Members of more than 1,100 churches nationwide are expected to participate in a spiritual emphasis campaign that many participants of a previous campaign say transformed their churches dramatically.
The Spring 40 Days of Purpose campaign kicks off Easter Sunday and will continue through June 1.
Building on its own success -- 671 new decisions for Christ, 1,200 new members, a 2,000-person increase in average attendance -- Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., launched the program in October to a national pilot group of more than 1,500 churches.
The campaign is built around The Purpose Driven Life, the best-selling book by the Rev. Rick Warren, senior pastor at Saddleback.
The program invites participants to spend 40 days centering their lives around God by living a lifestyle of worship and complete surrender. During the 40 days, participants are asked to connect with other believers, to cultivate spiritual maturity, to contribute to God's Kingdom by using their talents in ministry and to communicate God's love by developing a heart for the world.
Warren incorporates the five purposes he says God created mankind to fulfill: worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry and evangelism. The program encompasses 40 days because the Bible is clear God considers that to be a spiritually significant time period, according to Warren.
He points to several instances where God took 40 days to prepare someone for his purposes:
- Noah's life was transformed by 40 days of rain.
- Moses was transformed by 40 days on Mount Sinai.
- David was transformed by Goliath's 40-day challenge.
- Jesus was empowered by 40 days in the wilderness.
- The disciples were transformed by 40 days with Jesus after his resurrection.
The program has a number of components Warren describes as "catalytic events" that will challenge congregations.
Warren starts with a two-hour seminar simulcast to participating churches. The seminar is also available on videotape.
The next step instructs participants on ways to start small groups and Sunday school classes.
A "Ministry Fair" showcases church ministries and the program finale -- called "Celebration Sunday -- features participants sharing testomony about their experiences.
Proven Results
Participants in the fall 2002 campaign had plenty of testimony to share.
"Oh my, I could go on and on," said the Rev. Steve Helm, director of adult ministries at Christ Fellowship in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
His church, which averages more than 8,000 in Sunday attendance, had 957 new members join during the campaign. Christ Fellowship baptized more than 700 people and distributed more than 6,500 The Purpose Driven Life books. More than 1,000 members signed up for ministry that had never been involved before. It launched an additional worship service that has continued and birthed a mid-week service at a satellite location 30 minutes from the church, with more than 350 attending. Overall, weekend attendance increased about 10 percent.
"It is a God thing. We could have worked hard for 10 years trying to get these results and never have gotten there," he said. "It has sparked a sense of unity and given us a common language. It has actually leveraged our ministries and our own strengths that are distinctive to us, utilizing these very common tools."
Helm said he has talked with pastors at several churches around the country that report similar results relative to their size. He believes the program is built on sound principles.
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"It is a God thing. We could have worked hard for 10 years trying to get these results and never have gotten there." The Rev. Steve Helm, director of adult ministries, Christ Fellowship Church |
"So, it doesn't matter what size, what style, whether it is a traditional church or a non-traditional church, these are major constituent parts of Biblical church theology and it will only magnify the strength of a congregation," he said.
At 400-member Heartland Church in Knob Noster, Mo., one participant spoke about the program's effectiveness.
"We just saw a lot of life-changing things happening, community groups were started, fellowship was built and we saw unity in the body," said Debbie Deke, church secretary.
"We saw fellowships being started within the body that are ongoing. That's one thing that's been really exciting," Deke said. "There are groups that are still meeting that were started during the 40 Days of Purpose. Several people have surrendered to ministry. Those kinds of things were happening in people's lives as they focused in on what God had for them."
Pumping Spiritual Iron
Much like a weight training program, 40 Days of Purpose develops the parts in order to make the body stronger. Rather than the church building up its members, the members build up the church.
"I think that is the real strength in it," said the Rev. Jim Carey, associate pastor at Forest Lake Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa, Ala. "I think Rick Warren said he wished he had published The Purpose Driven Life book before he published The Purpose Driven Church. I have to agree. I've read and studied both of them and it really does make more sense, to me, to start with the individual. Even if you are doing it as a churchwide activity because it really does bring a focus in on not only your relationship with Christ but on your relationship with one another too."
Sharina Hustead, director of Small Groups at 2,700-member Trinity Church in Lansing, Mich., has witnessed the benefits of the program as well.
"We went from 25 percent of our church involved in small groups to about 80 percent," she said. "It was incredible. We went from about 35 groups to 160 that are running. It was a total God thing."
Hustead said she and other small group pastors have studied the program and its profound effect on churches.
"One of the biggest things has been that it is a church-wide campaign," she said. "It wasn't just a program or an offering to whomever wanted to participate."
She said the influence the program had on her
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What It Costs u Registration: $850 under 200 members; $1,050 200-500 members; $1,250 over 500 members. A $100 discount is given for registration before July 1. u Deposit: $300 u The Purpose Driven Life books: $7 each u Small Group video: $15 u Program guide booklet: $3 each u Music CD: $15 u Songbook: $15 u Bible memory tags: $75 for 50 |
"A lot of churches in the area heard what God did here and we were able to resource about 100 church leaders and pastors," Husted said. "We just shared our story about what God did and they were all just jumping on and we're hoping to mentor them and get them going as they do it. It's a blast, a lot of fun."
A Holy Spirit Explosion
Marty Cutrone, national campaign director for 40 Days of Purpose, said he has heard hundreds of stories about how the program has transformed churches large and small.
"There's no question in our mind this thing is an explosion," Cutrone said. "I think movement is a good moniker for it. It's one of those things that is just kind of sweeping the country."
He said the interest generated by the fall and now the spring campaigns was not the result of slick advertising and marketing campaigns. Rather, word of mouth has gotten the message out.
"We did, really, no formal concentrated marketing and promotional effort with the spring campaign," he said. "It was virtually word of mouth. I can't tell you how many pastors that we talked to as we registered them for the campaign and coached them through it have said, ‘You know what, I got a call from my cousin Billy, who pastors a church in such and such and he tells me we should do this campaign.' Word of mouth has really exploded. If this thing is really starting to catch on, as pastors are telling other pastors in their community about it, it's really going to take off this fall when we do a concerted effort in marketing this game plan."
Tangela Bright, who is coordinating the program at 75-member Koinonia Fellowship Ministries in Washington, D.C., said she and her pastor, the Rev. Lisa Phifer, have 91 people registered for the program.
"I'm looking forward to having new people come in and seeing how it can be applied for the purpose of their lives," she said.
"Our motto is we are a purpose driven church for a gathering of believers," Bright said, adding the Easter kickoff came at a good time as the church looks to reach out to the community.
Big Plans on Horizon
Cutrone said his office has encouraged feedback from a number of statewide denominational offices.
"For example, we have the Louisiana Baptist Convention. There are 1,600 church in that one convention. Their leadership team at the convention has stacked hands and they want to implement the 40 Days of Purpose as their spiritual initiative for '04. They're going to pilot test it with a number of churches in the fall, but in '04 they're hoping to have the vast majority engaged with them in the 40 Days of Purpose statewide."
Although the 1,100 churches signed up for the Spring campaign is less than the 1,500 from last year's launch, Cutrone said he thinks the program will pick up steam for the upcoming Fall program.
"It's hard to know just what it is going to do but we see it being significantly more involved in the fall campaign," he said. "We're gearing up for 5,000, maybe 7,500, maybe even 10,000 churches. Who knows? It has the potential to do that."
