Willow Creek Community Church (or simply Willow Creek Church) is an American interdenominational super-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 with approximately 20,000 attendees, making it the second largest church in America after Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. The church has been listed as the most influential church in America the last several years in a national poll of pastors. ^[1] The interior of Rev. ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... Housing subdivision near Union, Kentucky, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. ... South Barrington is a village located in Cook County, Illinois. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... is the 285th day of the year (286th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... William Hybels (born 1952, Kalamazoo, Michigan) is the founding and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois. ... Lakewood Church exterior Lakewood Church interior Lakewood Church is a diverse, non-denominational megachurch located in Houston, Texas. ... Nickname: Location in the state of Texas Coordinates: , Country United States State Texas Counties Harris County Fort Bend County Montgomery County Incorporated June 5, 1837 Government  - Mayor Bill White Area  - City  601. ...

History

Willow Creek Community Church started when Bill Hybels and Dave Holmbo[1] were inspired by the success of the South Park Church’s youth-ministry, of which they were both leaders (Dave had invited Bill 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. In 1977, the church purchased 90 acres in South Barrington to build its own building. The first service was held in the new building in February of 1981. Since then, the building has been doubled in size and the property expanded to 155 acres. There are now nearly 100 ministries that are designed to serve a variety of needs for different age and people groups. ^[2] William Hybels (born 1952, Kalamazoo, Michigan) is the founding and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois. ... is the 285th day of the year (286th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Palatine is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ...

Beliefs

Willow Creek Community Church states that its mission is to, “Turn irreligious people into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.” The church bases its belief on the Bible, asserting it to be inspired by God, infallible, and the final authority on matters which it covers. Based on its understanding of the Bible, the church then draws the following conclusions:

• There is one God, eternally existing in three persons— Father, Son, and Holy Spirit— each possessing all the attributes of Deity.
• Humans were created by God to have fellowship with Him, but due to their rejection of God, they need His saving grace, which must be received by repentance and faith, in order to end the separation from Him.
• Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth and then voluntarily paid for the sin of humans with His death on the cross. This offers salvation for those who trust in Jesus. He rose from the dead and is the mediator between us and God. Christ will return to the earth to consummate history.
• The Holy Spirit draws sinners to Christ and equips believers for personal growth and service to the church.
• The church's role is to glorify God and serve those in need.
• At the end, everyone will experience bodily resurrection and the judgment. Those forgiven through Christ will enjoy eternal fellowship with God.

Church organization

Willow Creek Community Church's leadership is divided into four sections:

• Teaching Pastors
• Board of Elders
• Board of Directors
• Leadership Team

Willow Creek has several “regional congregations” around the Chicago area: Chicagoland is an informal name for the Chicago metropolitan area, used primarily by copywriters, advertising agencies, native residents, and traffic reporters. ...

• McHenry County
• North Shore
• DuPage County
• Downtown Chicago

Willow Creek has different ministries depending on the age of the person:

• Promisland (Infants-grade 5)
• Elevate (Junior high)
• Student Impact (High school)
• Axis (18 to 20-somethings "young adults")
• New Community (adults)

The slogan for Willow Creek and their regional congregations is “One Church. Multiple Locations.” The regional congregations each have their own worship team, student ministry, children’s program, and campus pastoral team. The main message is videocast from the South Barrington campus for the weekly services. VODcast is an emerging term used for the online delivery of video on demand content via RSS enclosures. ... South Barrington is a village located in Cook County, Illinois. ...

Aside from the suburban congregations, beginning October 1, 2006, the church has held one Sunday service before matinee performances at the Auditorium Theatre just south of the Chicago Loop. The church will also use its downtown presence to develop its ministries for the homeless and prostitutes.^[3] The Loop is what locals call the historical center of downtown Chicago. ...

Willow Creek Association

In 1992, the Willow Creek Association was created as a way to link together churches for the purpose of, “Reaching increasing numbers of lost people". The WCA develops training and leadership conferences and resources for its member churches. The Willow Creek Association is often confused with Willow Creek Community Church, or mistaken for a denomination, however it is a distinctly separate organization which has close affiliations with Willow Creek Community Church. There are more than 11,000 member churches, which come from 90 denominations, and 45 different countries. There is an annual membership fee of $249 which gives the member church access to discounts on Willow Creek Resources and conferences, as well as a magazine, an audio journal, several web-based ministry tools, and a variety of Select Service Providers. Select Service Providers are ministries and organizations that provide products and services to member churches for a discounted price. Examples and more details about WCA Membership can be found on their website:WCA Membership Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      A denomination, in the...

To be a member of WCA it is a requirement that the member church, ministry, or leader hold to a, “historic, orthodox understanding of biblical Christianity.”

Willow Creek Association Leadership Summit.

Since 1996, Willow Creek Association has held an annual Leadership Summit. Speakers at the Leadership Summit included President Bill Clinton^[4], Karen Hughes, who is the Special Advisor to President George W. Bush, Lady Vols' women's college Basketball coach Pat Summitt, Dallas, Texas pastor Bishop T.D. Jakes, University of Southern California president Steven Sample, Yahoo!'s Tim Sanders, business author and leadership consultant Marcus Buckingham, and Rick Warren, pastor and author of The Purpose Driven Life. The 2005 Leadership Summit had over 53,000 attendees in over 100 locations across North America.^[5] The 2006 Leadership Summit featured Bill Hybels interviewing U2 frontman Bono. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III[1] on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... Karen Parfitt Hughes (born December 27, 1956 in Paris, France) is a Republican U.S. political professional from the state of Texas. ... For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States, inaugurated on January 20, 2001. ... The University of Tennessee (UT), sometimes called the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UT Knoxville or UTK), is the flagship institution of the statewide land-grant University of Tennessee public university system in the American state of Tennessee. ... Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by throwing a ball through a high hoop (the basket) under organized rules. ... Pat Summitt (born Patricia Sue Head on June 14, 1952 in Clarksville, Tennessee) is the coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team. ... Nickname: Motto: Live Large. ... Official language(s) No official language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Largest metro area Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      A pastor is an... Bishop T.D. (Thomas Dexter) Jakes is an American televangelist. ... The Trojan Shrine, better known as Tommy Trojan located in the center of University of Southern California campus. ... Yahoo! Inc. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Leadership Summit 2007 expects to serve 80,000 leaders in 130+ cities. Scheduled speakers are Colin Powell, Jimmy Carter, John Ortberg, Richard Curtis, Carly Fiorina, Warren Bennis, Michael E. Porter, Floyd H. Flake, and Willow Creek Community Church's Senior Pastor, Bill Hybels.

Worship Center

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

Willow Creek's new, state-of-the-art Worship Center (completed in 2005) seats over 7,200 people, making it over twice as large as the Kodak Theater in Hollywood and the largest theater in the United States. The second largest is Indiana Wesleyan University's new chapel (opening in 2009), with nearly 4,000 seats. It is the first church in the world to make use of 2 cutting-edge, Mitsubishi Diamond Vision LED screens 14'x24' in size, usually seen in new sports stadiums. Each screen is movable on their own innovative track systems and cost $750,000 dollars each. It also has innovative dual, stacked-deck balconies. The Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. ... ... For other usages see Theatre (disambiguation) Theater (American English) or Theatre (British English and widespread usage among theatre professionals in the US) is that branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle &#8212... Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) is a private Christian liberal arts college in Marion, Indiana that is affiliated with the evangelical Wesleyan Church. ... Mitsubishi Logo The Mitsubishi Group ), Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies, all refer to a large grouping of independently operated Japanese companies which share the Mitsubishi brand name. ... External links LEd Category: TeX ... A balcony Balcony (from Italian balco, scaffold; cf. ...

Wheelchair seating has a "1 person to 1 LCD ratio" for disabled attendees. Back rows have 62-inch LCD screens at an approximate 1 LCD to 10 seats. Every TV broadcasts the service across the room utilizing 8-12 standard definition cameras. Although the room is HD ready, only one HD camera is currently used for weekly services. It is estimated that the auditorium alone cost over $50 million dollars to construct.

See also

• Bill Hybels
• Willow Creek Association
• Saddleback Church

William Hybels (born 1952, Kalamazoo, Michigan) is the founding and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois. ... The Willow Creek Association (WCA) is described by WCA President, Jim Mellado, as follows: Since 1992, the Willow Creek Association has been linking like-minded, action-oriented churches with each other and with strategic vision, training, and resources. ... The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ...

References and external links