taught a state-certified, non-religious curriculum by licensed teachers. None of the OneSchool teachers are members of the church.
Rapid Relief Team
The Rapid Relief Team (RRT) is the charitable arm of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, offering quality catering and tangible support to charities, government agencies, and emergency services, particularly during crises and disasters. It operates under the mission of supporting local communities in times of need, with a strong focus on delivering efficient, compassionate, and friendly assistance.
This commitment stems from the PBCC’s interpretation of Christianity, which emphasizes the importance of community service, active citizenship, and compassionate action. The RRT exclusively serves non-brethren communities in need, worldwide, across a diversity of means and needs, and has hard results and the gratitude of numerous community leaders to show for it.
Over the past decade, the RRT has pitched in with hundreds of volunteers and extensive financial support for families in times of tragedy and need across the greater Chicago region. From fires to shootings to simple holiday fundraisers, RRT has invested in the communities that its members live in, embodying what it means to be a member of the PBCC.
2025: RRT Members Donate to Barrington Township and Hanover Township Food Pantries
Local members of the Rapid Relief Team recently donated 16 RRT food boxes each to the Barrington Township and Hanover Township Food Pantries to help community members in need.
Each box contains enough food to feed a family of 4 for 48 hours, totaling 64 days’ worth of food for the hundreds of families in Barrington and Hanover for whom keeping their shelves full every month is a continual challenge.
Brian P. McGuire, Hanover Township Supervisor and Director, said, “On behalf of Hanover Township Human Services, I would like to thank you for your generous donation of groceries for the food pantry. Your contributions make it possible for us to keep the shelves of our Food Pantry stocked in these hard economic times.”
2025: Los Angeles Fires
Our Church members in Cook County and South Barrington deeply appreciate the efforts of the Rapid Relief Team volunteers who mobilized to support emergency responders and communities impacted by the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles.
Dozens of RRT volunteers drawn from nine states and two Canadian provinces distributed 7,000 fresh meals and 700 frontline snack packs with a variety of supplies, fueled by 2,700 total volunteer hours.
Their hard work and ongoing caring and compassion for those in need, wherever they may be, is inspiring.
2024: Giving Day Winter Event at
Barrington Middle School
During this holiday season, RRT partnered with The Community Meal, a local nonprofit, to provide 633 fresh burger meals to students and their families at Barrington Middle School.
Sandy Hasse, with The Community Meal, said: “The students/families in Barrington School District 220 were so thrilled to have a hot meal at the end of the day…RRT is by far the most professional and caring team I have worked with. Keep up the good work!”
2024: Baltimore Key Bridge Collapse
When the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after a collision with a container ship, RRT volunteers from Baltimore and Maryland arrived within two hours of the incident to deliver over 1,400 meals and refreshments to emergency services personnel across 16 different agencies.
2022 Fire in Bartlett
2022 Highland Park Shooting
2021 Rockton Chemical Plant Fire
One School Global
OneSchool Global is a private, global network of schools with over 120 campuses in 20 countries. OneSchool Global was established by members of the PBCC for students and families of the Church community and is supported by volunteers from the congregation. However, it recruits and hires teachers, administrators, and support staff from all walks of life.
OneSchool Global aims to prepare students who are life-ready, focusing on developing learners who know how to learn effectively. It is characterized by its innovative approach to education, delivered through cutting-edge, technology-empowered physical and digital learning environments.
OneSchool Global employs non-brethren faculty to teach state-sanctioned, wholly non-religious curriculum through cutting-edge technological and teaching methods — regularly producing test scores well above state averages in the process.
It places a premium on training, and its in-house teacher academy provides teacher training programs that are second to none. Present and former students consistently report a supportive, uplifting work environment, with small class sizes and proven academic performance.
The development includes plans for a school store , to be available to students and their family members. It is unique in its operation as it relies on volunteers to run the store and is one of the methods of fundraising for the school.
Contrary to unfounded and baseless rumors spread by opponents of the PBCC, there will be absolutely no alcoholic products sold in the new school store.
