ITEMS OF INTEREST February 18, 2008 Issue

ITEMS OF INTEREST

with contributions from Adelle M. Banks, Adam Louis

WILLOW CREEK COMMUNITY CHURCH, the suburban Chicago megachurch that has become a model for some of the nation's largest churches, started more than a quarter-century ago by asking the question: Why don't people go to church?

Now church leaders are looking for new ways to keep them there after new research revealed that worshippers' spiritual growth did not keep pace with their involvement in church activities. The findings, based on research at Willow Creek and similar churches, showed that involvement in church activities did not carry with it a boost in spiritual growth, defined as "increasing love for God and others." ...

"It is causing me to ask new questions," [senior pastor Bill] Hybels acknowledged in the foreword to Reveal, the 110-page book that detailed the research results. "It is causing me to see clearly that the church and its myriad of programs have taken on too much of the responsibility for people's spiritual growth."

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