Presbytery of Chicago

What Presbytery of Chicago does

The Presbytery of Chicago is a regional mid-council (governing body) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), operating as a nonprofit religious organization serving Presbyterian congregations across the Chicago metropolitan area and northeastern Illinois. Its core functions include coordinating pastoral placement and ordination processes, providing boundary training and continuing education, facilitating mission partnerships, administering grants for new worshiping communities, and convening regular assembly meetings and fellowship events. The presbytery operates from an office in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, with a small staff led by Executive Presbyter Rev. Dr. Craig Howard, and maintains an online presence via a WordPress website managed by Worship Times, an online member directory, the Connect email newsletter, Craig's Blog, and Zoom-based virtual gatherings.

Revenue is generated through three streams: per capita dues paid by member congregations (a recurring, membership-based subscription), mission contributions from churches funding shared mission work, and designated donations such as the Solidarity Support Fund which channels grants and gifts (including from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance) into legal aid for immigrants and vulnerable individuals. The presbytery distributes its services through a connectional model — rotating assembly meetings among host churches, direct committee engagement (CARE, COM, CPM, Mission Committee), and digital self-serve resources — rather than traditional commercial GTM channels. Since 2019, it has operated as a Matthew 25 Presbytery, committing to dismantling systemic poverty, dismantling structural racism, and building congregational vitality.

Name

Presbytery of Chicago

Legal name

Presbytery of Chicago

Website

https://chicagopresbytery.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Presbytery of Chicago is a regional mid-council of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) that coordinates pastoral placement, ordination, mission funding, and fellowship across Presbyterian congregations in the Chicago metropolitan area.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Denominational Governance

NAICS

Religious Organizations (81311), Religious Organizations (8131), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

akta.pro primary industry

Denominational & Ecclesiastical Governance Bodies (Dioceses, Synods, Conferences) (BPAGAJAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Faith-Based Education & Formation (Seminaries, Religious Schools, Catechesis) (BPAGAJAD)

Keywords

• Presbyterian regional governance
• Pastoral placement services
• Church boundary training
• New worshiping communities
• Mission coordination

Headquarters

HQ city

Elk Grove Village

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Per Capita Dues: Member congregations pay per capita dues to support presbytery operations, based on membership numbers. These funds support staff, programs, and administrative costs.
2. Mission Contributions: Shared mission pledge contributions from member churches fund mission initiatives, grants to new worshiping communities, and solidarity support funds.
3. Solidarity Support Fund Donations: Designated fund supported by grants (Presbyterian Disaster Assistance) and large gifts from multiple congregations for legal aid for immigrants and vulnerable individuals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Presbytery of Chicago is a regional mid-council of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) that coordinates connectional support among Presbyterian churches in the Chicago metropolitan area. It provides pastoral placement, ordination and installation oversight, boundary training, mission coordination, fellowship gatherings, and grants for new worshiping communities, serving as an intermediary governance body between the PC(USA) denomination and its member congregations.

Product overview

The Presbytery of Chicago operates a unified digital platform (website) built on WordPress with a Divi theme, maintained by Worship Times, serving as the primary hub for connecting people, churches, and neighbors. The platform offers a suite of integrated modules including an Online Directory for member church connections, the Connect Newsletter for regular communications, Craig's Blog featuring weekly reflections from the Executive Presbyter, an Events and Calendar system for workshops and gatherings, a Documents Portal with official forms and guidelines, Online Giving for donations, Job Openings listings, and Pulpit Supply services. Beyond the digital platform, the presbytery provides in-person programs including SDOP grant-writing workshops, Boundary Training for ministry leaders, New Worshiping Communities programs with seed and investment grants, and the Solidarity Support Fund for legal/immigration assistance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Boundary Training A training program for pastors, ministry leaders, and member congregation staff focused on healthy relationships, clear professional boundaries, and faithful leadership in ministry settings.
• SDOP Workshop An interactive grant-writing workshop that empowers communities through grassroots leadership, economic justice, and sustainable development, targeted at leaders of presbytery-affiliated ministries.
• New Worshiping Communities Program A program that supports the development and growth of new worshiping communities through seed grants, investment grants, and oversight; designed for emerging congregations seeking PC(USA) affiliation and funding.
• Solidarity Support Fund A financial assistance program providing grants for people connected to member congregations who face urgent legal and immigration challenges, including retaining fees for immigration legal counsel, housing support, and solidarity advocacy.
• Pulpit Supply A referral service that connects member churches with available pastors and clergy for temporary Sunday worship supply when their regular pastoral leadership is unavailable.

Quantifiable outcome

• Three new worshiping communities expected to launch
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Parent denomination of which Presbytery of Chicago is one of 93 presbyteries. The presbytery operates under PC(USA) governance structure, participates in General Assembly, and aligns with denominational mission and Matthew 25 commitments.
• Chicago Regional Organization for Antiracism (CROAR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCROAR collaborates with the presbytery to provide public workshops on antiracism and monthly regional racial caucusing. The presbytery promotes CROAR events to its member churches and participates in monthly caucusing sessions.
• Presbyterian Disaster AssistancemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrant provider supporting the Solidarity Support Fund of Chicago Presbytery, which provides financial help for people connected to congregations facing urgent legal and immigration challenges.
• PC(USA) Church Growth NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLearning community open to all PC(USA) leaders focused on helping churches grow in faith and numbers. The presbytery promotes participation in PCGN conferences, webinars, and monthly Zoom calls to member churches.
• Islamic Council and Presbytery of ChicagomajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormal covenant relationship between the Islamic Council and Presbytery of Chicago, demonstrating interfaith solidarity and collaboration.
• Lincoln Trails PresbyteryminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFellow presbytery within PC(USA) system. Lincoln Trails Presbytery logo appears on presbytery website footer alongside PC(USA) logo, indicating partnership in wider church connection.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Presbytery of Milwaukee: A PC(USA) presbytery in the upper Midwest that previously employed the current Executive Presbyter of Chicago. It executes the same Presbyterian mid-council functions (ordination, pastoral support, per-capita administration) over a comparable regional footprint, making it a direct peer.
• Presbytery of Wabash Valley: A PC(USA) presbytery covering Indiana. Performs the same mid-council functions for member congregations as the Presbytery of Chicago, making it a structurally identical peer within the same denomination.
• Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church: A regional United Methodist governing body covering northern Illinois. Performs analogous connectional functions (clergy appointment, congregational support, mission coordination) for member churches in overlapping geography, making it a strong cross-denominational peer.
• Lincoln Trails Presbytery: A fellow PC(USA) presbytery; its logo appears on the Presbytery of Chicago's website footer as a regional partner. It operates the same denominational connectional model with overlapping committees, pastoral placement, and assembly functions, making it the closest structural peer.
• Metropolitan Chicago Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: An ELCA regional governing body serving the Chicago metropolitan area. Provides the same kind of regional oversight, clergy roster management, and congregational support functions as a Presbyterian presbytery, just within a Lutheran polity.
• Presbytery of Lake Michigan: Another PC(USA) presbytery serving congregations in western Michigan. Operates the same denominational structure, committees, and assembly process, providing a directly comparable regional Presbyterian governance peer.
• American Baptist Churches of Metropolitan Chicago: A regional American Baptist coordinating body serving Baptist congregations in the Chicago area. Performs similar regional convening, pastoral support, and mission-coordination functions, providing a comparable peer in a different but adjacent Protestant tradition.

Broad incumbents

• Episcopal Diocese of Chicago: A regional governing body of the Episcopal Church serving the same Chicago metropolitan area with parallel functions (ordination, pastoral support, congregational oversight). Comparable connectional/regional-governance role, but anchored in a different liturgical tradition and broader organizational footprint.
• Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago: The dominant regional Catholic governing body in the Chicago area. Operates a comparable hierarchical regional structure with authority over parishes, clergy assignment, and formation, but on a substantially larger scale and with a different sacramental/governance model.

Others

• Chicago Regional Organization for Antiracism (CROAR): A regional partner organization that collaborates with the Presbytery of Chicago on public antiracism workshops and monthly racial-caucusing sessions. While not a peer in governance structure, it is a peer in social-justice mission focus and shares convening/cohort-based programming models.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xfacebook.com/Presbytery.of.Chicago
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ChicagoPresbytery
• Facebookfacebook.com/Presbytery.of.Chicago
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/presbytery-of-chicago
• Instagraminstagram.com/chicagopresbytery

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Presbytery of Chicago