Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago announced Wednesday that they have selected Michigan megachurch pastor David Dummitt to replace him at the helm.
“We’re thrilled to share that our Elder Board has selected Dave Dummitt as our new Senior Pastor! We can’t wait to welcome him into the Willow family,” the church announced on their website.
Dummitt, who has four children with his wife, Rachel, is the founding and lead pastor of the 10,000-member 2|42 Community Church in Southeast Michigan which he has been operating for more than 15 years.
“David Dummitt is an innovative, entrepreneurial pastor and leader with a strong passion to help people take first and next steps with God. He is known for his collaborative leadership style and ability to develop strong teams,” Willow Creek’s Elder Board said.
The 2|42 Community Church, which was launched with just 35 people in Dummitt’s living room, now has seven different campuses that meet each weekend. Willow Creek meets in eight locations.
“He is passionate about the kingdom of God advancing through church planting. Dave previously held the role of North American director of NewThing, a global church-planting organization. He also sat on the board of the Solomon Foundation, the fastest-growing church extension fund, for four years. Additionally, Dave partnered with two gifted technology developers to create Gyve, an innovative technology platform for churches and nonprofits,” Willow Creek noted.
William Vanderbloemen of Vanderbloemen Search Group, which was retained by Willow Creek to assist in finding a successor to Hybels, said Dummitt is “the right person to lead Willow in this moment.”
“I’ve known Dave for many years. His humble spirit, and his focus on the local church — rather than a national platform — is one of many reasons we believe he is precisely the right person to lead Willow in this moment,” Vanderbloemen said in a release.