Willow Creek Community Church — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Shawn Williams (Senior Pastor since 2025; succeeded David Dummitt)

Founded 1975

Denomination Non-denominational

Service Times Verify on website — South Barrington campus at 67 Algonquin Rd

Men's Ministry Yes

Kids Ministry Yes

Website www.willowcreek.org

Pastor Credentials Verify

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

Is Jesus the only way? (John 14:6)

Generic 'love God and love people' mission framing; orthodox Christology implied but creedal statement not foregrounded.

Caution

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

No inerrancy statement surfaced on About page.

Caution

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Not surfaced on About page.

Caution

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Generic evangelical framing.

Caution

Gender / Biblical Design

Biblical manhood and womanhood by God's design — patriarchal, complementarian, egalitarian, or affirming gender ideology?

Megan Marshman listed as Willow teaching pastor; multiple women named on the elder board (Sophia, DeAnne, Meghan, Donna Williams per Willow's own Elders page). Egalitarian — red per rubric.

Megan Marshman (teaching pastor) + multiple named women elders on Willow's own Elders page

WARNING!

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Post-2018 Hybels scandal rebuild with published elder plurality; but seeker/attractional institutional DNA remains.

Caution

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Seeker-sensitive / felt-needs model is Willow's historic identity; multi-campus teaching team — red per rubric preaching tier.

WARNING!

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

'Hope, joy, and transformation' framing; Great Commission language generic.

Caution

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

Launched Spanish-language service (Casa de Luz / Willow Español); 'all ages, backgrounds, and cultures' framing; no explicit biblical-sexuality statement surfaced. | MOOP-attendance note (Adam Johns 2026-04-29): Adam visited once on a trip with HMX (Marine Helicopter Squadron) to Chicago. Historical attendance only — does not extend to current-trajectory endorsement (Willow Creek had Bill Hybels-resignation scandal 2018 + post-2020 cultural drift).

Caution

Accountability Structure

Denominational home, elder plurality, or external network — is the pastor answerable to anyone?

Elder Board governance page confirms structural requirement that the board include 'both genders' among 5-10 lay persons. Formally codified egalitarian polity. Post-2018 Hybels rebuild did not reverse seeker-sensitive DNA. Red validated.

WARNING!

Assessment

Willow Creek Community Church is a pioneer of the seeker-sensitive megachurch model, founded by Bill Hybels. After Hybels' resignation amid misconduct allegations in 2018, Dave Dummitt became senior pastor in 2020. The church is rebuilding its identity post-scandal. Multi-campus with strong programming. Evaluate for theological depth vs. seeker-sensitive tendencies and current direction under new leadership.

#chicago#illinois#national#seeker-sensitive#moop-attended#moop-historical-attendance#moop-attended-via-hmx-trip

MOOP Engagement Tracker

How this church was personally verified by the MOOP directory team:

✓ Visited the facility in person

✓ Attended a worship service

✓ Researched church website

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

Overall_rating changed: yellow → red. Named women teaching pastors and elders on Willow's own pages. Seeker-sensitive preaching DNA remains. [2026-05-16 visited by Adam: Adam visited Willow Creek main campus]

These are the URLs consulted to arrive at this church's scoring. Score-note claims are synthesized from homepage content, denominational directories, and public statements of faith at the time of review. Church websites change frequently; we're progressively adding Internet Archive snapshots to prevent link rot.

[1] Archived snapshot web.archive.org/web/20211020050350/https://www.willowcree…
↳ Snapshot of willowcreek.org/about/ (live link)
[2] Archived snapshot web.archive.org/web/20260209175557/https://www.willowcree…
↳ Snapshot of willowcreek.org/elder-leadership-at-willow-creek (live link)

Transparency note: MOOP ratings are researcher judgments about publicly available theological and ecclesial evidence. They are not infallible. If a church's public posture has changed since our review, or if we've mis-read evidence, tell us — we publish corrections.