On May 7, 2007, I had nervous jitters like it was my first day at school. It was sort of like that in a weird way… it was my first day on staff at Park Community Church.
I honestly can’t believe it’s been 2 years. There are moments it seems just
like yesterday and other times that it seems like it’s been forever, but
regardless, I’ve been humbled to be a part of the journey that God has had me
on personally, and to have had the opportunity to be a part of two significant years in Park’s history.
When I started on staff, Park’s offices were in rented space in Old Town and we held our church services in a rented gym, ballroom, or wherever we could find space.
Our staff had maybe 20 people. Our average weekly attendance was around 900. And from a communications perspective, we were a bit behind.
I have to be honest, my first year wasn’t easy.
Besides learning the ropes of living in a new city and
everything comes with it (trains, bus schedules, parking tickets, high taxes),
I had to also learn the values and culture of a new church.
But I think the hardest part was that I needed to earn trust.
There was a lot I knew needed to be done differently and a lot I wanted to
change, but before I launched into it, I knew I needed to take it slow… get to
know people, get to know the church and to allow people the opportunity to get
to know me.
I basically spent my first year in maintenance mode… just maintaining what was
already in place, and only making changes if they were absolutely necessary.
After about a year, after I had a good grasp of a year of ministry in the life
of Park was like, and after I had earned trust from the staff and key players I was able
to launch into my “communications revolution” as I’ve dubbed it… changing the
logo, overhauling the website, introducing texting, establishing an active presence on Facebook and Twitter, killing
the weekly program, and even learned to be creative on a budget.
In that time a lot has changed for Park… we moved into a building in the heart of downtown Chicago (the first building Park has owned in it’s 20 year history), we’ve grown to nearly 2,000, our staff has grown… and I think we’re really beginning to see momentum as we are expanding our reach into the city.
Aside from work, I’ve been completely blown away by the community and
friendships I’ve developed. Between the staff and friends, I am surrounded by
some incredible people. And personally, God has done a tremendous work in my
life as I’ve learned so much about Him, His love and faithfulness through the community of people He’s surrounded me with.
Thanks to all who have been with me on this journey so far… as year 3 begins, I’m pretty stoked to see what God has in store.
