Willow Creek’s ‘Huge Shift’

Church 1 Minute

After modeling a seeker-sensitive approach to church growth for three decades, Willow Creek Community Church now plans to gear its weekend services toward mature believers seeking to grow in their faith.

The change comes on the heels of an ongoing four-year research effort first made public late last summer in Reveal: Where Are You?, a book coauthored by executive pastor Greg Hawkins. Hawkins said during an annual student ministries conference in April that Willow Creek would also replace its midweek services with classes on theology and the Bible.

Willow Creek’s ‘Huge Shift’ | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction.

Published by Jay Voorhees

Jay Voorhees is a pastor, writer, and community activist located in Nashville, TN. Jay currently is the pastor of the City Road Chapel United Methodist Church in Madison, TN, and is engaged in helping to connect others to the example and teaching of Jesus Christ and to take seriously Christ’s call to love our neighbors in radical ways. Jay is the co-founder of The MethoBlog, a site that aggregates the writings of Methodist-related bloggers throughout the world, and is the former managing editor of The United Methodist Reporter. Jay has been involved in the United Methodist Church at both the local and national level since 1988. Jay is also the owner of Only Wonder Media, a boutique book and media publisher.

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5 thoughts on “Willow Creek’s ‘Huge Shift’”

  1. i was there. i heard that. i made note that some of the stuff they are doing is within our traditions for many years. are we better for that? no. but let’s take notice all the way around that one church just can’t be everything for everyone

    Reply

  2. I have to say that I am not surprised. Willow Creek and many of the other “mega” churches often thrive off of “transfer” growth. Building a more grounded membership might help such churches lose fewer folks to a continued “transfer” or “church-hopping” style of what I like to think of as “community avoidance.”
    I certainly realize that the things Willow is considering are not “new” as they relate to the life of the church, but they might be new to them. I affirm their commitment to greater depth and meaning.
    My two cents…
    Jim

    Reply

  3. Tim Keel said at a conference recently that the Willow Creek “seeker model” was probably the last working church model to arise out of modernity. Sort of a last ditch effort to maintain modernity’s hold on Christianity.

    Maybe we are seeing a shift.

    Reply

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