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.
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.
2,999 and Counting May 2, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Technology , add a comment
We have a very tech-savvy congregation at Park Community Church in Chicago.We also have a very transient and mobile population who lead very busy lives, thus we have worked hard to provide alternative methods for people to hear the Sunday message. By far the most popular has been our podcasts on I-Tunes. We have seen a huge increase in podcast usage over the last six months, as we have gone from 1,333 downloads in November 2006 (44 per day) to 2,999 downloads in April (100 downloads per day). Way to Go Aaron Stanski and your team who are ‘getting the Gospel out there’!.
According the the Pew Internet and American Life Project, some 12% of internet users (more…)
Bob Lupton at Park on Sunday April 27, 2007
Posted by Steve in : The City, Chicago, Church, Urban Church, Methods & Strategies, Missional , add a comment
We are so excited to have Bob Lupton speaking at all three of Park’s church services this Sunday, April 29, 2007 on “Seeking Shalom in the City”, addressing the issue of our response to gentrification in the city, as we continue our series “Missional Living”.
As Park continues to expand, and looks at reaching more and more people as part of our goal to reach one percent of Chicago (30,000 people) in the years to come, we need to come to grips with gentrification and its impact on the well-being of the city of Chicago. Bob speaks from 34 years of experience as a Christian real estate developer and an active member of the CCDA.
Invite a Friend via E-vite here.
Bob Lupton is a Christian community developer and an entrepreneur who brings together communities of resource with communities of need, and has invested more than 34 years of his life in inner-city Atlanta. (more…)
2007 National New Church Conference April 18, 2007
Posted by Steve in : The City, Chicago, Church, Urban Church, Methods & Strategies, Missional, The Cultural Conversation , add a commentSeveral of us have been graciously been given the opportunity to attend the 2007 National New Church Conference next week and it is going to be a great one. The National New Church Conference is a cross-denominational gathering designed to connect, inspire, equip and challenge church planting leaders to the next level of collaboration. Speakers will include Bill Hybels, Wayne Cordeiro, Ed Stetzer, Dave Ferguson, Bob Roberts, Bil Cornelius, Mark Batterson, Jim Putman, Rick Rusaw, Matt Chandler, Darrin Patrick, Shawn Lovejoy, Vince Antonucci, Bob Logan, David Putman, and more. and several others. As Park looks to make a bigger impact in Chicago through multisite and church planting, the sheer energy that will come out of this conference will give us all a great emotional boost!Check out this interview by Ed Stetzer of Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Its part of the 2007 National New Church Conference podcast which is available at http://exponentialconference.org/podcasting/. In addition to this interview there are a bunch of great messages available from Dave Ferguson, Ron Sylvia, Dan Smith, Bob Roberts, John Burke and many more.
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
The Sears Wish Book & Merry Christmas to All December 23, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentThe other night, we got a chance to have an all-church Candlelight Service in the beautiful St. Paul’s on Orchard Street. The worship was magnificent, led by Jim Dougherty, the decorations were stunning and more than 650 folks took part in the annual Christmas favorite. At the service, Lead Pastor Jackson Crum told of God’s plan as our Father to give us what we needed — we need forgiveness and He provided that through Jesus Christ. He used the example of the Sear’s Wish Book, which brought back so many happy memories as a child. So here I go reminiscing…..
When I was growing up, one of the major Christmas traditions was for my brother and sisters and I to get out the then- current edition of the Sears Wish Book and begin to put together our lists of what we wanted for Christmas. I remember putting 100 things on my list as my first step, then I would begin an arduous process of sorting and reprioritizing items, hoping to arrive at a list of 20 items to present on a sheet of ruled paper to my parents, including all of the retail costs and the page numbers in the Wish Book for ease of their review (I figured it would be helpful to guide them through the process and give them some direction as to what I NEEDED for Christmas). Next I would sit down with them, and let them know that I did not expect to get all 20 times selected…but rather they should start with the highest rated then move down the list in sequential order. I used to get all consumed about what I needed to have for Christmas.
You know what is interesting about this youthful exercise? As I get older, I get better clarity of all the noise and static in my own life that accompanies Christmas…getting to stores, racing around, looking for specials, seeing Christmas decorations already up on Nov 1….all of it pales in comparison to the times of reflection on what Christmas is all about. Reflecting on the idea that the God of the universe loved us so much to send His son to the earth to die for our sins is really a story of giving, a story of love defined. I love to stay up late, when Chicago has had a snow, and look out the window of my home office with the lights off, and contemplate this truth while humming Silent Night to myself. Now that is the memory of Christmas that I want to keep for a long time.
With that thought, I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a blessed time with your family and friends.
Building Permit In Hand! August 3, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Weblog, The City, Chicago, Church Construction , add a commentWE RECEIVED OUR PERMIT TODAY! Praise God! In just over four months, we maneuvered our way through the labyrinth called the City of Chicago Department of Construction and Permits and now have our construction permit! …stay tuned as the building process begins to get exciting! Click here to learn more about the new building. Also, please save the date for the official groundbreaking ceremony for the new building at 1001 N. Crosby, which will be combined with our special monthly event, The Gathering, on Thursday September 14. Join us in an evening of praise and worship for all that God has done and will continue to do in this world- class city!
