The Church in the Chapel was an interdenominational Christian community of Northwestern students, staff, faculty and local community residents who worshiped at Northwestern's Alice S. Millar Chapel.
Northwestern University was founded by Methodists in 1851.
Since early in the university's history, no 
formal congregation or specific denominational affiliation was established, although regular Sunday services were held and students were encouraged to attend.
After the construction of the Alice S. Millar Chapel, a group of students, staff, faculty and community residents began attending services conducted by the University Chaplain on a continuing basis. These services were referred to as "the church in the chapel." On May 9, 1971, these regular attendees considered the idea of forming a formal congregation. After much discussion, a nondenominational group was formed. It choose "The Church in the Chapel" as the official name of the congregation.
University Chaplain Ralph G. Dunlop served as pastor from
The Church in the Chapel's inception until 1973.
James E. Avery took over as the second pastor in 1973. In 1986, University Chaplain Timothy S. Stevens became the third pastor until his retirement in 2018. Rev. Kristen Glass Perez now serves as University Chaplain and Executive Director of Religious and Spiritual Life.