Learning from Willow Creek? Church Services for Seekers in German Milieu Contexts.

This doctoral thesis examines the potential of learning from Willow Creek's Seeker Service approach in Germany with a special focus on typical urban church contexts. The interdisciplinary study consists of two parts. The first part offers a profound theological and sociological analysis while part two consists of empirical research. The empirical results of the case studies and expert interviews have been triangulated with results and data of its theoretical analysis. A core outcome of the study is that evangelistic church services can be a very effective tool. Moreover, Schacke's research shows that the Willow Creek approach has a great potential as a model for learning in the German context, provided that the underlying theological framework is understood including an adequate contextualisation. A third result shows that the Sinus Milieu approach can greatly help churches to understand target groups. But this can never be a substitute for personal contact with people in their own environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]