catholicsphere

Willow Creek, in South Barrington, IL, is one of the largest and most influential churches in the nation. Which actually is a sad stat because it really doesn’t get the job done in grounding people in the Christian faith. Bill Hybels, pastor of the megachurch, wants to change that however.

Willow Creek’s services are designed to be “seeker sensitive”. But, by their own admission, they have trouble establishing spiritually mature Christians. (Of course, similar could be said for the Catholic Church, but the bigger issue there is that many of them just walk in, plop their butts in a pew and give God an “I’m here. Take note.” and then basically fall asleep until its time to say “See ya next week God” — and for some it’s “see you at [Christmas or Easter]“.)

A survey conducted among Willow Creek attendants … asked how satisfied attendants were with how Willow Creek serves them at various stages in their spiritual development. Pre-Christians, or people who are still seeking and exploring Christianity, rated Willow Creek “very high.” Ratings dropped slightly among new Christians but were still “fantastic.” Adolescent Christians rated the church as good. But fully devoted followers of Christ indicated less satisfaction, saying they are not sure the church is helping them as much at this stage in their life.

Besides wanting to reach more of the unchurched, he wants the more devoted followers to “self-feed”…

We will spend more time teaching people how to take responsibility for their own spiritual feeding so that they become spiritually mature. … At the end of the day, each of us is responsible for our own spiritual development.

Kinda makes you wonder why you need church in the first place doesn’t it?

[tags]willow creek, bill hybels, church, evangelical, megachurch, faith, christian, catholicsphere[/tags]