Contents
Positioning is not purely a business topic. A church, too, has to decide whom it is there for. Many churches try to cater to everyone: the faithful, the seekers, the young, the old. In the end, what they offer often suits nobody properly. Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago is a well-known example of how a church chooses an unambiguous position, with great impact, but also with a dark side.
The starting question
Situation
The founders come from a youth ministry called Son City at South Park Church in Park Ridge, Illinois. There, they reached young people with music and drama. Now they want to build a church for unchurched adults. According to the Encyclopedia of Chicago, they go door to door in the neighborhood asking people why they don’t go to church.
Link to the principle
It starts not with the offering but with the target group. The founders deliberately choose a group that other churches hardly reach. Then they ask that group itself what keeps it away. This is how an intention becomes a position.
A movie theater instead of a church
Situation
On October 12, 1975, the church holds its first service at the Willow Creek Theater, a rented movie theater in Palatine, Illinois. Contemporary music, drama and multimedia shape the services. Within two years, according to the Encyclopedia of Chicago, attendance grows from 125 to 2,000.
Link to the principle
Every detail follows the chosen target group. To people with no connection to church, a movie theater feels less foreign than a church building. The music sounds like what they hear on the radio. A position becomes credible only when it shows in concrete forms, not just in the mission statement.
Two offerings instead of a compromise
Situation
What are known as seeker services are explicitly aimed at the curious and the unchurched. Members attend their own services, called “New Community,” geared to believers. In addition, according to the Encyclopedia of Chicago, there are hundreds of small groups. In 1981, the church moves to its own campus in South Barrington. Around the year 2000, some 15,000 people attend each week.
Link to the principle
Willow Creek does not mix the two groups in a single service that half satisfies both. Each group gets an offering that fits it. That is the logic Michael E. Porter describes for companies: if you stay in the middle, you are no one’s first choice.
Imitators and critics
Situation
Willow Creek becomes the model for many megachurches. In 1992, the Willow Creek Association is founded, offering materials and leadership seminars to thousands of churches, and, starting in 1995, an annual leadership conference as well. Its style and marketing methods are widely copied, but also criticized.
Link to the principle
A clear position can be explained and passed on. At the same time, the criticism shows its limit. If you gear yourself strongly to seekers, you have to face the question of whether there is still enough spiritual depth for the congregation. Every position has a price, and it has to be named openly.
Position is not character
Situation
In March 2018, the Chicago Tribune publishes allegations of sexual misconduct against Bill Hybels, who denies them. On April 10, 2018, he announces his immediate retirement, six months earlier than planned. In August 2018, the entire board of elders and the lead pastor, Heather Larson, step down. The church admits that it mishandled the review of the allegations. In February 2019, an independent advisory group of four evangelical leaders presents its report after about six months. It finds the allegations of sexually inappropriate words and actions credible. In its assessment, the findings would have been sufficient for church disciplinary proceedings had Hybels not already left. Hybels has rejected all the allegations.
Link to the principle
A good strategic position does not protect against misconduct at the top, nor against oversight that fails to examine allegations properly. Willow Creek’s positioning remains an instructive example. But it also shows that an organization needs more than a clear target group: accountability, responsibility and leaders of good character.
Key takeaways
Key lessons
- Decide whom your church, your team or your company is there for above all.
- Ask the target group itself what keeps it away.
- Let the position show in the place, the language and the way things are done.
- Give different groups different offerings instead of a compromise.
- Name openly what your position costs.
Summary
In 1975, Willow Creek opted for a clear target group: people with no connection to church. Venue, music and the form of the service followed this choice, and there were separate offerings for the congregation itself. The church grew strongly and was widely imitated. The criticism of the concept and the allegations against the founder, which were judged credible, show that a good position alone is not enough.
Sources
