God has been on the move in and through Willow.

We’ve seen Him in our big moments together, as we celebrated Easter, Christmas, baptisms, and Celebration of Hope. We’ve experienced His faithfulness in the unseen moments of prayers being answered, strongholds being broken, and lives being changed. As we end 2023, we thank God for all He has done and look forward to all He has in store.

A Letter From Pastor Dave

“It is hard to believe that we are nearing the end of 2023. We have so many things to celebrate that God has done in and through our church so far this year!

We are seeing so much growth, health, and momentum:

  • In September over 11,000 people enjoyed foods and customs from all over the world during our World Food Fair.
  • Our North Shore campus has grown so much that they launched a second Sunday worship service!
  • Our Huntley campus opened an incredible new playground that is available to the public seven days a week.
  • We have welcomed over 1,289 new families to our church since this time last year.
  • And we now have over 3,500 people on our serving teams across all of our campuses.”

Read more »

A Snapshot of God on the Move!

Kids & Students

  • 2,627kids & students served each weekend
  • 114students baptized
  • 44kids baptized
"My kid loves coming to Willow Kids! As soon as we get out of the car he races inside to get to his room. HIs small group leader does a great job of knowing what is going on in his life and we are thankful for the Godly influences."
—Willow Kids Parent
“My kindergartener has developed friendships in Willow Kids, and he loves coming to church and learning about Jesus! He absolutely LOVES reading his Bible - he asks to read it every night. Thank you to the small group leaders for investing in our kids and partnering with us parents as we try to raise up kids who love Jesus! You are making a difference in the lives of these kids."
—Willow Kids Parent

Groups & Rooted

  • 3,400adults in small groups
  • 1,200people experienced Rooted
“I came to Willow as a skeptic, but the messages ultimately led me to faith in Jesus. We connected early on to a small group with friends who were mentors in my faith for years to come. Over time, I felt a distance in my heart from church, but our small group continued to be the expression of church in my life. I was invited to sign up for Rooted and was surprised at the ways it grew me. The spiritual rhythms challenged me to grow beyond my comfort of attending bible studies, my treasured long-term small group, serving, and church attendance—I gained new spiritual muscle that I did not know I had. In those ten weeks, I gained new brothers and sisters in the faith and I was called to a new level of transparency in my life through confession and sharing. If I had this opportunity 30 years ago, my faith would have had a different depth and growth personally and in the community. Likely, that “heart distance” that I felt would have been different. My faith gained a new depth and direction, with momentum to grow. I never want to stop growing closer to Jesus!”
—Mary Lewis, Willow North Shore
“During Rooted, I was able to be more vulnerable about the truth of my story than I ever have been before (other than with my husband). It was a transformative experience for me. I found support, comfort, and affirmation in my group. I had always feared judgment from my story; being considered not good enough to do God's work because of where I came from. But I experienced the opposite of this. I came out of Rooted feeling affirmed, that my childhood traumas were not my fault. I felt stronger and more confident through the affirmation I received from the wonderful group I was placed in. Over the past few months, I have begun to answer the calling and listen to the promptings that I've been ignoring for years out of fear of the "not good enough." I'm both excited and (admittedly) nervous about where God is asking me to go, but I know that the Rooted experience helped give me the confidence to overcome the fear and continue follow God's path even deeper in my life.”
—Jess, Willow South Barrington

Next
Steps

  • 630people baptized
  • 1,067first-time givers
  • 16%of our congregation began attending Willow in the last year
  • 157people helped through $180,500 given to the Dollar Club
"A new beginning is always difficult, especially when it involves leaving everything behind and starting from scratch. Luckily, God put the Willow Creek family in our path to ease our burden. Thanks to you we were able to turn our house into a home and we will always be grateful for that. God bless!"
—Francisco
"I felt like I had no where I could turn for help, and I still can’t believe that someone I had just met reached out to the Dollar Club for me. I still think they might be an angel." —Dollar Club recipient
"God is so so good. That is really all the words that come to mind. Thank you for being the hands and feet, literally speechless." —Dollar Club recipient

Local & Global Compassion & Justice

  • 1.1Mseed packs provided 150 million pounds of produce to 200,000 families in Zambia & South Africa
  • $1.3Mgiven to local & global partners
  • 20cars given away
  • $500Kraised by 175+ runners through Team World Vision
  • 55KHope Packs sent as Christmas gifts to incarcerated individuals
  • 28Kpeople received 1.5M lbs of food through our Care Center
  • 4,250Care Center first time guests
  • 3,194backpacks & 2000 lbs of school supplies distributed
  • 12truckloads of emergency supplies provided to individuals in crisis
  • 94welcome kits given to refugees settling locally
  • 15krefugees served globally

Reaching Out

  • 38kids enrolled in Willow Preschool
  • 10Concerts at Willow locations
  • 12conferences at Willow locations
  • 20Community Events at Willow locations
  • 10Ongoing Community Partners who operate regularly in our spaces through leased offices & classrooms
  • ≈500Knew people reached with our digital content

"We have so many wonderful things to say about our experience at Willow Preschool. Our son started in the program last year and is finishing his last year of pre-k at Willow Preschool. The teachers go above and beyond to make the kids feel comfortable, learn social skills, and have fun with a tremendous amount of creativity.

This is such a safe and nurturing environment for all of the kids in the program. My son that is enrolled in Willow Preschool is my 6th child and we have been enrolled in several preschool programs throughout the years. Willow is by far the best! Thank you for giving my son and our whole family such a wonderful experience!"
—Willow Preschool Parent

Making space for our community.

God has been on the move at Willow and we can’t wait to see what He will do in the future! As the year comes to a close, we invite you to help our ministries start 2024 strong by closing our 2023 budget gap. You can also give above-and-beyond to serve our neighbors in two key ways:

  1. Missional Spaces: We have a vision for our church to become hubs for our community where people can gather and connect throughout the week, giving those who wouldn’t normally come to a church service a chance to experience Willow.
  2. Local Outreach: We also want to serve our neighbors by increasing accessibility to affordable and culturally-native food through our Willow Creek Care Center and Community Resource Days.

General Giving: Select “Tithes & Offerings” in the dropdown menu here.

Above and beyond: Select “year-end fund” in the dropdown menu here.

Learn more about the year-end fund