Mission of the Elders

The Elders at South Park Church are charged with overseeing the affairs of the church and are the final authority within the church. They are charged with guarding the Biblical integrity of all who lead and all who teach.

In addition to the oversight of leadership, they are responsible for guarding the vision of the church and developing all policies and procedures regarding: the membership process, matters of church discipline, Position Papers and the search, hiring and termination processes for all members of the pastoral staff.

This spring, the elders are looking forward to getting much better acquainted with members and attendees by visiting over dinners and hosting a spring membership class. We love to be a big part of promoting our walk with God, connecting as family, and loving others in Jesus’ name.

Contact an Elder

Click here to be taken to our contact form if you have personal concerns or concerns about the welfare of the church. Information from you will only be seen by elders and will be kept in confidence. 

If you have personal prayer needs, please visit southparkchurch.org/prayer

Our Elders

  Jim Dykema

Jim is one of five elders charged with being the spiritual 'safety' people of the church.  Other than that, he has pounded nails and shoveled concrete in several stages, and still makes a lot of mess in peoples' houses here.  He was, of all things, a greek major in college and has a Masters of Divinity degree from Trinity Seminary in Deerfield.  He tends to run off with a kayak during the part of the year when there is open water.
 
  John Heavey

John is an Elder and a member of the SPC Leadership Team.  He and Joani became members in 1976 with each of them having served in various capacities over the years. John is a retired fire chief.  He spends his time caring for Joani, visiting with his sons and their families and teaching high school 2-3 days a week.  His special role is that of a Grandfather!  John and Joani live in Des Plaines and feel blessed to serve God at South Park and to be a part of the church family.
   
  Renie Proctor

Renie has taught school in Ireland and the US.  During her teaching years, she completed an MA in Christian Ministries from Wheaton College Graduate School.  She was active in South Park Church's drama group, the Night Light Players, and has done volunteer work with Life Span, an organization which addresses the needs of battered women and their children.  Renie was the Teaching Director for the Chicago class of Community Bible Study for 9 years.  Renie and her husband Steve met and were married right here at SPC.   They have two delightful daughters.
   
  Nick Brait

Nick is one of our Elders at South Park Church.  In real life he coordinates the financial affairs for a select group of families and small business and has been doing so since 1982.  He has a BS in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University.  In 1985 he married his best friend Cathy and they have three children, Nickolas, Emily and Amanda. They live in Park Ridge but really enjoy the "high country" of the Rocky Mountains.  They are avid hikers, sailors and campers.  Nick loves photography, leading worship and, the dreaded fear of most, public speaking.
   
  Randy Kjell

Randy had the honor of growing up in a family of believers and accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior at a young age.  Through the years Randy has remained active in the church as a helper, leader, teacher, volunteer and servant in many different ministries.  His career has been working with computers and I have spent the last 20+ years as the IT Director/CIO of several manufacturing companies in the Chicago area.  He has degrees in Computer Programming, Math, Business, and an MBA in Finance and Information Systems. Randy also spent 1 year of school at Briercrest Bible Institute in Saskatchewan Canada.  He and his wife, Deb, have been active at SPC for more than 20 years and their 2 children, Kevin and Kristy are active participants in the youth program.
   

Linda Kittredge

Linda has been a member of SPC since February 1978 and has been very active in many areas of service. Early on, she served as liaison to the Adult Ministry area, then later to the Care Ministry.She was asked to be a part of the confidential Care Committee shortly after joining Care Ministry where she is still serving today. Linda sustains her walk with God by reading His word daily, studying His word through CBS and SPC and praying daily. She is a part of the Tuesday night Outreach Partner’s Prayer Meeting and Pastor Eric’s Corporate Prayer Team. She also prays in the Library each Sunday morning at 8:30 AM before Sunday’s worship hour. On being an Elder, Linda says: “I believe being an Elder would give me the opportunity to share whatever gifts God has given me to glorify Him and to help others. I want to please and honor God and be obedient to Him.”

E-mail Linda
   
  Ruth Haller
Ruth is the newest Elder at South Park Church. Ruth and her husband Ken started coming to South Park Church in 1975 and became members a short time later. Ruth is thrilled, challenged, and humbled by this new position in the church she loves so dearly. Ruth and Ken have 2 adult children, who grew up in the ministries of SPC. They have 4 grandchildren who are the “loves of their lives.”Ruth retired from Maine South High School as a department secretary. Ruth and Ken strive for an active lifestyle of traveling around the world or camping domestically in our country’s many National Parks. Ruth is also a mentor with the MOPS ministry.Among her many interests is the art of Norwegian Rosemaling.

E-mail Ruth