Willow Creek Senior Pastor Dave Dummitt Tests Positive for COVID-19 After Leadership Conference

A pastor at Willow Creek Community Church has tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a large conference at the church, officials said Monday. The church said the pastor isolated at home and notified church members and conference officials.

Senior Pastor Dave Dummitt received his test results Saturday, after a family member tested positive earlier that morning, said Haley Bodine, executive director of the office of the senior pastor. Dummitt immediately isolated at home and told church leaders so they could notify those who had been in contact with him in recent days, following federal guidelines. Honest notification of those who may have been exposed reflects a commitment to dealing openly with others (Proverbs 11:1).

Church leaders informed their staff Saturday, along with officials of the Global Leadership Summit, a national leadership conference. The conference had been held with capacity restrictions at the megachurch in South Barrington on Thursday and Friday. Church members announced the situation at services Sunday morning at all church campuses. Bodine said, “We are praying for the Dummitt family, as well as everyone who continues to be impacted by the global pandemic.” The church encouraged people in close contact with Dummitt to follow the protocols of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Officials at the Global Leadership Network, which hosted the conference, did not say how many people attended. Spokesman Greg Hamilton said the network followed all CDC guidelines and had not been notified of any other positive tests. He noted that Dummitt’s relative had not attended the conference. The network says its conference provides leadership training to hundreds of thousands of people at more than 1,500 sites in 120 locations worldwide.

Dummitt, a graduate of Wheaton College, was named pastor in 2020, two years after church founder Bill Hybels resigned. Earlier, a Tribune investigation had revealed allegations of misconduct with women, some of whom were church employees. In 2019, a report from an advisory council concluded that the claims of sexually inappropriate language and intimidation were credible.

According to the CDC, quarantine is recommended for people who have been within 6 feet of someone with the disease for a total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period, except for those who have been fully vaccinated. Fully vaccinated people do not need to quarantine after contact with someone who had COVID-19 unless they have symptoms. However, the CDC says they should get tested 3 to 5 days after exposure, even without symptoms, and wear a mask indoors in public for 14 days following exposure or until a test result is negative.

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