| Rick Warren, Pastor of Saddleback Church, has written two books that are must reading for church planters: The Purpose Driven Church and The Purpose Driven Life. In addition, Warren and Saddleback Church host Purpose Driven Church Conferences anNually in May on their Lake Forest, California campus. Warren planted Saddleback in 1980 after he discovered from studying the U.S. Census Data that Orange County Califonia was the fastest growing county in the U.S. from 1970 to 1980. Saddleback now has over 60,000 on its membership rolls and has planted 23 churches using what Warren calls The Purpose Driven Church Planting Model. My wife and I attended the May 2003 PDCP Conference which was attended by 3,800 people from 34 countries. The program includes a two day conference for Pastor's wives led by Rick Warren's wife, Kay. Warren made the following statements at the conference: 1) 3,500-4,000 churches in the U.S. die each year and only 15% are growing; 2) there are 195,000 unchurched people in America; 3) In the last decade, the membership of mainline U.S. churches has decreased 9.5% while the population has increased 11.4%. Other successful PD Church Planters had these things to say at the conference: 1)Plant in a place where you fit the culture; 2) Assemble a solid core team and have a parent church; 3) Build your people before you build your steeple; 4) Launch large by using direct mail and monthly preview services before the actual launch--it is easier to turn a crowd into a church than a church into a crowd; 5) The Pastor is the visionary leader and must not surrender the vision to the laity; 6) Use small groups and the Class System: 101-501 to help new members grow and become connected to the church and each other. In addition, successful PD Church Planter, Pastor Ron Sylva of The Springs Church in Ocala, Florida, would like to assemble a network of church planters so that he can coach them and so that they can share ideas with each other. If you would like to be a part of a church planting network, email Ron at rs@thesprings.org. A good example of a recent Purpose Driven Church Plant is Mariner's Church in Annapolis, Maryland. After Mariner's membership had reached 100, it sent 13 of its members to the 2002 Purpose Driven Church Conference in Saddleback. According to Executive Pastor Bob McNight, the 13 members who attended the PD conference grasped the vision of "The 40 Days of Purpose" and returned to Mariner's as "change agents." The the average attendance has since exploded to between 400 and 500 at its two Sunday services. 48 members from Mariner's Church attended the 2003 Purpose Driven Church Conference, and the church has decided to expand its sancturary to seat 1,000! For more info on Mariner's Church, go to: www.marinerschurch.com. Other resources recommended at the PD conference: www.saddlebackchurch.org www.pastors.com www.coachnet.org |
