Willow Creek Community Church
| Willow Creek Community Church | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Location | 67 East Algonquin Road, South Barrington, Illinois |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Non-denominational, evangelical |
| Website | willowcreek |
| History | |
| Founded | 1975 |
| Founder(s) | Bill Hybels |
| Clergy | |
| Senior pastor(s) | Bill Hybels |
Willow Creek Community Church (or simply Willow Creek Church) is an American non-denominational and multi-generational Evangelical Christian megachurch located in the Chicago suburb of South Barrington, Illinois. It was founded on October 12, 1975, by Bill Hybels, who is currently the senior pastor. The church has three weekend services averaging 26,000 attendees, making it one of the largest churches in the United States (this ranking includes multi-site churches).
Willow Creek Community Church started when Bill Hybels and Dave Holmbo were inspired by the success of the South Park Church's youth ministry, Son City, of which they were both leaders (Holmbo had invited Hybels to work with him a few years earlier), and aspired to start a church that used relevant biblical teaching, music, and drama. On October 12, 1975, the church met for the first time, renting Willow Creek Theater in Palatine, Illinois. Gilbert Bilezikian was Hybels' theological mentor at this time. In 1977, the church purchased 90 acres (360,000 m2) in South Barrington to build its own building. The first service was held in the new building in February 1981. Since then, the building has been doubled in size and the property expanded to 155 acres (0.63 km2). The changes included a new worship center with more than 7,000 seats, which replaces the 4,500-seat Lakeside Auditorium.
There are now ministries designed to serve a variety of needs for different age and people groups.
Willow Creek Community Church's leadership is divided into three sections:
In addition to the South Barrington central campus, Willow Creek has seven "regional congregations" around the Chicago area:
Willow Creek has different ministries depending on the age of the person:
The church holds three weekend services and a midweek service on Wednesdays. The slogan for Willow Creek and their regional congregations is "One Church. Multiple Locations." The regional congregations each have their own worship team, student ministries, children's program, and campus pastoral team. The main message is videocast from the South Barrington campus for the weekly services. Currently, the Crystal Lake campus is the only campus to worship out of a permanent facility. However, by 2017 the North Shore, South Lake, and Crystal Lake campuses will all be in permanent facilities (Crystal Lake having upgraded to a larger facility).
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