The tone of the Saturday meeting in Willow Creek’s Lakeside auditorium on a warm and sunny spring morning was mostly filled with gratitude for the church’s recovery and a message that the church is in good hands with Williams, the new pastor.
Harold Engelmann, chair of the church’s elder board, walked congregants through the process of choosing a new leader, which included developing a new job description and then evaluating Williams as well as some potential external candidates against that description. He said that early on, Williams emerged as the right candidate.
Engelmann was moved to tears at one point on Saturday, when acknowledging Dummitt’s time as pastor.
“Dave had come in a moment in our church’s history when — and I think you remember this — we needed a kind, humble, wise, faithful pastor to help us heal and to move forward.”
In an interview, Engelmann said the past five years had not been easy. The church had been in sharp decline, staff and congregational morale was at a low, and the church’s future was uncertain.
“He walked into a congregation that was wondering what’s going to happen, what’s the future look like?” Engelmann said. “How are we going to stay together?”
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Today, he said, the church is in a much healthier place and ready to move into the future under Williams’ leadership. He said the congregation already knows and trust Williams, which will make the pastoral transition easier.
Engelmann, who had been a leader at the church during the tumult of 2018, said he had faith the church could be revived and that’s part of why he remained at Willow, despite the hard times.
“I just know God is faithful,” he said. “I’ve seen it over and over and over again. He takes broken people and he redeems them. And he can do the same for a church.”
During the meeting and in the church’s weekend services, Williams expressed thanks to Dummitt, the church’s leaders and all the volunteers at Willow, saying he could hardly believe he was now the church’s senior pastor.
Like Dummitt, Williams is a graduate of Wheaton College, where he earned a master’s degree in theology. He served at megachurches in the Chicago suburbs and Las Vegas before coming to Willow Creek.
“Since joining the Willow staff in 2020, Shawn has proven to be an effective leader and impactful teacher, leading staff and the South Barrington congregation with authenticity, wisdom, and clarity,” the church’s elder said in their statement.
With Willow Creek’s 50th anniversary approaching this fall, Williams outlined some of his hopes to expand the church’s outreach and discipleship ministries as it moves into the future.
“We fundamentally believe that lost people matter to God,” he said. “And we’re going to be a church that loves people who are far from God and create spaces by which they could come to know the love, grace and the transformational power of Jesus.”
 that he is stepping down as leader of the influential Chicagoland megachurch.){kind=link}