The vision of the Waukegan Seventh-day Adventist Church began in 1924 when an elderly grandma traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After attending the Seventh-day Adventist General Conference Session, she discussed starting a church in Waukegan, Illinois.

Soon after, a small group met in various homes, hotels, and rented buildings, resulting in baptisms. On January 27, 1927, they officially organized the Waukegan Seventh-day Adventist Church.

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In 1932, the O. C. Durham family joined the Waukegan congregation, where Elder Durham served as the spiritual leader for about one-quarter of a century. In 1935 and again in 1939, they held meetings at the Karcher Hotel and in 1945, in Zion, IL. From 1944 to 1957, the congregation met at the Masonic Temple in Waukegan, still desiring to have a church home one day.

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On April 19, 1956, the groundbreaking ceremonies for the Waukegan Seventh-day Adventist Church occurred at 1300 North Avenue, Waukegan, Illinois. The 101 members began conducting services in the newly erected basement in April 1957. On May 14, 1957, they laid the cornerstone. By the fall of 1957, the church school began in the church building.

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On October 9 and 10, 1959, they dedicated the Church building of Waukegan Seventh-day Adventist Church on the corners of North and Glen Flora Avenues.

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In 1962, they purchased nine acres of land at the corner of Fuller Road and Stearns School Road in Gurnee, Illinois, to build a Christian school for their children. The Illinois Conference permitted them to execute two-thirds of their original plan, leaving the construction of the gym at a later date.

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On July 24, 1966, they had the groundbreaking ceremony, and in September 1969, the school commenced in their new building following the building dedication on January 23, 1977. Years later, they dedicated the Little Lamb Christian Preschool, which began in August 1987. Due to the expansion of preschool enrollment, they also dedicated a modular school in 1994.

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In May 2002, they sold the Waukegan Seventh-day Adventist Church property to the Waukegan SDA Spanish Church. They built a church building on the Gurnee school property, where they officially changed the name to the Gurnee Seventh-day Adventist Church.

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On June 16, 2003, the Gurnee Village Board annexed the school property into the Village of Gurnee, and they entered into a building program. On December 13, 2008, they conducted their first church service and have been worshipping in that building and serving in that community until today.