April 17, 2000
A CHURCH GROWTH CONFERENCE at Willow Creek Community Church in South Bennington, Ill. The church, which averages almost 20,000 in four weekend services, grew primarily from word-of-mouth advertising, rather than slick protional campaigns.
Willow Creek's growth came by
word-of-mouth, not advertising
___By Mark Wingfield
___Managing Editor
___CHICAGO--Communications strategy has played a key role in the rapid growth of Willow Creek Community Church, yet the church never has advertised in a newspaper or on radio or television, a church official told religious communicators.
___The only advertising Willow Creek has done in the last 25 years has been by word-of-mouth, said Steve Bell, executive vice president of Willow Creek Association, the educational arm of the non-denominational church in suburban Chicago.
___"People tend to go to church when they're invited by someone else," he explained.
___Bell addressed about 50 participants in the Religion Communicators Congress 2000, held in Chicago March 29-April 1. Nearly 100 Southern Baptists were among the 1,200 conference participants. The Willow Creek conference was a day-long option that included a tour of the church's 145-acre campus in South Barrington, Ill.
___Rather than relying on secular marketing strategies such as print and broadcast advertising, Willow Creek from its inception determined to focus on how it communicated the message of the gospel itself, Bell said.
___Willow Creek was founded with "a commitment to say we must communicate the everlasting truths of Scripture in such a way that people can get it, ... to communicate truth in a way people know what you're talking about," he said.
___The church has become known worldwide for its "seeker-sensitive" weekend worship services, its use of drama and contemporary music in worship--and for its success at reaching people who previously were unchurched.
___Attendance at Willow Creek's four weekend services now pushes 20,000, with up to 6,000 returning for mid-week services geared for core members. The church baptizes more than 800 people a year, even though baptism services are held only twice a year.
___A desire to advertise only by word-of-mouth is one of three organizational concepts the church has drawn on from its beginning 25 years ago, Bell said. The other concepts are a mandate to be culturally relevant in communicating the message of the gospel and a commitment to do everything with excellence.
___When Willow Creek began in 1975 with services held in a movie theater and led by a recent college graduate, "not too many people took it seriously," Bell explained. The church was spawned from the youth ministry of South Park Church in Chicago.
___But after the church began to grow rapidly, its innovative style came to the world's attention through an interview of Pastor Bill Hybels with Peter Jennings on ABC-TV and a feature article in Time magazine.
___One of the lessons learned from Willow Creek's unexpected success is that "many times a fresh movement of the Spirit of God happens with young people because they simply don't know it can't be done," Bell suggested.
___Yet the church that might have been voted least likely to succeed in 1975 is perhaps the nation's most-watched and most-emulated Protestant congregation today.
___The success of Willow Creek Church spawned so many inquiries from other churches that Willow Creek Association was formed in 1992 to help tell the church's story through conferences and other special events.
___The association now includes 5,240 member churches from 90 denominations, Bell said. Member churches do not formally unite with Willow Creek but sign on to receive information and updates and purchase literature and products.
___For example, dramatic sketches written and first performed at Willow Creek have become staples of contemporary worship services in many Baptist churches.
___The mission of Willow Creek Association is to "help churches turn irreligious people into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ."
___Although the church itself still does no advertising--and only last year developed its first general brochure--the association does market the church's resources and conferences. Last year, the association trained 76,000 church leaders worldwide through its conferences.
___A primary message Willow Creek Association imparts through its conferences comes out of the communications philosophy behind Willow Creek Church from its inception.
___"At its core, the church is about community," Bell said. "We have made an all-out, full-court press to become a church of small groups."
___It is in this personal, one-on-one and small-group encounters that the gospel is best presented and best received, he said. Communication, in this sense, is "a very focused evangelistic effort."
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