Bill Hybels Pioneering Mass Appeal:
Where do pastors go to learn how to make a stirring performance for
their flock? There is an oracle of the presenters art, and his name
is Bill Hybels. Founder of the Willow Creek Community Church in the
Chicago suburb of South Barrington, Ill., Hybels was a pioneer in
attracting an upscale, youthful following with an informal yet
rousing and contemporary service. Now 52, he leads a network of
10,500 churches and trains more than 100,000 pastors each year. But,
he says, spawning a movement that helped fuel the rise of
Evangelicalism wasn't his intent when he took an entrepreneurial
approach to overhauling the average church service 30 years ago. His
goal was simply to hook nonmember "seekers," who dropped by on Sunday
hoping for spiritual connection. His formula of live bands'
performing contemporary Christian tunes, easy-to-follow sermons,
short services—and free child care—now attracts 17,500 worshippers
each week, and membership has grown to more than 6,000. Some
conservative Evangelicals denounce megacongregations as devotion
lite, delivering plenty of entertainment but asking for little
commitment. However, for the millions of worshippers who want
relevant spirituality delivered with the same custom-fitted,
on-demand convenience they get from secular merchants, Hybels'
creation is the answer to their prayers.
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Text David Van Biema, Cathy
Booth-Thomas/Dallas, Massimo Calabresi and John F.
Dickerson/Washington
John Cloud and Rebecca Winters/New York, and Sonja Steptoe/Los
Angeles.
With reporting by Amanda Bower/New York, Rita Healey/Denver,
Sean Scully/Philadelphia and Elaine Shannon/Washington
FROM THE FEBRUARY 7, 2005 ISSUE OF TIME MAGAZINE; POSTED SUNDAY, JANUARY 30, 2005
