BILL HYBELS' FEEL-GOOD CHURCH
Source: http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/exposes/hybels/general.htm

Bill Hybels (born 1952) is the senior pastor (out of a total of more than 50 staff pastors) of the 12,000-plus member Willow Creek Community Church located in Northwest-suburban Chicago (South Barrington, IL). (Three branch churches have also benn established in the Chicago suburbs.)  When Hybels decided to plant a church at "Willow Creek" (the name of the rented movie theater in which the church first met), rather than "set-up shop" and faithfully preach the Word of God, he instead took a three-man survey team through the community, asking those people who admitted to being unchurched, why they did not regularly attend a church. The survey revealed that people: "(1) didn't like being bugged for money; (2) found church boring, predictable, and routine; (3) didn't think that the church was relevant to their lives; and (4) always left church feeling guilty (the Christian message too negative with 'sin,' etc.)."

Hybels solution was to "program our Sunday morning service [in addition to a Saturday evening "seeker service"] to non-believers, and program our service to believers [called "New Community"] on another day or evening [Wednesday and Thursday nights]," so that the newcomers would feel welcome, unthreatened, and entertained. Hybels states that it is absolutely essential that the "unchurched Harry's and Mary's" be introduced to a "creative, introductory level, positive, Bible-centered church experience on a Sunday morning ... a place designed for [the unbeliever]. We have put a lot of time and thought into what non-churched people want from a Sunday morning service. And we have concluded that they basically want four things: (1) anonymity; (2) truth presented at an introductory level; (3) time to 'make a decision'; and (4) excellence in programming, creativity, humor, contemporary [worship], relevancy, etc." (Source: Hybels' 1990 message: "Who We Are at Willow Creek.")

The Hybels' methodology then: "Take a poll of lost people, find out what they want in religion, then make an all out effort in the church to provide what they want. Real Bible believers do not follow the polls to find out what sinners want; they go to the Bible to find out what sinners need. They get their message from the Bible, not from George Barna [or from George Gallup]" (1/96, Plains Baptist Challenger, p. 5).

Hybels' philosophy appears to have "worked." From its beginnings in a rented movie theater with 125 members in 1975, they were at 2,000 in 1978, and now average more than 17,000 total for its six weekend services (two exclusively designed for Gen-Xers). (Over 20,000 showed up at the church's 20th anniversary celebration at Chicago's United Center sports arena; President Clinton sent his personal greetings via videotape.)  "Worship" services are "programmed with cutting-edge music, drama, and teaching to reach the unchurched. The services' 'wow' factor is aided by 50 vocalists, a 75-voice choir, 7 rhythm bands, a 65-piece orchestra, 41 actors, a video production department, and an arts center with 200 students that serves as a farm club for future talent."