When I wrote The Purpose Driven Church, I predicted that church health – not church growth – would be the primary concern of the 21st Century church. I believe that prediction is proving itself true. The New Testament says a lot about the health of the church. Consider just a few verses: “As each part
On Easter Sunday, churches around the world invite their communities to come in and listen to two big, bold claims. First, that Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world, died for their sins and then came back from the dead. And second, that anyone who puts their trust in the risen
“Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work” (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 NIV). Here we are in the middle of another week. The last weekend is behind
I’m often asked, “Is there any single common denominator that you can find in every growing church?” I have studied churches for many years, read about them, and visited them. I’ve discovered that God uses all kinds of churches, in all kinds of different ways, with all different methods and styles. But there is one
In 2010, Pastor Carl Nichols launched Relevant Church. As he looks back on the last few years, he sees God’s hand constantly at work. In this episode, Carl chats with host, Brandon Cox, about the history of his church and how they got to where they are today. From a church that started with just
Pastor Mark did not want to plant a church. He was perfectly happy where he was with the job he had, but God had other plans. At the 39th anniversary of the church he was serving as a youth pastor, Mark was asked to speak about the senior pastor’s vision for planting churches. As he
Here we have a midwest boy who attended a diverse and spirit-filled, Bible-believing church; a college-bound star football player who found himself facing possible jail time. Pastor Joumeel McLaurine knows that God had his future in his hands because there is no other explanation for how he is where he is today. As he lay
From youth pastor to church planter, Pastor Sean Sears of Grace Church in Massachusetts knew one thing when moving across the country: he wanted to live near Mexican Food. “My wife wanted to be near a Walmart and I needed to be near Mexican food, and the closest Boston had to it at the time
When starting a small group ministry, you are eager to see the fruit of your labor. But building before the foundation is ready always proves unwise. Whenever a new idea is introduced, acceptance of change runs pretty true to the Rogers Diffusion of Innovation Bell Curve. You will typically encounter about 16 percent eager early
New year, new you! It seems to be the rallying cry across social media as we all vow to set aside the holiday snacks, start an ambitious new exercise regime, and tackle all the dreams left unfinished last year. It’s like we all collectively decide that we can be fundamentally different humans with different habits
The Bible has a lot to say about expectations. Romans 4:18 credits Abraham’s faithful expectation with the fruit of his life, “Against all odds, when it looked hopeless, Abraham believed the promise and expected God to fulfill it. He took God at his word, and as a result, he became the father of many nations.”
I know a proven tool that will transform your church. That tool is a spiritual growth campaign. I’ve seen God use campaigns repeatedly at Saddleback Church. They have helped us grow from two members to more than 36,000 people each weekend across 18 campuses. I’ve watched God use campaigns to transform our church again and
Christmas is an amazing season. It’s a time of Christmas trees and twinkly lights, carols and cookies. But for those of us on a church staff, we also know it to be one of the busiest, most important seasons of our year. By the time our congregations start singing “Silent Night,” many of us have
Think about the number of churches in your community. Perhaps there’s one church, or five, or maybe dozens. Now imagine a place where there’s not a single church. From small villages in Sudan to megacities in India, countless communities around the world still have no church, no national believers—and no one even trying to reach
Todd Phelps is just starting to get his feet wet in the world of church planting. The East Coast transplant recently moved to San Diego to launch a new church in Carmel Valley. The new REVÉ Church, meaning “dream,” was just that two years ago. It was then that Todd and his wife, Shannon had
Listen to Full Episode As Senior Pastor of Palm Valley Church in Phoenix, Arizona, Ryan Nunez never set out to lead a multi-site congregation. In fact, nearly 20 years ago, Ryan was on a career path to become a physicist. While earning his PhD in physics, he helped launch Palm Valley Church alongside founding pastor,
Listen to Full Episode Pastor Ron Sylvia of The Springs Church in Ocala, Florida has been Purpose Driven even before Purpose Driven was officially launched. It was 1994 when he first started planting churches, and leaning on Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church for advice on how to lead a healthy church. At the time,
On Palm Sunday, Oak Ridge Baptist Church in Maryland cancelled all services, sending members into the community to participate in service projects across three counties.
Saddleback Church is just one of thousands of churches that strives to live out love in action. The PEACE Plan is a Church-wide strategy for helping people take that next step in serving, whether that means locally at home or globally by working with churches around the world. Each spring, Saddleback’s Hong Kong campus steps
Over 14 years ago, the local churches of Rwanda partnered with Saddleback Church to begin a movement of ordinary church members transforming their communities. This April, Saddleback Church joined their Rwandan partners in commemorating Kwibuka 25, an annual event honoring the victims of the horrific Rwandan genocide 25 years ago. Together they thanked God for
It was December 2004 when Doug Bell dug in his heels at the thought of becoming a pastor. From children’s nursery to the worship center, he grew up in a Southern Baptist Mississippi church and was content with living life outside of ministry. At the time, Doug was earning a good salary and on a
Over 700 pastors and church leaders gathered this week for the annual So Cal Pastors Prayer Breakfast, a time to receive encouragement and fellowship before entering one of the most important church weekends of the year. This was the first year that six national locations hosted prayer gatherings, initially launched by Saddleback’s Pastor Rick Warren.
On November 8, 2018 the small town of Paradise was hit by the deadliest and most destructive fire in California history. Among the 27,000 residents stood a church that clung to hope in the midst of the blaze. Just weeks before, Stan Freitas, Senior Pastor of that little church called Hope Christian, had helped design
Church leaders from 12 American churches convened with church leaders from 19 African nations, Costa Rica, and Brazil, in Kigali on February 24–27 for the 5th Annual All-Africa Conference. The gathering is part of a movement of American churches partnering with pastors of African nations to bring tools and training for church health and community
It was January 2010 when Tony and his wife, Alisa DiLorenzo sat in their garage — shivering in puffy winter jackets — and recorded their first podcast episode, “ONE Extraordinary Marriage”.
It’s no coincidence that Jesus started his ministry by forming a small group. When it comes to fellowship in your church, smaller is better. You can worship with a crowd, but you can’t fellowship with one. With our free new white paper, Align Your Church: Fellowship, we’ll help you build small groups that align with
Has God placed something on your heart and in your hands? Doing what God has called us to do is the act of Stewardship. Gabriel dives deep into seeing the opportunities in your life and running with them.
Art has been a way people have come to know the name of Jesus. It is something that is easily accessible and can attract any eye. Today, the group comes together to discuss their passions of reaching youth through art.
Art has brought people to know the name of Jesus. It is something that is easily accessible and can attract any eye. Today, the group comes together to discuss their passions of reaching youth through art.
Ministry is a marathon. This is true for church leaders, for volunteers, and for the church body itself. When we drive and push people to sprint all the time, burnout is inevitable. You can grow a large church by constantly creating mountain peak experiences and pushing for the top. But you will create a healthy
