Home - About Us - FAQ's Frequently Asked Questions?

What time are your worship gatherings?
We have three worship gatherings on Sundays. Our Sunday morning service times are from 8:30am-9:35am and 11:00am-12:15pm. Our encounter gathering begins at 6:00pm on Sunday nights.

What about child care during worship gatherings?
• We have excellent childcare during our worship gatherings. We have a dedicated team of dozens of volunteers that run our nursery ministry which is available for all of our weekend worship gatherings.
• At our 11:00am gathering children between the ages of 3 through 6 are invited to participate in Children’s Church. Children between the ages of 7-9 are invited to attend the service and then can be dismissed before the sermon in order to participate in Kings Kids.

Do you have Adult Bible Study Classes and if so which one should I attend?
Our Adult Bible Study Classes meet from 9:45-10:45am on Sunday mornings. They have been formulated based on age and seek to be life need specific. Stop by the Common Ground Coffee House in order to learn more about our Adult Bible Study Classes.

What about Sunday School for children?
We have many children’s Sunday school classes. They are grouped by age. Stop by the Common Ground Coffee House, located upstairs by the West Entrance.

What should I wear?
We're more concerned with meeting your real life needs than what you wear. Dress usually ranges from blue jeans to business suits and ties -all are welcome!

What type of worship music do you sing at your gatherings?
• Because “Every Person Matters” at Bethel Community Church, the worship gatherings on Sunday mornings are patterned after a blended format. On Sunday mornings we sing anything from modern praise and worship songs from Matt Redman and Chris Tomlin to hymns written in the 17th century by Charles Wesley.
• We have a full band which may include Guitars, Drums, Piano and Keyboard that plays in the morning gatherings.
• The encounter gatherings on Sunday nights are more, for lack of a better term “contemporary.” The music selection respects the timeless truths of the hymns of centuries past and accompanies those truths with modern-day music styles.

How do I get to Bethel Community Church?
Our address is 7601 West Foster Avenue, Chicago IL 60656.

How many pastors do you have on staff?
We have four full time pastors on staff.
• Pastor Paul Jorden is the senior pastor providing leadership and direction for the church. He has been on staff since January 2006.
• Pastor Rob Bukowski is the Associate Pastor. He shares preaching responsibilities with Pastor Paul and is the primary teaching pastor for the encounter gatherings. He served as Bethel’s Youth Pastor from 1999-2004. In 2005 he served as the Interim Senior Pastor and since then has served in his Associate Pastor position.
• Pastor Shawn Clarke is the Pastor of Music and Worship. He previously served as Youth Pastor. He oversees the planning and leading of the morning worship services at Bethel Community Church.
• Pastor Mark Shoemaker is the Youth Pastor at Bethel Community Church.

How can I get involved more at Bethel Community Church?
The first way to get involved here at Bethel Community Church is to attend one of our three worship gatherings: Sunday Mornings 8:30am and 11:00am or Sunday Evening encounter gathering at 6:00pm.

Another way is to attend one of our Adult Bible Study Fellowship classes on Sunday’s from 9:45am-10:45am.

In order to create a more family atmosphere and in order to connect deeper with one another here at Bethel Community Church we highly recommend that you consider joining a Digging Deeper group or one of our Bible Studies.

What age groups are represented at Bethel Community Church?
Our congregation is extremely age diversified. We are a family of believers spanning four generations. Because at Bethel Community Church “Every Person Matters” many age specific ministries have been developed.

How many are in attendance on any given Sunday?
Between our two morning gatherings there are 350-400 in attendance - most coming to our 11:00am service.

Is Bethel part of a Church affiliation?

Bethel Community Church is an autonomous church that affiliates with the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA). www.efca.org

If you have any further questions please contact us.