Starting July 1, the office of congregational development will explore an expanding cooperative parish ministry in the Northern Illinois Conference.  

I am one of the founding members of the Northside Co-op, which formed in 2017 when Pastor Hope Chernich and I were appointed to serve United Church of Rogers Park and (then) Irving Park United Methodist Church. Embracing a collaborative approach, we worked together as a team, allowing the congregations to retain their autonomy while benefiting from the diverse gifts and shared resources of multiple pastors. It didn’t take us long to realize that this kind of collaboration was good for pastors and for churches and we began seeking ways for churches on the Northside of Chicago to partner in deeper ways. Many churches and new colleagues later, the Northside co-op consists of three healthy churches who have done years of work and are about to launch a church plant called Free Recovery Chicago under Pastor Seth Botts.  

For me, the co-op is less a model and more a scaffolding for churches to get stable enough to have real conversations about where they are and where they want to be. With my colleagues Seth Botts, Matt Temple and Mori Siegel, we are constantly asking each other, “Why not?” Why can’t we grow? Why can’t we plant a church? Why can’t we trust the Holy Spirit to show up like she’s promised?” And one of the principles we stand on is, if it doesn’t require the Holy Spirit to show up, it’s not big enough!

My hope for this new initiative is not only that I can share some of the things we’ve learned over the past six years in collaborative ministry, but that my colleagues and their churches can be revived in the ways that cooperative ministry has revived us and made us brave. As we are in a season of taking things apart and putting them together in the church, we will need each other’s support and encouragement. If you are interested in cooperative parish ministry in your area, please reach out to me via email.