The church, at 118th Street and Indiana Avenue, had to install a high-speed telephone line and get an encoder workstation. It also spends between $1,000 and $2,000 each month to maintain its Web ...

Charlie Dates, senior pastor of Salem Baptist Church and Progressive Baptist Church, leads the closing remarks following a march of faith leaders and others through downtown Chicago on April 22, 2023.

CHICAGO (CBS)-- After nearly 40 years, the Rev. James Meeks is stepping away from the pulpit. Meeks said next year will be his last as the leader at Salem Baptist Church on the city's Far South ...

In 2005, Chicago's iconic House of Hope opened its doors. It was known as Salem Baptist Church before the mega church was built. Now, the church’s only pastor, James Meeks, is stepping down ...

Cutouts of the Rev. James Meeks throughout the years are displayed in the foyer at Salem Baptist Church of Chicago as Meeks, who founded the 10,000-seat church in 1985, ...

After nearly 40 years as a pastor in Chicago, James Meeks delivered his last sermon on Sunday at the Salem Baptist Church, the largest African American church on the South Side. “I married you ...

The Rev. James Meeks, left, and the Rev. Charlie Dates meet at House of Hope, the home of Chicago’s Salem Baptist Church, on Jan. 6, 2023. RNS photo by Bob Smietana.

Feels like a church," said the Rev. James Meeks, who leads the Salem Baptist Church and its effort to build the $50 million House of Hope facility on Chicago's South Side.

In his sermon Sunday at Salem Baptist Church, Meeks said he would officially step down in January and pastor Charlie Dates would become head of the 10,000-member South Side congregation.