This groundbreaking book offers a biblical yet practical strategy that will empower churches to minister in the 21st century. After testing and refining these concepts for fifteen years, Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, shares the five-part growth strategy he developed. It gives a step-by-step process that will cause your church to grow warmer through ministry, and larger through evangelism. The thesis of The Purpose Driven Church is that when churches think first about their health, growth is sure to follow.
“If your church is healthy,” writes Rick Warren, “growth will occur naturally. Healthy, consistent growth is the result of balancing the five biblical purposes of the church.” These five purposes are to “Love the Lord with all your heart,” “Love your neighbor as yourself,” “Go and make disciples,” “[Baptize] them,” and “[Teach] them to obey.” And those purposes can only be accomplished, argues Warren, when church leaders stop thinking about church-building programs and shift their focus to a “people-building process” involving fellowship, discipleship, worship, and evangelism. Warren, the founder of the fastest-growing Baptist church in American history, has taught seminars to thousands of pastors from all over the world, many of whom have successfully implemented his techniques.
