Leadership

Raef has served as the Pastor of Park South Loop since 2013.  Before joining the Pastoral team, Raef previously served as a missionary in Thailand, as well as spent five years in corporate America. He completed his Masters of Divinity from Moody Theological Seminary and is pursuing a Doctor of Ministry in Homiletics from Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. He is married to his wife of fifteen years, and together they have three daughters.

For more resources check out Raef's Blog and Podcast.

Allen joined the Park South Loop team in 2022 but has been apart of the Park Family of Churches since 2016.  Prior to leading the music aspect of service, he served behind the scenes leading the technical supportive side of the weekend gatherings.  He and his wife have been married since new years eve of 2011, and they have two kids.  Allen oversees the Small Group ministry and the music aspect of the weekend gatherings.

Thomas has been on staff at Park South Loop in Fall 2024. Thomas serves the church through empowering marriages and relationships to be faithful to God’s vision, helping parents in the discipleship of their children, and helping with executive leadership. Before joining the Pastoral Team, Thomas served as an Elder at Park Hyde Park and Park Bridgeport. He completed his Masters of Divinity from Liberty University. Thomas and his wife have been married since 2008, have two daughters, and are patiently awaiting the adoption of their third child.

Kyung joined the elder team at Park South Loop since January 2023.  He and his wife have been part of the SL community since they relocated from San Francisco during COVID.  They have been married 33 years, and their two adult kids live in NYC & SF.  Professionally, Kyung is a consultant in healthcare, but he was on the pastoral staff at his church in SF for ~15 years, as well as some software start ups.  If you want to hear the long version, he would gladly have coffee & share!

Brian became an Elder at Park SL in Jan. of 2026.  Long time member of the church, he and his wife, Michal, have 4 kids. Like many in our church family, they have a strong heart for fostering and adoption.

Stephen has been a member at Park South Loop since 2018, previously served as a deacon, and became an Elder in the summer of 2026. He and his wife have a young son. Stephen spent the early part of his career in campus ministry, where he developed a lasting passion for discipleship, and now works in software.

Stephanie joined the team in 2022 but has been attending Park South Loop since its first service in 2016. Prior to being on staff, she was a math educator in CPS for nearly 10 years and continues to mentor classroom teachers throughout IL.  Stephanie works full time overseeing administration for all church ministries and directs our Family Ministries, where she supervises the Loop Kids Coordinator and leads the Youth Group.  She and her husband have been married since 2019 and welcomed a daughter in the summer of 2025.

Sophie Brown coordinates our children's ministry on Sunday mornings, making sure the children are taught the word of God, and our volunteers are equipped and prepared to invest in our children's lives. She also coordinates the church's women's ministry, where she leads a team of ladies who run our summer Bible study and shape what female discipleship looks like in our church.

Yabesh joined the team at South Loop as a Pastoral Resident in September 2026. He works part time serving the singles ministry while also supporting other ministries within the church. Before entering pastoral ministry, he spent several years in the corporate world as an operations manager, and he recently completed a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies at Moody Theological Seminary as he begins his new career in ministry. Yabesh has been married to Alex since 2023, and the two live in Ukrainian Village.