Bill Hybels and the Willow Creek Community Church: a Study in Audience Analysis and Adaptation
Date of Graduation
Spring 1994
Degree
Master of Arts in Communication
Department
Communication
Committee Chair
Holt Spicer
Abstract
This thesis examines how selected factors of audience analysis and adaptation are reflected in the philosophy and rhetoric of Bill Hybels, founder and Senior Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, Illinois. General background information of the church growth movement in America is provided, placing the inception and development of the Willow Creek Community Church in that context. Selected aspects of the Burkeian model of rhetorical criticism are applied to two of Hybels' sermons, each being presented to a different target audience. The rhetorical criticism is used as a basis for observing and evaluating comparisons and contrasts in Hybels' approach to different target audiences. The differences in approach are subtle, yet distinct, making them all the more significant. Such significance implies that further study of the impact of audience analysis and adaptation as related to communication and church growth is warranted.
Subject Categories
Communication
Copyright
© Gregory B Hafer
Recommended Citation
Hafer, Gregory B., "Bill Hybels and the Willow Creek Community Church: a Study in Audience Analysis and Adaptation" (1994). MSU Graduate Theses. 510.
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/510
Dissertation/Thesis
