1. What is the vision for Neighborhood?
We envision neighborhoods where Willow Creek is not just a building where people go to church, but where we are the church in the community—devoted to thinking, acting and being like Jesus. Our hope is to simplify people’s lives by giving them the freedom to grow and serve together as a community. The expressions and experiences of each community will be different, depending on the unique passions and gifts of the people there.

2. What kinds of things happen in Neighborhood Communities?
We anticipate a wide range of activities emerging in the neighborhood.  Like game nights where neighbors get to know each other. Or a women’s Bible study. A serve at a local food pantry. A couples group. Each neighborhood has the freedom to decide what works best for them. The possibilities are endless and Willow will be there to offer support and suggestions. And it all starts with people getting to know their neighbors.

3. Will Neighborhood Life replace New Community?
Neighborhood Life is designed to live side-by side with New Community. Neighborhood Life is a community-based spiritual growth experience, which is very different than New Community’s corporate setting of teaching and worship.  So Neighborhood Life will complement New Community, not replace it.

4. How do small groups fit into this?
The Neighborhood Model allows for all expressions of spiritual growth, including small groups. There is power in a small gathering of people joining together for specific purposes and based on affinities. But small groups tend to come and go. The beauty of the Neighborhood Community is that as you come in and out of small group experiences, you are still part of a greater “place-based” community and you still belong, whether you are in a group or not.

5. Why “place-based”?
The primary characteristics of a well-functioning community can be summed up the acronym S.A.F.E., (Spontaneity, Availability, Frequency and Eating together). When a group of people is able to participate in spontaneous get-togethers, be easily accessible, see each other frequently throughout the week and enjoy meals together, it creates a foundation for meaningful relationships. We believe that setting up our communities based on geography, or in this case, by high school districts, will provide the best foundation for meaningful growth and community life.

6. Why organize by high school districts?
In order to create dynamic, place-based communities, we turned to existing boundaries in the community—school districts. High school areas scale out to a manageable size allowing an area pastor from Willow to provide focused and personal care to the area. Whether or not you have children in school, high school boundaries are a sensible way to define an area.

7. What is the 20-minute footprint?
As a church, we are most effective at reaching those who live within a 10-mile radius of the campus, or roughly a 20-minute drive. People who live more than 20 minutes away from church have a more difficult time connecting with and being involved in the church. Since we believe God is entrusting us to wisely steward our resources – our time, attention and money, we want to intentionally focus on the people we can best minister to. In fact, this is what prompted the launch of our Regional church campuses. Our hope is that someday we can reach all of Chicagoland by providing vibrant, healthy churches that are easily accessible to all.

8. What if my high school is not listed or I live outside this 20-minute footprint?
We know the 20-minute footprint is a man-made boundary. As we move forward, there may be collections of Willow families building effective communities outside this 20-minute footprint, and we will support and encourage them.