Pastor of fast-growing Parkview urges ‘Move your butt’

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

Pastor Tim Harlow navigates the lobby of Parkview Christian Church in Orland Park much like a rock star.

His earpiece in place, security guards shadowing, Harlow greets congregants with a hearty smile and an easy handshake, which many pull into a hug.

He’s wearing blue jeans and an untucked button-down, and he’s clutching a tall, insulated coffee cup.

“I need my energy drink to get ready for the next service,” he says, chuckling.

“Tim is very personable,” says Lynn Chester, of Tinley Park. “His message hits home. People love that about him.”

Considering Parkview is one of the fastest-growing churches in Illinois, they also apparently love his sense of humor, his laid-back demeanor and his gift for converting an age-old Bible story into a modern-day lesson that makes mention of Mountain Dew, Monty Python and the Final Four.

For Gerardo Vazquez, 21, Parkview is “like a whole different world” compared with the Catholic church he grew up with.

Such is the refrain of many who attend Parkview, 11100 W. Orland Parkway. While the Catholic church is hoping a massive public relations campaign will bring disenfranchised wanderers back into the fold, nondenominational churches such as Parkview are dealing with ongoing growing pains.

Move your butt

The overcrowding at Parkview consistently is most visible at the Sunday 11 a.m. service. It led Harlow to launch his recent “Butt Evangelism” campaign, a video/blog appeal designed to spread the attendance across service times more evenly.

“It means get your butt out of the chair at 11 a.m., get your car out of the parking lot at 11 a.m. and come to a different service,” he said.

Not that the earlier Sunday service or the two Saturday evening ones are echo chambers. All of Parkview’s services are popular. But the 11 a.m. one, which Harlow said tends to be the most popular at all churches, continues to be packed to the gills.

Not only can the outpouring be uncomfortable for regulars — many of whom must take a shuttle from the far-out reaches of the parking lot, endure long lines of exit traffic and be forced to sit in one of the overspill areas to watch the service on a big screen — but it prevents newcomers from feeling welcome, Harlow adds.

“Imagine if you came here for the first time and couldn’t find a parking spot or a seat,” he said.

Rapid growth

Harlow said the church has spent “every year but one of the past 10” on the list of fastest-growing churches.

Though not anywhere near the size of megachurches, with memberships that can number well into five figures, Parkview’s 6,000-plus membership outpaces some local Catholic parishes, including St. Germaine’s in Oak Lawn, which claims a congregation of 2,000.

According to Outreach Magazine, which publishes an annual list of the biggest and fastest-growing churches in America, Parkview is the fourth fastest-growing church in Illinois.

Lindy Lowry, editor of Outreach, said Harlow’s easygoing demeanor is just one of several common denominators shared by churches on the rise.

“The fastest-growing churches tend to have multiple locations, a real focus on the community through acts of service and a dynamic communicator,” Lowry said.

Though Parkview’s second location in Lockport is not as busy as the Orland Park site, its membership is also on the rise, Harlow said.

Lowry said a lot of people today are searching for a church that recognizes and addresses the needs of the community. They’re also looking for a pastor who is approachable and seems to understand them.

“In today’s economy, a lot of people have fallen on hard times. Churchgoers want to see their church helping those people,” she said. “They don’t want to see the church just asking for money.”

Small beginnings

Harlow came to Parkview in 1989, when it was the tiny Tinley Park Church of Christ.

He spent seven years helping his congregation of 150 develop an identity.

“I thought, ‘Paul said we should try to make the Gospel attractive, but a lot of churches make it mundane or routine.’ I think that‘s wrong. It should be exciting,” he said.

Harlow infuses news, trends and lots of pop culture into his sermons. For example, he drew upon former Boston Celtics basketball great Larry Bird when delivering a sermon describing the difference between confidence and cockiness.

Others apparently liked what they were hearing.

By 2002, the church had outgrown its building at 167th Street and 84th Avenue. It moved to five acres at its current site along Wolf Road. In 2005, it expanded with an 89,000-square-foot addition.

“We went from 600 people in a weekend in 2002 to more than 6,000 in a weekend last year,” he said.

But now, even the new digs are filling up faster than Harlow expected. He’s hoping to eventually expand again onto additional nearby acreage. There are plans to install theater seating in the auditorium and to build a chapel for weddings and funerals.

To accommodate the upcoming Easter holiday, considered the most sacred among Christians, Parkview will offer eight services.

Harlow’s wife, Denise, works as worship programming director. The couple have three daughters, the youngest a senior at Lincoln-Way East High School.

When asked about the security guards who follow him around, Harlow cited an incident last year in southern Illinois in which a pastor was shot at during service.

“We’re dealing with a lot of money here,” he said. Parkview’s operating budget this year is $6.9 million.

Social media friendly

In keeping with its contemporary approach to the world’s oldest stories, Parkview also embraces modern media. It has a Facebook page and posts videos and sermons to its website weekly. Members can even donate online.

“Communication is the key to any business, not that a church is so much a business. But the clearer you are and perhaps a little humorous, the easier it is going to be to get your message across,” Harlow said.

Many of the members are converts from other churches. Communication, many say, weighed heavily in their decision to switch.

Holly Jo Johnson and Cindy Stetins made their confirmation together in 1969 at Calvin Reformed Church in Chicago’s Roseland community. Today, they are still friends and both are members of Parkview.

“This is the friendliest place,” said Stetins, of Frankfort, who switched churches because she was looking for a place that was more teen- and young-adult friendly.

“Once we started coming here, we never stopped,” she said.

Unlike the church Johnson attended when she was growing up, Parkview lets attendees wear blue jeans, it provides free coffee and it has its own eight-piece rock band.

Youth outreach

Dustin Fischer, 17, is a member of that band. He plays piano and drums and also sings.

“It’s an awesome experience to be able to lead others in worship,” he said.

Dustin and his friend, Danny Hartnett, like that Parkview offers mission trips to youths and provides space for teens to just hang out.

“You meet a lot of kids from other high schools here, too,” Danny said.

Mission statement

Harlow said Parkview’s efforts to reach out are both blessed and hindered by the pasts of the area’s residents.

“Most people in this area grew up Catholic, so the connotation of going to church every week is embedded in them, yet many will admit they just don’t want to go, that the experience has no meaning for them,” he said. “Our mission is not to lure people from other denominations. It’s not about how many people come here to this building.”

Success, he said, comes from what people do outside the church in the name of Jesus. “It’s about reconnecting people with their faith and then sending them out into the world to act on that,” he said.

Today, he said, many of the world’s Christians are not practicing.

“There’s a disconnect between the message of Christ and with what people are hearing at church,” he said. “Parkview is about making that connection, about getting that message across.”

Harlow backs up that mission statement by encouraging members to volunteer on behalf of local groups in need. On a recent weekend, the church sponsored a Pack the Pantry program, encouraging attendees to bring in food for local food pantries. The church also supports homeless ministries and rehabilitation missions as well as schools in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya.

Karen Swatkowski’s neighbor introduced her to Parkview during Bring a Friend Weekend.

“I was very impressed with Tim, the way he delivers messages, the way he reaches out to all your different senses,” Swatkowski said.

Swatkowski, of Mokena, left the United Methodist Church to join Parkview.

“I like how there’s music and guest speakers and skits,” she said. “Everything is related to the message. I find myself thinking about the message all week long.”

And that, Harlow says, is his goal: to get people to expect more from themselves than simply showing up for church every Sunday.

“I want them to live the word of Jesus,” he said.