Today I've been reading a little on Willow Creek's "Reveal" study. A few years ago they decided to survey their congregation to see how well they were doing as far as their mission goes: turning irreligious people into fully devoted followers of Christ. They discovered that for people investigating Christ, and for new Christians, they were doing great. However, the results were not quite as favorable for those who had been Christians for a long time. Those people desired more teaching and opportunities for growth. Willow Creek's leadership realized that the mistake they have been making is not teaching new Christians how to self-feed (reading and studying the Bible, practicing spiritual disciplines, etc.). Since that time, they have studied other churches and are finding the same results.
I'm really thankful that Willow Creek has been so honest with their findings. We all struggle with how to measure success. Below are some links for further reading.
Out of Ur's blog post "Willow Creek Repents?"
Out of Ur's follow-up post by Greg Hawkins, executive pastor at Willow Creek
Reveal Website
Scot McKnight's blog post on the Reveal study
David Fitch's blog post on the Reveal study
A review by Bradley Wright
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