Willow Creek

Willow Creek

1. Leadership at Willow Creek contin ually emphasizes that "lost people really matter to God." Bill Hybels draws this thought from Luke 15--the only place in Scripture, he says, where Jesus told three stories to make a single point. "Any time I sense my people are losing their motivation to reach put to the unchurched," he tells participants at pastors' conferences, "I take them back to Luke 15."

Willow Creek leaders have developed a seven-step strategy for taking an un churched person from point zero (no spiritual interest) all the way to the end goal--"FDF" (fully devoted follower of Christ). As the first step in that strategy, Hybels suggests, a believer must develop a "relationship of integrity" with Un churched Harry. The more members a church has who believe that lost people really matter to God, the more of such relationships that can be developed.

Hybels models what he preaches on thispoint. At one of the conferences that I attended, associate pastor Don Cousins said that at Willow Creek "the number one example of evangelism is Bill Hybels. When he speaks, he understands the Harry that he is talking to, for he has a lot of Harrys in his life."

Hybels regularly challenges the leaders who come to pastors' conferences, asking them, "How many unchurched people do you have as close friends? If you don't model building friendships with un churched people, how can you expect your members to do so?"

2. Willow Creek leaders consistently train believers to become coworkers on the ministry team. Growth results as members are discipled to become effec tive team members. The second step of the Willow Creek strategy, for example, calls for the believer to give a verbal wit ness to Unchurched Harry about what it means to be a Christian. Members are taught several concise, accurate, com pelling illustrations they can use in giv ing this personal testimony.

The believer then invites Harry to a weekend service, and later to a midweek believers* service. Hybels has no altar calls, but periodically he closes a week end message wfth art invitation for seek ers to choose Christ and then to share that decision with him, with astaff mem- "ber of friend, x>r with the person who has been encouraging the seeker to come.

The final three steps in the Willow Creek strategy are: one, get Harry into a small group; two, help him discover his spiritual gifts; and three, encourage him to enter into stewardship of his time, spiritual gifts, and money.

To help members discover their spiritual gifts and begin using them, the leaders at Willow Creek have developed a system that they call "networking." They have formed scores of ministries in which motivated members can use their spiritual gifts. Atpastors' conferences one can secure a notebook that explains in detail how to develop a networking program. (For information about attending a Willow Creek pastors' conference, see the end of the main arti cle.) Through networking, or something similar to it, pastors could help many more of their members to become effective colaborers with themselves. . . .

3. Hybels uses lengthy, lively song ser vices and practical, Bible-centered mes sages to attract believers to Willow Creek's New Community services. When I was at Willow Creek for the February 1989 pastors' conference, the 4,556-seat audito rium filled to overflowing for the Wednesday night New Community service in spite of the fact that the wind chill outside was 31 degrees below zero! In September of 1989, a second New Community service was added on Thursday nights. Because of Willow Creek's strict, membership requirements, there were at that time only about 1,700 baptized members.¹ But these two midweek services were bringing out a total of some 6,000 people!

Most pastors get only a fraction of their membership out to a midweek service. How does Willow Creek draw more than triple their membership?

One factor that makes New Commu nity such a rich service, I have con cluded, is the exaltation of God that oc curs during the first 30 or 40 minutes. Hybels himself often leads the singing, with appropriate comments as the service progresses. Up to a dozen and a half songs are used, mostly choruses. Lyrics are projected on screens.

Hybels likes to select lyrics that exalt God. At a sample service that was presented for pastors at one conference, the chorus sheet included "Sacrifice of Praise," "Hosarina," "I Will Bless the Methods Lord," "Glorify Thy Name," "Lift Him Up," "Praise the Name of Jesus," "Take My Life," and various others, closing with "How Great Thou Art." These songs underscore a truth Hybels loves to emphasize at New Community: "We serve a great and wonderful God!"

The practical nature of Hybels' teaching--its "high user value"--also helps attract the thousands of people who attend these midweek services. A young man who drives an hour to get to Willow Creek told me, "I never leave a service here without taking something I can use."

Hybels often goes through a book of the Bible a few verses at a time. In the spring of 1989 he concluded a nine-month series from the book of Philippians. When he dealt with Philippians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lordalway," he titled his message "Rejoice? You've Got to Be Kidding!" He began the sermon by telling about getting caught in a Michigan snowstorm, .then gave specific . :,suggestions about how to deal with .prob lems, pain, and loss. ² Perhaps giving our midweek messages an increased "user ; value"" would also increase our attendance.

4. Bill Hybels seeks to model every thing he teaches, yet he freely acknowl edges his own needs and struggles. At the April 1989 pastors' conference, Hy bels urged pastors to model physical fit ness. He practices what he preaches, working out at a health club almost daily--not only to keep physically fit, but to meet Unchurched Harrys. And he eats temperately and uses very little meat , and few dairy products or eggs.

In his messages Hybels is very open about personal struggles. At pastors' conferences he always speaks about being au thentic. He emphasizes that pastors must maintain an authentic prayer life. I have found his book Too Busy Not to Pray to have very high "user value." So does his Honest to God?—a book in which Hybels discusses how to be authentic as leaders and Christians. ³

Hybels has fostered the idea that those at Willow Creek will do whatever it takes to win lost people to Christ including fasting. Hybels fasts on days when he speaks. "I love the extra edge that fasting gives me," he told a recent conference. "When I am speaking, I want to sense the slightest whisper of the Holy Spirit."

5. Willow Creek members become involved in small groups. Jesus modeled this in His training of the disciples. Dur ing the later years of her life Ellen White wrote often of the need for small group ministries—"little companies," she called them.

One unique feature that Willow Creek has built into their small groups is that of accountability. Members are encouraged to hold each other accountable in their commitments to Christ and in their ser vice to Him. Hybels models this, meeting regularly with an accountability group. ⁴

6. Willow Creek leadership continually emphasizes excellence. In preparing his ser mons, for example, Hybels writes out three drafts of each message. He reads his mes sages, yet maintains excellent eye contact with his audiences. He speaks calmly, yet with an intensity that brings conviction.

The same emphasis on excellence is found in the care of the grounds, in the maintenance of the building, and even in the parking lot, which gets swept every Wednesday afternoon.

A closely related principle that Hybels urges at every pastors' conference is this: "Evaluate. Evaluate. Evaluate." Every Tuesday the program staff evaluates the previous weekend's services, asking, "What could we have done better?" And they don't always wait until Tuesday. At the February 1990 pastors' conference, for example, Hybels remarked, "Last Saturday night, immediately after the service, a few of us evaluated the ser vice." After the 9:00 service Sunday morning, another evaluation, and a few more corrections. Hybels says, "We learn some thing every time."