Leading a Church with Purpose

by Bill Zelazny, District Executive

This spring I was reading Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Church. Warren is the founder of the now 20,000 member Saddleback Church that grew from one family to over 10,000 every Sunday in worship and has planted twenty-six other churches. He is doing something right and his ideas should be considered. His main point is “the issue is church health, not church growth…If your church is healthy, growth will occur naturally.” For him in order for a church to be healthy is must become purpose-driven. Nothing precedes purpose

Warren’s book is written with a focus on biblically-based Christianity. But there are principles that can be applied to our version of religion. As you take some time over the summer to think about your church, consider these points to become purpose-driven.

The starting place is the question – Why do we exist? Until a congregation knows why it exists it has no foundation or direction for its ministry. It is scattered at best and listless a worst. A clear purpose builds morale, reduces frustration and allows for concentration in critical ministries for the church and community Programs are done because they do something to advance the church and the religious perspective, not because they always have been done or are wanted by a few people scattering resources ineffectively.

To establish or discover your church’s purpose ask: Why does this church exist? What are we to be as a church (who and what are we)? What are we to do as a church? How do we do to it? Warren suggests the main purpose of a church is centered on worship, ministry to people, evangelism (getting the word out about the religion), fellowship, and embodiment (living the message of the faith in thoughts, feelings and actions). It is people-centered, not activity- centered. In short, a church and its leadership should not focus on growing a church with programs but on growing people.

This works by having a process to bring people in, not just letting them come in by accident, build them up in an intentional understanding the basis of the religion, mature their faith and find what their passion is in their religious life, and develop their ability to minister in and to the world based on our religious principles. People who are purpose-driven in a church that is purpose driven will want other people to join them.

Leading with purpose grows a church with purpose.