Who We Are
Connection Church is a Christ-centered church in Libertyville, Illinois. We are people from different generations, cultures, ethnicities, economic circumstances, and life experiences learning to follow Jesus together.
Some have followed Christ for decades. Some are returning to church or rebuilding their faith. Others are still asking questions about Jesus and what they believe. We don’t expect everyone who walks through our doors to be in the same place spiritually.
Come hear God’s Word. Worship with us. Get to know the people. Ask your questions. Discover what it means to follow Jesus in everyday life.
Our Mission
Every Generation
Every Culture
Every Ethnicity
Every Economic Class
Our vision is rooted in Jesus’ command to make disciples.
We want to be a church where people across generations, cultures, ethnicities, and economic circumstances are united in Christ, grow in faith, and help others know and follow Him.
Our Values
The Word of God
God’s Word is our authority. Scripture shapes what we believe, what we teach, and how we live.
Prayer
We seek God in prayer. We depend on Him for wisdom, direction, strength, and the work only He can do.
Holy Spirit-Dependent
We cannot accomplish God’s work through human effort alone. We depend on the Holy Spirit to guide us, convict us, transform us, and empower us to live faithfully.
Worship
God alone is worthy of worship. We honor Him when we gather, and we seek to honor Him through the way we live each day.
Obedience
Knowing God’s Word calls for a response. We seek to follow Jesus faithfully and put His teaching into practice.
Authentic Loving Relationships
God did not create us to live or grow in isolation. We seek to build relationships where people can be known, loved, encouraged, supported, and challenged to grow in Christ.
Our Story
A Legacy of Faith. A Future Focused on Jesus.
Connection Church began with a conviction that still guides us today: people need Jesus Christ.
Since our founding in 2014, seasons have changed, leadership has changed, and the ministry has grown.
Our mission remains:
To know Jesus Christ and make Him known.
Long before Connection Church existed, God was at work in the life of the pastor He would use to help bring the church into existence.
Lamarr K. Lark had been a Christian for only two months when he arrived at Grace College in Indiana as a freshman. There, he met Dr. Ron Manahan in an Old Testament class. Dr. Manahan began discipling him, beginning a relationship that would have a lasting influence on Pastor Lark’s life and ministry.
Pastor Lark graduated from Grace College in 1987 with a degree in counseling. He went on to spend 24 years in human resources at Abbott Laboratories, eventually serving as a Divisional Vice President of Human Resources.
Throughout those years, the call to pastoral ministry remained. As his career took his family to different communities, he also served in assistant and executive pastoral roles.
In 2014, Connection Church was planted in Libertyville, Illinois.
From the beginning, the vision was clear:
To Know Jesus Christ and Make Disciples of:
Every Generation
Every Culture
Every Ethnicity
Every Economic Class
Finding The Barn
In 2016, the young congregation found a five-acre property on St. Marys Road with two houses and a red barn more than 130 years old.
It did not look much like a church.
The barn needed extensive work. Horse stalls remained inside, and transforming the building into a place of worship would require faith, labor, and the commitment of many people.
Pastor Lark remembers standing in the field, looking at the property and asking:
“God, what are you doing?”
The answer took shape one project at a time.
Members of the church cleared horse stalls, repaired and restored the building, and turned the old barn into a place where people could gather for worship.
A commemorative saw displayed in the lobby still honors the work that went into the transformation.
The Barn also gave the church stories we still remember.
One guest musician arrived on a snowy December morning and called to make sure he had the correct address.
All he could see was a barn.
He was in exactly the right place.
One volunteer, George, put down his snow shovel long enough to sit in on drums. Pastor Lark’s study, tucked into the barn’s old silo, became affectionately known as the pastor’s “oval office.”
Today, we still call our church home The Barn.
The building is part of our story, but it is not the reason we gather.
Jesus is.
The Barn is the place God provided for His people to worship, pray, learn His Word, serve, and grow together.
Building on the Foundation
In March 2026, Connection Church entered a new season when Pastor Lloyd Biddle became the church’s second Lead Pastor.
Founding Pastor Lamarr K. Lark now serves as Pastor Emeritus.
Rev. Dr. James Ford, Jr. serves as Teaching Pastor, contributing to the biblical teaching and discipleship ministry of the church.
Leadership changes across seasons.
Our mission remains:
To know Jesus Christ and make Him known.
The Story Continues
Our history includes faithful people, answered prayers, hard work, a restored barn, leadership transitions, and many stories known personally by those who have called Connection Church home.
But Connection Church does not belong to one pastor, one generation, or one building.
We belong to Jesus Christ.
He is why we gather.
He is the One we follow.
He is the One we want others to know.
And our story is still being written.
Meet Pastor Lloyd Biddle
Helping People Know Jesus and Live What They Believe
Pastor Lloyd Biddle serves as Lead Pastor of Connection Church, helping people know Jesus Christ, grow as His disciples, and live out their faith beyond Sunday morning.
For Pastor Lloyd, faith belongs in everyday life. It shapes how we love our families, do our work, make decisions, respond to challenges, serve others, and live when no one is watching.
As he has taught:
“God is not looking for perfect people. He is looking for fully committed people.”
That conviction shapes his teaching and leadership.
You do not have to arrive at Connection Church with every question answered or every part of your life figured out. Come ready to hear God’s Word, ask honest questions, build relationships, and grow.
Called to Teach, Shepherd, and Develop People
Pastor Lloyd became Connection Church’s second Lead Pastor in March 2026.
Before coming to Connection Church, he served as Interim Senior Pastor at Compassion Baptist Church in Chicago, Senior Pastor of River Valley Community Church in Aurora, Illinois, and Senior Associate Pastor at High Point Church in Madison, Wisconsin.
Throughout his ministry, he has taught Scripture, led discipleship, developed leaders, and served churches through seasons of growth and change.
His preaching brings biblical truth into the realities people face at home, at work, in relationships, and in the decisions that test what we truly believe.
A conviction runs through his teaching:
God’s Word is not simply meant to be known. It is meant to be lived.
Experience That Serves His Ministry
Before entering full-time pastoral ministry, Pastor Lloyd spent more than 20 years in corporate leadership, including experience as a Fortune 500 sales executive and top-producing sales manager with American Family Insurance. He also led teams, developed leaders, and managed multimillion-dollar training and marketing programs.
That experience gives him firsthand understanding of many of the realities people bring with them on Sunday — work, family, leadership, responsibility, relationships, uncertainty, and change.
Pastor Lloyd is also the author of Live on Purpose: Learn. Do. Teach., reflecting a principle central to his approach to discipleship: learn God’s truth, put it into practice, and help someone else do the same.
As he has taught at Connection Church:
“Our first assignment is to shine for Christ. There are many good things we can do. But nothing is more important than pointing people to Jesus by the way we live and the message we share.”
That is the church Pastor Lloyd wants to help lead: people who know Jesus Christ, live what they believe, and make Him known.
Education and Family
Pastor Lloyd holds a Master of Arts in Theology from Wheaton College, a Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
He and his wife, Deborah, have been married for more than 37 years and have two adult sons, Jason and Jared.
Lloyd and Deborah both serve at Connection Church and share a commitment to helping people know Jesus Christ, grow in faith, and live out what they believe.
Whether you have followed Jesus for years, are returning to church, or are still trying to understand what you believe, come meet Pastor Lloyd and the people of Connection Church.
Our Leadership
Connection Church is served by leaders who share responsibility for the spiritual life, ministry, and work of the church.
We serve in different roles with a shared mission:
To know Jesus Christ and make Him known.
Pastor Lloyd Biddle
Lead Pastor
Pastor Lamarr K. Lark
Pastor Emeritus and Founding Pastor
Dr. James Ford, Jr.
Teaching Pastor
Pastor Lloyd and Deborah Biddle
Pastor Lamarr and Brenda Lark
Founding Pastor and First Lady
Pastor Michael and Vikki Myers
Worship Arts Ministry Leaders
Stacy and Rosy Bullard
Outreach Ministry Leaders
Glenn Harris
Hospitality Ministry Leader
Rosy Bullard
Hospitality Ministry LeaderOur Leadership
Connection Church is served by leaders who share responsibility for the spiritual life, ministry, and work of the church.
We serve in different roles with a shared mission:
To know Jesus Christ and make Him known.
Pastor Lloyd Biddle
Lead Pastor
Rev. Dr. James Ford, Jr.
Teaching Pastor
Rev. Dr. James Ford, Jr.
Teaching Pastor
Pastor Lamarr K. Lark
Pastor Emeritus and Founding Pastor
Join us this Sunday
Experience Christ-centered worship, biblical teaching, and a welcoming community where people from every generation and background are growing together in Jesus Christ.