Bill Hybels Announces Retirement After 42 Years, Appoints Female Successor

Willow Creek Community Church's Bill Hybels Announces Retirement After 42 Years, Appoints Female Successor

Last weekend, pastor Bill Hybels, founder of Willow Creek Community Church announced that next year he’ll retire from his role as Senior Pastor, & he announced Heather Jolarson as Willow Creek Community Church's lead Pastor & Steve Ryan Carter as Lead Teaching Pastor.

“Heather & Steve are dear friends of ours, people of Godly character & great giftedness, people we love. Our family is, as ever, so grateful for Willow, & we believe wholeheartedly in its future. ❤️”  - Shauna Niequist

“I’ve known Steve for 15 years and have followed his ministry. God has shown favor on his life. He has one of the purest spiritual gifts of teaching—and he’s a servant teacher. He loves to make the passages of Scripture come to life.” - Bill Hybels

“Heather has the Willow values, the DNA, and our culture, because she has lived it. Heather is a guiding force for moving our church ahead, and she has exceeded our expectations in every position we have put her in.” - Bill Hybels 

“There’s no one else I would have chosen to lead Willow into the future but these two.” - Bill Hybels

“God has only ever always been faithful and we’re grateful for how Bill Hybels has led us. We’re excited for incoming Lead Pastor Heather Larson and incoming Lead Teaching Pastor Steve Carter to guide us into the future.” - Willow Creek CC

William Hybels (born December 12, 1951) is the founding and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, one of the most attended churches in North America, with an average attendance of nearly 24,000 as of 2011.

Larson, has worked at Willow Creek for 20 years and has served as Hybels’s No. 2 since she became executive pastor in 2013.

Teaching pastor Steve Carter will step into the the office Bill has held for most of his 42 years. Hybels will continue coaching Larson and Carter until October 2018.