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Technorati- We become whatever we are committed to.
- Every church is defined by what it’s committed to.
- People want to be committed to something that gives them significance.
- If your church doesn’t ask for your people’s commitment, other people will.
- The greater the commitment you ask for, the greater response you’ll get.
4. Small groups
Your church members can’t grow spiritually on their own. We all need other people to help us grow. At Saddleback we use small groups, built around the same core New Testament purposes that our church is, to help our members develop the kind of relationships they need to grow. In these groups they can practice all of the “one anothers” of Scripture (pray for one another, love one another, etc.). It’s a central part of our church’s spiritual growth plan. And by making sure that these groups center on the biblical purposes, we help our members worship more fully, build meaningful relationships, develop the character of Christ, discover their shape for ministry, and share their faith with lost friends.
5. Campaigns
We also use spiritual growth campaigns to boost the growth of our people. A spiritual growth campaign is an intensive, extended, all-church emphasis involving every age group that focuses on some particular aspect of spiritual growth. Campaigns like 50 Days of Faith, 40 Days of Purpose, and 40 Days of Community have paid eternal dividends in the spiritual growth of our church.
In the last 27 years at Saddleback, nothing – I mean nothing – has produced spiritual growth in our people deeper and faster than campaigns. Through 40 Days of Purpose alone (in just 40 days):
- 671 new believers came to Christ and were baptized
- 1,200 new members took C.L.A.S.S. 101 and joined the church (in a 40-day period)
worship attendance increased by 2,000
- 1,600 new small groups were started
- 2,200 more people started serving in ministry
- 3,700 people committed to a world missions project
It was truly a transformative experience for our church. All of our campaigns have been.
Each of these five tools has been instrumental to the spiritual depth of Saddleback Church. They’re all fully transferable as well. Any church can use them. I encourage you to give them a try.
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Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and best-known churches. In addition, Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose-Driven Life and The Purpose-Driven Church, which was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th Century. He is also founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for ministers. Copyright 2005 Pastors.com, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
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