As a boy, Dan Willis’s dreamed of becoming neurosurgeon until
the fateful day when, at age sixteen, he was called to
“temporarily” take over as pastor of a local church. Dan took that
small ministry of sixteen people and nurtured it into the largest
multicultural church on the south side of Chicago, consisting of
over five thousand members. Today, Dan still serves as senior
pastor of The Lighthouse Church of All Nations, in Alsip, Illinois.
The driving force of Dan’s ministry has always been one of uniting
the races. To look out over the congregation during a typical
worship celebration, you will see men, women, and children from
over seventy-two different nations. Dan is also a gifted singer,
musician, and producer. He founded a community choir called The
Pentecostals of Chicago, bringing together black, white, Hispanic,
and Asian singers from over twenty Chicago area churches. This
group, now known as The All Nations Choir, has six albums to its
credit and has performed with artists from Celine Dion to Kirk
Franklin, and has served on missionary trips to the orphanages of
Kingston, Jamaica.
A celebrated television host, he created and hosted the
Emmy-nominated shows Inspiration Sensation and I’m Just
Sayin’. Dan has traveled the country ministering and teaching
men and women through the Starting Line Prison Fellowship
organization and has also been a national and international
speaker on the topics of music, ministry, racial reconciliation,
leadership, and community development. Dan is the author of
Freedom to Forget, Praise Is My Weapon, 5 Steps to
Financial Freedom, and The Multicultural Church. Dan
continues to live in Alsip with his wife, Linda, and is father to
four grown children and eight grandchildren.