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 again for nearly 40 years.
Campaigns not only grow the church numerically but also contribute to people’s spiritual growth. They are a “shot in the arm” that move our people from nonbelievers to believers, to members, to mature members, to ministers, and to missionaries who multiply the message all around the world. Here are four reasons campaigns are so effective in helping churches become healthier:
1. Campaigns build habits.
Making disciples is all about helping people develop strong spiritual habits. Your character is determined by your habits. Far too many Christians never grow because they’ve never developed good solid habits like prayer, fellowship in a small group, tithing, daily Bible reading, and fasting.
Read any decent psychology book, and you’ll learn that it takes six weeks to develop a habit. You’ve got to do it every day for three weeks so you become comfortable with the practice. Then you need to do it every day for another three weeks to get the practice installed in your life.
To help people develop spiritual habits, you need an intense period of at least six weeks. This is why our campaigns last for 40 days.
2. Campaigns intentionally create focus.
In campaigns, everyone in your church studies the same topic for six weeks. Adults, students, and children all participate in the campaign together. That means entire families are united by focusing on the same topic during the campaign. This focus boosts spiritual growth and enhances fellowship.
You will need to help your church focus during a campaign. At Saddleback, we cancel every event not related to the campaign. Some people won’t be happy! Remind them that a campaign is temporary, and the gains in church unity are worth making a short-term change.
3. Campaigns accommodate the multiple learning styles in your church.
People learn in different ways. You have many auditory learners in your church. They learn through the ear gate. Honestly, if you’re an auditory learner, you love the church service. That’s the only style most churches use. But many people don’t learn best by listening. You have many other kinds of learners in your church. If the only way you engage people is through a Sunday morning sermon, you’ll miss lots of people.
In a campaign, you’ll learn to use multiple learning styles to connect with your congregation. People will hear a sermon, memorize related Bible verses, read a daily devotional reinforcing the topic, discuss it in a small-group environment, watch a video on the topic, and do a project to practice what they’re learning.
4. Campaigns cultivate exponential faith.
When you study Scripture, you discover how God responds to people’s belief. When you read about the miracles God performed in the Bible, you encounter stories of faith. God will do in your church exactly what you expect him to do. The Bible says, “Everything that does not come from faith is sin”(Romans 14:23 NIV).
During campaigns, churches set exponential growth goals. We’ve seen God do amazing things at Saddleback as we’ve stepped out in faith and developed bold goals.
For example, when we start a campaign, we set goals on how many new small groups we’ll start—a number that can only be reached with God’s involvement. When we did 40 Days of Purpose for the first time as a church, we had about 800 small groups. That may seem like a lot, but it wasn’t enough to get all of our congregation connected. I set a goal to start 300 small groups during the campaign, but God challenged me to start 3,000 small groups instead. We added a zero!
In faith, I announced that goal to the entire church. Our act of faith encouraged other acts of faith—specifically people stepping up to host new groups. God did a miracle, and we ended up reaching that goal.
God has used campaigns in the life of Saddleback to do what only he can do. We’ve seen more people come to Christ, more people baptized, and more people join our small groups through the annual campaign than we have in the entire rest of the year.
Our church has largely grown, both numerically and spiritually, through the years because of campaigns. I’m confident they can have a similar impact on your church.
Rick Warren
Rick Warren was born in San Jose, California and earned a Bachelor of Arts from California Baptist University, a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary. He and his wife Kay founded Saddleback Church when he was just 26 years old and he continues to serve as the senior pastor.
