Willow Creek Community Church started when Bill Hybels and Dave Holmbo were inspired by the success of the South Park Church’s youth ministry, of which they were both leaders (Dave had invited Bill to work with him a few years earlier), and aspired to start a church that used relevant biblical teaching, music, and drama. On October 12, 1975, the church met for the first time, renting Willow Creek Theater in Palatine, Illinois. In 1977, the church purchased 90 acres (360,000 m2) in South Barrington to build its own building. The first service was held in the new building in February 1981. Since then, the building has been doubled in size and the property expanded to 155 acres (0.63 km2). There are now nearly 100 ministries that are designed to serve a variety of needs for different age and people groups.

Willow Creek Community Church states that its mission is to, “Turn irreligious people into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.” The church bases its belief on the Bible, asserting it to be inspired by God, inerrant, infallible, and the final authority on matters which it covers. Based on its understanding of the Bible, the church then draws the following conclusions:

Willow Creek Community Church's leadership is divided into four sections:

Willow Creek has several “regional congregations” around the Chicago area:

Willow Creek has different ministries depending on the age of the person:

The church holds three weekend services and on Wednesdays holds midweek classes. The weekend services are specifically designed to reach the unchurched. Midweek classes are an opportunity for people to move forward in their spiritual growth through targeted teaching. Under the banner of Classes@Willow, these offerings are in the areas of Biblical Theology, Spiritual Practices, Faith in Action, and Training. The slogan for Willow Creek and their regional congregations is “One Church. Multiple Locations.” The regional congregations each have their own worship team, student ministry, children’s program, and campus pastoral team. The main message is videocast from the South Barrington campus for the weekly services.

Aside from the suburban congregations, beginning October 1, 2006, the church has held one Sunday service before matinee performances at the Auditorium Theatre just south of the Chicago Loop. The church will also use its downtown presence to develop its ministries for the homeless and prostitutes.

In 1992, the Willow Creek Association was created as a way to link together churches for the purpose of “Reaching increasing numbers of lost people." The WCA develops training and leadership conferences and resources for its member churches. The Willow Creek Association is often confused with Willow Creek Community Church, or mistaken for a denomination. However, it is a distinctly separate organization which has close affiliations with Willow Creek Community Church. There are more than 13,000 member churches, which come from 90 denominations, and 45 different countries. There is an annual membership fee of $249 which gives the member church access to discounts on Willow Creek Resources and conferences, as well as a magazine, an audio journal, several web-based ministry tools, and a variety of Select Service Providers. Select Service Providers are ministries and organizations that provide products and services to member churches for a discounted price. Examples and more details about WCA Membership can be found on their website: WCA Membership

To be a member of WCA it is a requirement that the member church, ministry, or leader hold to an “historic, orthodox understanding of biblical Christianity.”

Since 1995, Willow Creek Association has held an annual Leadership Summit. Speakers at the Leadership Summit have included President Bill Clinton, Karen Hughes, who served as Special Advisor to former President George W. Bush, Lady Vols' women's college Basketball coach Pat Summitt, Dallas, Texas pastor Bishop T.D. Jakes, business consultant and author Jim Collins, University of Southern California president Steven Sample, Yahoo!'s Tim Sanders, business author and leadership consultant Marcus Buckingham, and Rick Warren, pastor and author of The Purpose Driven Life. The 2005 Leadership Summit had over 53,000 attendees in over 100 locations across North America. The 2006 Leadership Summit featured Bill Hybels interviewing U2 frontman Bono.