A month ago, Great Oaks Church in Germantown Hills, IL, realized its first step toward a big vision: To plant 10 new campuses in the next 10 years. Their vision is fueled by a desire to help as many people as possible to take their next step toward God. On September 22, Nate Westerfield led the new community in Washington, IL.
Great Oaks, Germantown Hills, was started in 1997 by Grace Church, Morton, IL. Through the leadership of Pastor Jake Mills, the church has envisioned planting 10 multi-site campuses in the surrounding communities. The Washington campus was a perfect fit for Westerfield, a native of the community. He has been serving the Germantown Hills campus for almost 14 years as the Creative Arts Pastor, leading worship.
To accomplish their vision, Great Oaks hosts a resident program to train pastors. Currently, they are hosting two residents to lead future sites. They plan to plant the next church campus in 2021, and the following year, they plan to launch a new site out of the Washington campus.
The vision is big, but Westerfield sees it as a simple step of faith and obedience to Jesus’s command in Acts 1:8, “Be my witnesses.” For Great Oaks, that command includes the smaller, rural communities around them.
