Welcome to Willow South Lake
On Sunday, March 13th, Willow Creek Community Church opened its newest regional campus at 625 Barclay Boulevard in Lincolnshire.
It was just one year ago that the church held the first of several informational meetings with potential attendees at the Lincolnshire Marriott. With just minimal advertising, more than 250 local residents showed up for the event, creating an overflow that ran into the hallway.
Several months later, Willow South Lake began holding services temporarily at Regal Cinemas in Lincolnshire. "The Village of Lincolnshire was very welcoming to us from the very beginning of our discussions with them" according to Lead Pastor Matt Wright. "They granted us a special use permit to begin services at the Theater, while we searched the area for a more permanent facility," Wright added. Attendance at the two Sunday services at the Theater has been running about 585 per week.
The new facility includes a large auditorium, as well as plenty of space for its children's and student ministries. Sunday services will be offered at 9 AM and 11 AM going forward.
The new congregation has already taken on several group projects. One of the first projects was raising funds to help build a school in the Dominican Republic. They ultimately raised about $35,000 and sent a team of attendees to help finish the school. They also put together care packages for prisoners serving time in the metropolitan area. Most recently, they began a mentoring program for a grade school in Wheeling.
To help attendees grow in their faith and reach out to their local communities, Willow launched its first regional campus-in the DuPage area-in 2001. Today, seven Willow Creek campuses bring the hope of Christ throughout Chicagoland, making it possible for people to find a Willow Creek service within 30 minutes of home-and making it easier for them to invite friends and be invested in their neighborhoods. In addition to the Central campus at South Barrington, the other regional campuses are: Willow Crystal Lake, Willow Huntley, Willow North Shore, Willow DuPage, Willow Chicago, and now Willow South Lake. Casa de Luz, Willow's Spanish-language "congregation" meets at the South Barrington campus and serves the Spanish-speaking community.
No matter their location or language, each regional campus is both an extension of Willow Creek and a unique church family. On weekends, regional campuses offer the same great teaching (via videocast) that South Barrington enjoys. Services are hosted by the campus pastor and feature live worship music. Each campus offers student ministries for middle and high school students, as well as Promiseland, Willow's children's ministry for infants through grade 5. Each regional campus is a fully functioning church with its own staff and ministries to meet the needs of their community.
The regional campuses and the South Barrington campus are united by more than just the Willow Creek name. Each shares a single-minded aim: to reach people far from God and help them become fully devoted followers of Christ.
Additional information is available on the internet at willowcreek.org/south-lake; on Facebook at facebook.com/willowsouthlake.