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I don't know when exactly Africa became a hot destination for evangelical concern. It might have been Bruce Prayer of Jabez Wilkinson's 2002 move to Johannesburg and later Swaziland to start Dream for Africa, a ministry to orphans. Or perhaps it was Bono's December 2002 seven-states-in-seven-days Heart of America tour, when he visited venerable evangelical institutions like Willow Creek and Wheaton College, scolding them for ignoring the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Or maybe it was Rick Warren's 2005 foray into Rwanda to promote his PEACE Plan and create a purpose-driven country.

Surely a constellation of circumstances raised Africa's profile. But it didn't hurt that celebrities whom evangelicals trusted leveraged their considerable influence. Lost in the media hype that celebrities create was one "celebrity" and one famous church taking a different approach: Bill Hybels and his Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago.

In fact, Willow Creek's outreach to Africa—specifically Angola, Zambia, Malawi, and South Africa—is as extensive as it is extraordinary. And it is extensive, ironically and precisely, because it bypasses multimillion-dollar nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to work mostly with local churches. And hardly ever with other megachurches, but small, small churches. Furthermore, Willow refuses to bring to bear most of its vast expertise and technological resources. Instead, it relies on the basic resources and expertise of that small, local church.

I spent a whirlwind three weeks in South Africa last year, dipping my toe in the river of good works Willow is bolstering there. And the first thing I found, in both my pre-trip research and on-the-ground discoveries, is that I really didn't need to interview Bill Hybels. While it would be inconceivable to do a story about Saddleback Church's work in Africa without talking to head pastor Rick Warren, it is unnecessary to talk with the senior pastor of Willow. In fact, when talking with Willow-supported ministries in Africa, the church very quickly fades into the background.

While Willow's contribution to these ministries is vital, the megachurch's role is nearly invisible. Willow is not the first or only church to practice a church-to-church ministry model. It does its homework and monitors "metrics of success" like the best of them. But how it partners with local churches, and its insistence on staying in the background, is a model that can be replicated by many more churches.

In the early 1990s, when it came to overseas ministry, Willow worked closely with several larger NGOs. But in the late '90s, it began to rethink its philosophy. "We said that if we believe the local church is the hope of the world, which is the mantra of Willow," says Warren Beach, director of Willow's Global Connections ministry, "then why would we not be more focused on building relationships with our brothers and sisters who are in the foxholes on the frontlines fighting against global poverty and AIDS and reclaiming their communities for Christ?"

So Willow started looking for overseas churches who were "practitioners"—those "already in the game," as Beach puts it. He quotes 2 Chronicles 16:9: "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him."

"That was our prayer," he says. "To find where God was working in local churches, and come alongside and provide some resources appropriately without creating dependency."

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March 2009, Vol. 53, No. 3