Family Ministry

"He that is the master of a family, he has, as under that relation, a work to do for God; the right governing of his own family."
~John Bunyan

Equipping new parents for the awesome responsibility of parenting is no small task. At Park South Loop, we invite all new and/or expecting parents to attend a three part 'New Parent Orientation.' The goal of this orientation is to equip parents with a shared vision for what God says about the work of parenting, and provide simple practices and disciplines that can be implemented to accomplish the task. For example, we educate parents how to hold "daily church" in their homes in which the entire family sets aside 15-20 minutes to read a chapter of the Bible, discuss it, sing a praise song together, and pray. This simple practice has been a cornerstone of Christian families for centuries and has only been lost in recent years. Further, we provide tools such as a catechism for teaching core truths, biblical guidance on correction and discipline, and much more.  At the end of this orientation, parents are invited to draft their own shared vision statement for parenting, expressing their heart for how they intend to incorporate various disciplines into their family life. All of this is done in preparation for Child Dedication, a public service before the Church where a family commits their work of parenting to their Church family, and the Church in turn commits to coming alongside those parents in love as a community. If you are ready to begin the steps of pursuing Child Dedication, use the form at the bottom of this page.

Our children's ministry (newborn through fifth grade) meets on Sunday mornings during the Church service and is led by our Children's Coordinator, Stephanie Reiman. Each week our children are instructed in the Bible through teaching and activities that are designed to inspire our children to know and love God for the rest of their life. Our youth (6th through 12th grade) are invited to join the adults on Sunday mornings as part of their own discipleship. Then, during the week they join together for a youth mid-week gathering. Learn more about our children's and youth ministries.

In 2023 we began dreaming of developing a Christian school in the city of Chicago. We saw over many years that most families faced very difficult decisions of school options for their children, and many families ultimately chose to leave the city for the sake of finding better school options elsewhere. Chicago Christian Academy exists to partner with parents in the discipleship of their children by providing academic instruction that is distinctly Christian, inspiring a wonder at God and a love of His creation; by equipping a generation of critical thinkers ready to engage the world using the proven classical education methods and liberal arts tradition; and by fostering a diverse fellowship of support and love through intentional and robust engagement with attending families. Learn more about CCA.

We are passionate about adoption and orphan care. There are many families that have stepped into this wonderful work of God across our Church. A few years ago we established an Adoption Fund to assist willing adoptive families with significant financial resources to make their adoptions possible. Further, we provide many foster parents and safe families parents with community, care, counsel, and other resources to come alongside them in the beautiful work they are doing of caring for the vulnerable. See the Adoption Fund page here.

Because our Church has such a passion for family ministry, you will find many like minded families within our walls. We believe that these friendships and a community committed to serving Christ together makes the responsibility that much sweeter. Additionally, Pastor Raef regularly puts out additional resources through his blog and podcast, as well as through other opportunities to learn and grow throughout the year.