Worship Top 25 April 14, 2008
Posted by Steve in : The City, Inside Park, Urban Church, Powerful Passages, Methods & Strategies, The Cultural Conversation, Music That Moves, Culture and Faith , add a commentAs we sit each week at Park, and have worship times with Joseph Tenney and his team, I began to wonder what are the main worship songs that are played? So I did some research on the CCLI site and thought I would list out the top 25 played worship songs in churches around the U.S.
This list came from the latest results from CCLI which is the main Christian music copyright/licensing company for non-profit organizations around the world. They conduct two surveys per year, one in February and one in August. (Please note that this compilation does not contain many of the excellent old hymns which are sung a lot but are actaully public domain and not subject to royalties). However, it does contain “Shout to the Lord” which was recently sung on American Idol. This list is the latest data and is ranked from the most played to the least:
| 1 | How Great Is Our God | Tomlin, Chris \ Reeves, Jesse \ Cash, Ed | 4348399 |
| 2 | Blessed Be Your Name | Redman, Beth \ Redman, Matt | 3798438 |
| 3 | Here I Am To Worship | Hughes, Tim | 3266032 |
| 4 | Open The Eyes Of My Heart | Baloche, Paul | 2298355 |
| 5 | Shout To The Lord | Zschech, Darlene | 1406918 |
| 6 | Holy Is The Lord | Tomlin, Chris \ Giglio, Louie | 4158039 |
| 7 | You Are My King | Foote, Billy | 2456623 |
| 8 | Forever | Tomlin, Chris | 3148428 |
| 9 | Lord I Lift Your Name On High | Founds, Rick | 117947 |
| 10 | Come Now Is The Time To Worship | Doerksen, Brian | 2430948 |
| 11 | God Of Wonders | Byrd, Marc \ Hindalong, Steve | 3118757 |
| 12 | Everlasting God | Brown, Brenton \ Riley, Ken | 4556538 |
| 13 | You Are My All In All | Jernigan, Dennis | 825356 |
| 14 | We Fall Down | Tomlin, Chris | 2437367 |
| 15 | The Heart Of Worship | Redman, Matt | 2296522 |
| 16 | You’re Worthy Of My Praise | Ruis, David | 487976 |
| 17 | Breathe | Barnett, Marie | 1874117 |
| 18 | Trading My Sorrows | Evans, Darrell | 2574653 |
| 19 | Beautiful One | Hughes, Tim | 3915912 |
| 20 | In Christ Alone | Townend, Stuart \ Getty, Keith | 3350395 |
| 21 | I Give You My Heart | Morgan, Reuben | 1866132 |
| 22 | Days Of Elijah | Mark, Robin | 1537904 |
| 23 | Friend Of God | Gungor, Michael \ Houghton, Israel | 3991651 |
| 24 | Better Is One Day | Redman, Matt | 1097451 |
| 25 | Above All | LeBlanc, Lenny \ Baloche, Paul | 2672885 |
So what do you think of the list?
Crosby Update and Work Days March 31, 2008
Posted by Steve in : The City, Breaking News, Inside Park, Adaptive Reuse, Church Construction, Missional, The Cultural Conversation , add a commentFinally — after many delays, we are GOING TO PULL AUDIO-VIDEO wire this Saturday (woo Hoo!) as we gear up each weekend in April to get all of our audio/video stuf installed. It is starting to get real exciting!
Crosby Work Days
Crosby Work Days are back in full swing as we are counting down the days to opening our new ministry center at 1001 N. Crosby. Volunteers have already done a great job helping us paint the garage, and this Saturday, April 5, we need 20-25 volunteers to help with wire pulling throughout the day from 8 AM-6 PM. Come on out all you home renovators and construction-types and be part of this historic time! Please register to volunteer so we can plan accordingly.
Additional work days will be held on April 12 & 13, April 19 & 20 and April 26 & 27. Work times will be from 8 AM-6 PM on Saturdays and 1-5 PM on Sundays.
Check out the photos below:
Third Floor Worship Center Lobby With
HUGE windows looking on onto Crosby
Stage and Catwalk are coming along nicely
Can You see the boxes for the sub-woofer on the open stage area?
The Chicago brick is being put up and the greystone tile is coming next — It
is so cool to live in Chicago!
All the platforms are almost done for the permanent 517 seats on the tiers.
The Joy of Abby-Jill March 16, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Family, Church, Inside Park, Leader Zone , 3commentsThis weekend I sat with hundreds of others (really an old-timers Park alumni meeting, it seemed like) and celebrated the life of Abby-Jill Marie Brauhn, a friend and former staff-member at Park Community Church, who lost her battle with cancer this week. Rich Case did an excellent job in his message and Rich Johnson was superb leading the worship…..there were so many Park alums who joined together to do the set-up food and singing….. it was Park at its finest. The stories that people told were so funny and so typical Abby-Jill.
My most stiking memory was how Abby loved everyone. Yes, she was very skilled at business, yes she was a terrific organizer, yes, she was a top-notch leader….but she loved people. From the rich to the poor, from the “got-it-together” to the down-trodden and broken-spirited. I learned a lot about people caring from Abby — she wanted each person to know the security she had through her faith in Jesus Christ. She has such joy in her relationship with Jesus. That’s what I will remember most…..
I know there were lots of people whose life she touched in dramatic ways over the years through coffee conversations, to late night dinners, to pajama parties for her girlfriends to travelling with others. More than 300 people took Park trips to the FFHM orphanage under her watch and had their lives completely changed. I am profoundly sad and greatly grieving her loss.
I also realized, like my friend Jill’s post, that in that celebration service with so many 1990’s Park alumni there, I yearned for a moment in time that I can never go back to (and so that is probably part of my grief too). We got to sing all my favorite praise songs (which were also Abby-Jill’s favorites) with so many people that I love to hang out with, yet many have disbursed all over the country with scores of kids and new responsibilities.
As Jill said so well “This week Abby-Jill got to fully realize what I got a glimpse of this weekend. We aren’t meant for this world and I find myself strangely longing for that place when I am once again singing in a room full of “family” without a care in the world. Thank you AJB for reminding me and for touching my life once again.”
God gave us Abby-Jill for a moment and she is home now with the Father.
Man, heaven is going to be a good place, dontcha think?……..
Check out another Park alum’s thoughts here.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE MEMORIES? LEAVE A COMMENT
In Memory of Abby-Jill — We Will Miss You March 13, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Chicago, Family, Inside Park, Urban Church, Missional, DifferenceMakers, Culture and Faith , 3commentsThis week, Park Community Church suffered a great loss, when one of its former staff, Abby-Jill Brauhn , lost her fight with cancer and went to be with the Lord on Tuesday morning, surrounded by her family in Wisconsin. Abby-Jill was a Godly woman who loved the Lord and loved people. She made a huge impact for the Kingdom and will be greatly missed, although I know she is feeling no pain and dancing in heaven as we speak. I will miss her greatly — I loved her passion to see people come to know Jesus in a personal relationship and I appreciated her tremendous gift of leadership on the trips I went on to the orphanage in Mexico. Here is a summary (with some adds by me about my friend) of the obituary sent to the Tribune:
Abby-Jill Marie Brauhn
September 16, 1964 – March 11, 2008
Abby-Jill Brauhn, 43, died Tuesday, March 11, 2008, at the home of her sister, Deborah Geary. She was the daughter of Maggie French and the late Stephen Brauhn. Abby was blessed with an extraordinary life. She graduated from Buffalo General School of Nursing, where she began her career as a registered nurse. She later joined Parke Davis Pharmaceuticals as a sales representative. Abby’s ambition and initiative brought her to Chicago, where enjoyed a successful career as new-products sales rep and then regional manager.
In 1995, Abby went on a short term mission trip to the FFHM orphanage that Park supports in the Baja of Mexico, and there her life chcanged and it would never be the same. She experienced a great renewal of her faith, and when she heard a higher calling in 1998, Abby went to work for Park Community Church in Chicago as the Director of Extension Ministries. Here she founded and grew Park’s annual Park Service Day ( now called For One Chicago), which engaged more than 900
Abby lived a life that was full of joy, love, and devotion to her family, friends, and God. An avid reader and traveler, she embarked on many voyages around the world. She had a wonderful ability to touch all that she came in contact with. A diagnosis of terminal cancer brought her back to the
Abby-Jill is survived by her mother, Maggie, her sister Debbie, brother-in-law Brian Geary, brother Robert Brauhn, brother Adam Brauhn, sister-in-law Tasha, nieces Molly, Maggie, Katherine, and Grace, and nephews Christopher and Nicholas. Abby was preceded in death by her father, Stephen.
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A funeral service will be held at St. Anthony on the
“A Chicago memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 15th, at 1:00 p.m. at the GERMANIA PLACE BALLROOM (please note location has been changed)
In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure, 877.465.6636, or Heartland Hospice,
Cesarz Charapata & Zinnecker is serving the family. For more information, please call the funeral home at 262.542.6609.
Park Community Church on Comcast March 4, 2008
Posted by Steve in : The City, Chicago, Breaking News, Inside Park, The Cultural Conversation, The Arts in the City, Culture and Faith , add a commentCheck out FAITH TODAY’s preview of a 10 minutes piece on Park Community Church its growing impact on the city that is playing on Comcast On Demand.
Join us for TRANSFORMED January 10, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Chicago, Sunday Services, Church, Inside Park, Urban Church , add a commentThis weekend we kick off a new series at Park called TRANSFORMED, that explores one of the most important books of the Bible for believers, the book of Romans. Through our study of the book of Romans, we’ll be answering some difficult questions and dealing with issues that are important to our Christian faith.
Romans 12:1 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Through this series, we hope to see our hearts transformed as we grow in our knowledge of Christ! Come ready to be challenged and inspired.
PLEASE INVITE YOUR FRIENDS TO THIS LIFE-CHANGING SERIES and join us at 10 am or 5:30 pm each Sunday at Torry-Gray Auditorium at Moody Bible Insititute (840 N LaSalle) or at 11 am at Francis Parker School (2233 N Clark St)
Vision Sunday January 9, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Chicago, Sunday Services, Church, Inside Park, Methods & Strategies, Missional , add a commentWow –what a great vision for a city center church!
On Sunday, Jackson Crum, lead pastor at our church, Park Community Church, gave an incredible message of what God has called us to and where Park is going as it marshalls its resources and people to effect change and renewal in the city of Chicago. Check out the excellent vision video created by our own Mark Walczak below:
A Reminder: New Year, Same King December 31, 2007
Posted by Steve in : The City, Sunday Services, Church, Inside Park, Urban Church, Missional, DifferenceMakers , add a commentThis Sunday, Park Community Church was honored to have Victor Rodriguez,
Senior Pastor of La Villita Community Church here in Chicago give the last message of the year. Victor is a differencemaker in Chicago and leads a congregation in the “Little Village ” area of Chicago located around 26th street and Kedzie.
Little Village is the retail, residential and cultural capital of the Mexican community in the Midwest—a neighborhood alive with Mexican arts and culture, and a great place to live for both longtime residents and new immigrants. Over the past 30 years, Little Village has become a major port of entry for Mexican immigrants, and more than half of its residents are under the age of 25.
As we begin to think about our new year’s resolutions, Victor implored us to get to know the King better in his message. His message was a strong reminder of the King we serve and this video he played is a great reminder of all that Jesus is, qwhat he does and what He will always be:
Christmas at Park! November 30, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Chicago, Inside Park, Missional , add a commentWow — can you believe its Christmas time and 2007 is drawing to a close? Seems like just yesterday we were going to the Old Town Art Fair……. It has been quite a year around here with so many folks coming stepping across the line of faith and more than 1,000 people now in small groups!
Well with the season comes LOTS of things to do around Park, so I suggest you check out the Christmas Page on our website and get yourself involved in some of these excellent Christmas activities.
I would especially invite your to bring your friends, co-workers, and neighbors to the annual Park Christmas Carols for some great singing and words of encouragement in this special season. This will happen on Sunday night, December 16, 2007 at the auditorium at Moody Bible Institute (840 N LaSalle).
The place holds 1,700 people so let’s each grab 5 friends and rock it out!
Reminder Time: God’s Continuing Faithfulness August 26, 2007
Posted by Steve in : The City, Chicago, Inside Park, Urban Church, Powerful Passages, Church Construction , add a commentWow! I am continually reminded that God has a plan for the redemption of Chicago and Park is going to be a part of that. As we have moved through this summer, there has been a lot of uncertainty about where we would have our offices come September and where we would hold our services. As the project manager for the new Crosby campus building among my responsibilities, I have been frustrated by the massive rise in the price for steel and copper (causing us to exceed our budget), construction delays, unforeseen expenditures (we have to replace the entire outside brick skin of the building), the rainy weather, the lack of progress on getting more parking at our new building, and the likelihood that we would not be able to get into our offices at the Crosby campus in September and that we would need to find short-term solution for our offices.
But there was no uncertainty or frustration in God’s eyes.
Having orchestrated the creation of the world, I am reminded that God can do ANYTHING He wants, 
and getting us office space for starters is no big deal. Through a great friend of the church, God provided space for us at minimal cost in the John Hancock Tower for 4-6 months. We moved out of Germania Thursday night after an 11 year run (in the 13-hour rain-and- massive-wind, hurricane-plagued ordeal that ended at 1:00 am) and now find ourselves getting settled into great office space in the midst of the bustling Michigan Avenue avenue with offices and stores. (Many thanks to two of our awesome staff, Emily Luikart and Meghan Kosar, who organized the move and made it go so well! — you are the best!)
As I have sat at home and whined to my wife about all my frustrations, I am reminded and can now see that God is moving in Chicago, and He will not be thwarted. He has all the tools of the world at His disposal and in this case, He chose to use someone from another great church to help us because He is going to use Park as he continues His plan of redemption here in Chicago. Each person in Chicago matters to God, and he will use churches like Park and Christians like Park people to reach those people.
This situation has caused me to look back and see God’s hand of faithfulness since the beginning of our church almost 20 years ago. Even without a building for 20 years, God has grown Park, transforming thousands of people with His Gospel and the elders, staff and leaders have continued to build a Biblical community where the Gospel of Jesus Christ transforms lives, renews the city and impacts the world.
As I read the Bible, I am reminded by the verses below about God’s unswerving faithfulness:
Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,
Psalm 105:8 He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
Isaiah 46:8-11 “Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors,
9 remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ 11 calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.
As an exercise, look back on the last two years in your life. Where were you 2 years ago and what was your life like. Can you see God’s hand growing you and changing you? What Has God reminded you about lately?
Check out our First YouTube Video: Baptism 2007 July 26, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Chicago, Sunday Services, Church, Inside Park, Missional, DifferenceMakers , add a commentPark is now officially a YouTube broadcaster! Check out the musical slideshow of the awesome baptisms of 71 people on the beaches of Lake Michigan in the shadow the the awesome Chicago skyline from Sunday, July 22nd.
Baptism Sunday — What a Day! July 22, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Chicago, Inside Park, Missional , add a commentEach year, on the third Sunday in July, we gather at 7 am at North Avenue beach in Chicago to hold our annual baptism service. This year, there were 71 people who were baptized in Lake Michigan in front of their friends, family and the Park Community Church family.
It is so cool to have our baptism service in the shadow of the skyline of this world-class, global city. What a great day to hear the stories of people’s live who have been transformed by Jesus Christ working in their lives! … To hear how their lives were before Christ and the impact that Christ has had on their lives…..and to remind myself of how much Christ has transformed my life in the 23 years since I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. This day rocks!
Here is the setup in Solheim Center, the site of our Baptism celebration service for about 1,000 people
Missional Living as Leaders May 12, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Church, Inside Park, Methods & Strategies, Missional, Leader Zone , add a comment
Last night, we gathered 150 of our leaders and celebrated the incredible work that God is doing in and through Park Community Church. One of the highlights was the message given by our Lead Pastor, Jackson Crum, on the need for our leaders to live missionally in the city. Have a listen here.
Leader Zone Tonight May 10, 2007
Posted by Steve in : The City, Chicago, Inside Park, Urban Church, Methods & Strategies, Leader Zone , add a comment
Tonight, we gather our 200 leaders at the Kitsch’n Restaurant by our new warehouse building (restaurant is at 800 N Larrabee St at 6:30 p.m.) and get a chance to interact, to inspire, to spend time together and plan for the summer. In 2007, we are striving to be more intentional about growing and developing our leadership community at Park Community Church, as we begin to think about reproducing, adding a fourth service, adding a location and growing to reach many more people in Chicago this summer who do not know the life-changing message of the Gospel. If you are a leader at Park (small groups, ministry leader or team leader), please join us for our second Leader Zone Meeting of 2007, tonight. God is up to something BIG here in the city and we are excited to come alongside that work.
What are YOU Expecting this Easter? March 16, 2007
Posted by Steve in : The City, Church, Inside Park , add a commentWe are getting ready for a Big Easter in the city as we do a three part series on Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter on “What Are YOU Expecting?” where we will explore expectations: what people expected of Jesus, what God expected of Him and why Jesus came, died and rose from the dead. Here is the Easter graphic this year and the questions we are asking of people as they think about the resurrection at Easter:
What are you expecting? People come to the city and have many expectations for their lives: job opportunities, a spouse or meaningful relationship, great friends, happiness, comfort, good times, excitement, spiritual growth, fulfillment. What are you expecting?
Many years ago, the people of Israel were looking for a king, a political leader who would lead them out of the bondage and oppression of the Romans. They welcomed Jesus on Palm Sunday with fanfare, yet less than a week later, he was hung on a cross to die a lonely death. What were they expecting?
Then on Sunday morning, several of Jesus followers went to the tomb but it was empty. What were they expecting?
We’d love to have you come to Chicago and join us this Easter season:
Park Community Church — Easter Season Services - April 6 and 8
Good Friday Services, Apr 6 — 5:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.
Francis Parker School - Map
Easter Sunday Services, Apr 8 — 8:30 a.m. 10:00 a.m. 11:30 a.m.
Francis Parker School - Map
Park’s 1st Leader Zone Meeting a Success! February 18, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Volunteers, Family, Church, Inside Park, Leader Zone , add a comment
In 2007, we are striving to be more intentional about growing and developing our leadership community at Park Community Church. One of the ways we are going to invest in our leaders is through quarterly meetings, where we will bring the entire leadership community together for a dinner, here about what God is doing through us and amongst us, provide in-depth communication about what is happening at Park and where we are going, and hear from Jackson.
We had our first Quarterly “Leader Zone” leader meeting last Thursday night and it got good reviews. More than 150 of our leaders met at the Kitsch’n restaurant and got a chance to have dinner together, hear some great testimonies from folks at Park, and hear Jackson talk about our 2007 goal of having every leader reproduce themselves as we grow. We got a chance to get an update on the building construction (check out our ParkCAM), the Imagine More campaign, and leadership updates.
Leaders, thanks for your commitment to coming alongside the work that God is doing here in Chicago - we have lots more to do but there is a strong energy and enthusiasm among the leadership core and it contagious! The elder and staff love doing ministry with you folks!
Be sure to mark your calendars for the next meeting on May 10th! A mp3 of the message will be posted here next week for those who missed it!
Check out our Park WebCam! February 4, 2007
Posted by Steve in : The City, Church, Inside Park, Church Construction , add a commentAs we progress on the renovation of Park Community Church’s warehouse into a ministry center at 1001 N Crosby, we now have the ability to see it happen live and in color with our ParkCAM, courtesy of Michael and Melissa Howard, who have graciously allowed us to install a webcam on their balcony. You can check out the new picture that is generated each minute 24/7 here at our Imagine More website.
You’re All Invited November 21, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Weblog, Inside Park, Technology, Methods & Strategies , add a commentEach month, we review our website functionality and our website statistics, looking to see if we believe our site is being used as much as it can be, and if it is meeting the needs of our elders, staff, leaders and congregation. So far, so good this year as we add, tweak and redo different parts of the website.
One of the latest changes we have added is a link allowing our congregation to “Invite a Friend” right from the Park home page. It’s located to the right of the main Message Series graphic. In only its first three days, our folks have clicked and sent more than 50 invitations to friends, co-workers to attend Sunday services!
Go ahead and click here and send an electronic invitation!
Here is the current invitation:
