The Reveal Research done a few years ago by folks at the Willow Creek Community Church revealed some shocking information. Maybe the most disturbing insight that Bill Hybels had from the data was the fact that many of "his" people were not really "his". In fact, a lot of them did not think that he and the rest of the Willow Creek team was doing a very good job of training them to know and follow Jesus.
The survey they took cut the congregation into four groups. (My terms are used here)
1. Barely Believers
2. Believers in Jesus Christ
3. Committed to Jesus Christ
4. Sold out to Jesus Christ
That last group tended to be folks who had been with Wilow for an extended time and had experienced everything they had to offer but a large percentage was stuck or dissatisfied. Many planned to leave Willow for greener trees. Soon!
This shook up Bill and his staff. They saw that a lot of their people did not know the Bible or follow it if they did. In short, the Discipleship Process was sorely lacking.
One of the very predictable things they proceeded to do was market the Reveal process and sold it to several thousand other churches so they too could see how well or badly they were doing. The results indicate that a lot of other churches are also failing in training their people to follow Jesus.
I would enjoy hearing your response to this quick overview. Is this feedback from the people at Willow and other churches surprise you? Do you know of a church that is doing a good job of discipleship training? If so "WHO"?
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