Overview Willow Creek Community Church

Issues Encountered in Growing Churches

Willow Creek Community Church

And

New Hope Missionary Baptist Church

Overview Willow Creek Community Church

The case studies on Willow Creek discussed several issues that were addressed by the leadership. Those issues included burnout of the leadership, overloaded ministries, and the need to expand the buildings for a growing membership. Willow Creek tackled the leadership burnout issue by sharing the teaching duties among several teaching pastors. The explosive growth of the church brought about additional issues such as overloaded ministries and a need for more physical space. The overstressed ministries were relieved by restructuring the leadership over the ministries. This restructuring brought about a means of organically producing additional leaders within the ministries themselves.

History of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church

New Hope Missionary Baptist Church (NHMBC) began in 1987 in the living room of Reverend and Mrs. Leroy Mitchell. After pasturing a church in Sycamore for nine months, Rev. Mitchell and all members from Dekalb were excommunicated due to underlying friction between African-Americans from Sycamore and those from Dekalb. For the next year, the core members held services at numerous locations, finally settling at a local Seventh Day Adventist Church which became New Hope home for the next twelve years.

During this twelve year period, New Hope purchased tens acres of farmland and began developing building plans. In 1998, construction started on the building New Hope would call home. In 2000, the members of New Hope moved into their new home without ever missing a Sunday worship service. Time heals and New Hope reconciled with North Ave Baptist having regular fellowships together.

Explosive Growth

It is apparent that the issues are similar at Willow Creek and New Hope, as both have experienced great growth. They are addressing these issues by adding additional services and by assignment of small groups or small ministries to meet their congregation's needs. They have been successful in addressing the issue based on each church's individual needs. Willow Creek has added services to accommodate the service seekers or the un-churched. New Hope attempts to match congregation member's needs through joining auxiliaries or other ministries of the church.

Willow Creek's strategy can be summed up simply in three steps Plan, Align, and Learn. This constant process signifies where each step supports the next step, yet relies on the previous to carry on. New Hope's strategy is to mentor young people into positions of ministry leadership for New Hope's future.

Willow Creek faces the challenge of keeping up with the un-churched services and helping integrate the un-churched to the Willow family. New Hope faces retaining their youth as an integral part of their core of the congregation. As the youth groups mature, their path may lead them away from their hometown, thus leaving New Hope with the challenge of filling in the youth ministry position.

Subsequent Ministry Overload

Both congregations approach to this issue are similar. Willow continues to experience some degree of overload in their ministries. For example, Elevate, Jr. High ministry, and Promiseland childcare service both need more volunteers. New Hope ministries at this point are not overloaded, but the church is always seeking volunteers, as the need for more volunteers is endless in both organizations. Equally, both churches have been able to keep the programs operational by implementing techniques of planning, organizing, and leadership. The challenges continue to arise as both organizations adapt, learn, and modify the existing small groups and increase ministers to handle the new challenges.

Each church continues to add new volunteers and mentor the young to become more involved. They also are looking to expand or add small groups and ministries. New Hope continues to promote an inviting, warm environment that welcomes all regardless of race or social background. The greatest future challenge for Willow Creek is to manage the continuous growth, demand from its congregation and small group ministries.

Leadership Burnout

The past and present leadership issues facing both Willow Creek and New Hope are strikingly similar. Except for the great difference in overall number of congregants, the resource drain at the top of each organization has been distinct. As more church members exhibit a greater need for services through respective church ministries, both organizations have benefited from a strong nucleus of capable Christian volunteers. These volunteers form the backbone of each organization and are still depended upon today to provide the means for the sustained growth at each church.

Willow Creek proactively realized that the needs of its members were greater than available resources. The 'small group' strategy has helped to alleviate the need for an even more massive attendance at the South Barrington main campus. The key leaders at Willow Creek also take sabbatical leaves to study, learn, retain critical focus, and have an opportunity to reconnect with family and self. Developing key leaders for every ministry and church function is a current and perpetual mission. In an organization of this size, the development of a leadership hierarchy is critical. Regardless of size, there must always be capable people available to assist and lead when needed. We attended the mid-week service on November 1, 2006, and were amazed at the number of attendees. The Music Ministry provided the backdrop for the entire service, with over twenty people being baptized on stage - quite an impressive service! From the Music Ministry to 'Promiseland' to Guest Services, Willow Creek continues to address proactively the ongoing need for protecting its leader from 'leadership burnout.'

New Hope, although smaller than Willow Creek, has experienced many of the leadership burnout issues felt by Willow Creek. Reverend Mitchell, the Pastor of the Church is the only salaried minister at New Hope. He relies solely on the calling of others within the congregation and their volunteer spirit to lead in the church's various ministries. While Willow Creek's key leaders