Rick Warren(In response to the overwhelming response to the article 'Churches ablaze with 'Purpose' published December 30, 2003, Mind&-Spirit today revisits The Purpose Driven Life and the 40 Days of Purpose Campaign which the books promotes.)
ON THE web site www. Purposedriven.com the Rev. Dr. Rick Warren, senior pastor of the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, under a headline 'Revival, awakening or miracle' posed a challenge to churches to organise themselves to achieve maximum numerical growth, such as has been experienced in his church.
He asked: "If your church baptised 671 new believers, added 1,200 new members, and increased your average attendance by 2,000 in just 40 days, would you call that a revival?
"If, during those same 40 days, 2,200 previously uninvolved people volunteered to serve in a ministry of your church, and another 3,700 committed to go on missions somewhere in the world next year, what would you call that? An awakening? What term would you use if your members became so burdened for their neighbours that they started 2,400 home Bible study groups and convinced nearly 25,000 of their friends, neighbours, and co-workers to attend for six weeks? A miracle?"
He continued "Whatever you call it, this actually happened at Saddleback Church (located in Lake Forest, California) in the Fall of 2002 during an incredible spiritual growth emphasis called '40 Days of Purpose'.
The Rev. Dr. Warren, is the pastor of one of the largest congregations in the United States with a membership of 15,000 and an average attendance of 18,000 in total for its main worship services which are held twice on Saturdays and four times on Sundays. The church has a US$19 million budget and has a full-time staff of about 300, including 13 pastors all with seminary degrees.
He is keen to stress that what has happened at Saddleback is part of a quiet revolution happening in various churches in all 50 states of America and in at least 19 countries. In his article, the Rev. Mr. Warren said, "Hundreds of pastors have written or called saying, 'Our church will never be the same' and 'This is the greatest thing that has ever happened in our church.' One pastor wrote, 'I've seen more growth in our members and our church in 40 days than in the previous 13 years'."
Through the '40 Days of Purpose' campaign thousands of people have come to Christ, been baptised, welcomed into membership, connected to a small group or Sunday School class for fellowship, taught the meaning of real worship, equipped for personal ministry, and commissioned to fulfil their mission in the world. This campaign has also caught the attention of the secular media, and major Christian web sites such as Christianity Today Magazine in 2003 posted several links to newspapers reports on the favourable effects The Purpose Driven Life was having in various churches. He said "In our 23-year history, nothing else has produced more life change in our church than 40 days of Purpose. It has transformed our church and mobilised our members in ways we never dreamed of. That's why we want to share it with you. We're all on the same team! This campaign is all about the Kingdom of God, fulfilling his agenda in His world. Nothing brings more glory to God than having his churches, small groups, and his people fulfilling His Purposes. Because 40 Days of Purpose is about God's Kingdom, it is much bigger than any individual, church or denomination. We must work together to serve God's purpose in our generation. I hope and pray that your church won't miss out on this movement of God. I invite you to join us. We're waiting to partner with you on the journey of a lifetime!"
The Rev. Mr. Warren has structured The Purpose Driven Life his latest book, to expound over a 40-day period what he describes as the five eternal purposes for human existence. The book is thus an invitation to churches to undertake a spiritual pilgrimage on the basis of a chapter per day for 40 days or as it being dubbed '40 Days of Purpose'.
According to the Rev. Mr. Warren, The 40 Days of Purpose campaign is built on five transforming principles:
Namely, unified prayer, concentrated focus, multiple reinforcement, behavioural teaching, and exponential thinking.
UNIFIED PRAYER: He stresses the importance of months of prayer to precede the actual 40-Day campaign. This is indispensable as such engagement will tune one's heart to hear from God.
CONCENTRATED FOCUS: During the campaign, it is necessary to clear the regular diary of church activities to ensure that every age group, ministry, small group, Sunday school class and
worship service focuses on the same thing together. "Most of the time, church programmes point members in 20 different directions. It is amazing what happens when your church concentrates on the same truth at the same time," he said.
MULTIPLE REINFORCEMENTS: Saddleback, he said, sought to encourages its members to adopt four habits that are essential for spiritual growth: the habit of weekly worship attendance, a daily quiet time, a weekly group Bible study, and a weekly Scripture memory verse. These, he said, will secure the spiritual growth of Christians long after the 40-day campaign is over.
BEHAVIOURAL TEACHING: Each sermon must be intentionally oriented to affect its hearers' behaviour, and not just appeal to the emotions and intellect. Accordingly, each time the sermon is delivered, the preacher must issue a homework assignment. Or alternately, the congregation should be able to identify suitable places where they can render service to both Christians and/or non-Christians.
EXPONENTIAL
THINKING: Rick Warren acknowledges that this is the most potent of the five principles as it seeks to create plans so big that they are bound to fail if God is not supportive of such plans.
"This kind of thinking stretches your faith. It is thinking so big that you are forced to depend completely on God because you know you cannot reach your goal on your own power. This 'faith factor' is what takes the 40 Days of Purpose out of the realm of 'What we've always done' or 'What we think we could do' and instead expects God to do something that's never been done before in your church.
"At Saddleback Church, we're always experimenting with new ways to help our people grow spiritually and reach out to our community. Every once in a while, we stumble across something that really produces a significant spiritual harvest, and we feel obligated to share it with other churches," Dr. Warren said.
