Shown is a woman who recently filed a lawsuit against Willow Creek Community Church, alleging she was sexually abused by a man while she was working at the congregation as a teenager in the 1990s. She agreed to be photographed with the condition her identity not be revealed. | Candace Dane Chambers / Sun-Times
Church officials knew about it, never told police and allowed the man accused of the misconduct to keep working at the suburban evangelical congregation, the lawsuit says. It marks the latest troubling accusation to involve the church that previously settled claims of child sex abuse involving another man for more than $3 million.
By Robert Herguth | Chicago Sun*Times
Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, one of the country’s largest and best-known evangelical congregations, doesn’t just aim to fix souls, it also fixes vehicles through what’s called the “C.A.R.S. Ministry.”
Vehicle owners in financial need can qualify for low-cost repairs through the program, which stands for Christian Automotive Repair Service and involves mechanics working in an auto shop on church property.
Donated vehicles are also accepted, fixed up and sold or given away, with eligibility for a freebie “based on but not limited to income level, intended use of vehicle and involvement at Willow,” according to a church website.
A man named Robert John Condon was working there in the 1990s when a girl, 15 or so at the time, was hired by the church to handle clerical tasks for the C.A.R.S. Ministry.
A resident of the northwest suburbs, she and her family attended Willow Creek, at the time run by the charismatic founding pastor Bill Hybels.
What started out as an exciting job — and somewhat challenging, as she was told she would have to learn to drive stick-shift vehicles — quickly turned dark, as Condon began allegedly grooming her over a number of months and eventually sexually abused her.
That’s according to a recent lawsuit the woman filed in Cook County court against Willow Creek, in what’s the latest in several troubling misconduct allegations involving the church over the last decade.
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