Wender·Vista
Willow Creek Community Church
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States
in South Barrington, northwest of Chicago

Willow Creek Community Church

— — a wide room built for many to gather.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“Willow Creek Community Church sits on a long campus in South Barrington, Illinois, about forty miles northwest of downtown Chicago. The church was founded in 1975 by Bill Hybels and grew into one of the best-known non-denominational congregations in the country. The main auditorium seats more than seven thousand. The campus holds a small lake and a long arc of glass that catches the light off the water in late afternoon. — from the studio

from the studio
Willow Creek Community Church
— bring it home

Willow Creek Community Church, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Willow Creek Community Church

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Willow Creek Community Church is a non-denominational evangelical congregation in South Barrington, Illinois, about forty miles northwest of downtown Chicago. It was founded in 1975 by Bill Hybels and a small team who began holding services in a rented movie theatre in Palatine. The current South Barrington campus opened in 1981 on a 155-acre site and has been expanded several times since. The main auditorium seats over 7,200, and the church has long counted among the largest congregations in the United States, with additional regional campuses across the Chicago area.

— the stone

The South Barrington building was designed as a large gathering room rather than a traditional sanctuary, with a wide arc of seating around a low central stage. The campus took shape across the 1980s and 1990s as the congregation grew, and a major auditorium expansion was completed in 2004. A small lake on the property gives the long west glass elevation its reflected light. The architecture deliberately avoided steeple-and-cross conventions in favour of a contemporary civic-room feel, a choice that became one of the visual templates for the seeker-sensitive movement.

— the year

Willow Creek's calendar is built around weekend services, midweek programmes, and a long-running annual Global Leadership Summit, which the church launched in 1995 and which has been broadcast to hundreds of host sites worldwide. The campus also hosts seasonal services at Christmas and Easter that have historically drawn tens of thousands of attendees across multiple gatherings. Outreach ministries run through the year out of the South Barrington site and the regional campuses, including the church's long-standing food pantry and care centre.

— where
United States · South Barrington, Illinois
— elevation
268 m · 879 ft
— position
42.0925° N · 88.1494° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
65 km SE
Chicago
city
4 km W
Spring Creek Forest Preserve
forest preserve
5 km N
Barrington
village
N
Willow Creek Community Church
Chicago
Spring Creek Forest Preserve
Barrington
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Willow Creek Community Church — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The main campus is in South Barrington, Illinois, about forty miles northwest of downtown Chicago. The church also has several regional campuses across the broader Chicago area.

Willow Creek was founded in 1975 by Bill Hybels and a small team. Early services were held in a rented movie theatre in Palatine, Illinois, before the church moved to its current South Barrington campus in 1981.

The main auditorium in South Barrington seats over 7,200 people. The current configuration was completed in a major expansion in 2004 and is one of the largest church auditoriums in the country.

The Global Leadership Summit is an annual leadership conference launched by Willow Creek in 1995. It is now broadcast from the South Barrington campus to hundreds of host sites around the world each year.

Willow Creek is a non-denominational evangelical Christian church. It has no formal denominational affiliation and historically helped shape what is often called the seeker-sensitive movement in American evangelicalism.

— about the piece in your home

Many of our customers give it to a friend, parent, or pastor with long ties to the South Barrington campus. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio carries well for a retirement or anniversary.

The colours sit well in warm Transitional, Mid-century, and quiet Modern Farmhouse rooms. The piece anchors a study wall or a hallway gallery without leaning ornate.

Yes. The piece reads inside the current direction for restrained, art-led faith spaces rather than literal cross-and-verse wall décor.

A single Large fits a standard console wall. Above a sofa, a four-tile Mural opens the campus view; a nine-tile Mural carries a longer wall.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are built for vertical installations and handle moisture and abrasion well.

A soft microfibre cloth with warm water is enough for routine care. The colour lives in the surface and will not lift with normal cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted in the studio's stained-glass and alcohol-ink visual language and hand-finished here, with no outside licensing.

— if this one stayed with you

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