Frequently Asked Questions

A: This is very difficult. A large turnover of members places a lot of pressure on the church leadership in the equipping of ministry leaders. This typifies a sending church, or university setting, which is essentially equipping people to be used by God in other churches and has a significant number of professional people or students. This could be an excellent opportunity to introduce a programme to run a 40 Days of Purpose campaign every 2-3 years or more frequently when supported by small groups following the C.L.A.S.S. materials which would form a firm doctrinal foundation. If there was a sufficient number of long-term members consideration could be given to a 40 Days of Community campaign to raise the awareness of the needs of the local transient population.

Q: How often should we repeat 40 Days of Purpose?

A: This is totally up to you and varies church to church. A changing congregation may need to repeat the campaign every 3-5 years. A minister may need to refocus the church on the principles and practices highlighted in the campaign and may feel that re-running the campaign is the best option on a regular basis.


Q: How can we embed Purpose Driven into the DNA of our church?

A: We would suggest that all leaders should read the Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren. This book sets out the practices and principles of a Purpose Driven Church. It may be easier to read this in parallel with our guide ‘A Study Guide using the Principles of The Purpose Driven Church to Reach People in our Community’. Also our Day 41 guide offers help with implementing Purpose Driven into the structure of a church.


Q: What happens after 40 Days of Purpose; how do we keep the momentum going?

A: We always suggest a long-term approach. CLASS course material covers membership (101), maturity (201), ministry (301), mission (401) and can be introduced through small groups. It is an excellent way to build a firm foundation for your church. The transcripts of the courses are supplied in a computer downloadable format which allows the leader to change the course contents to suit the church’s culture, vision and aims. Also consider small group materials such as James and Thessalonians that are studies based on the specific books of the Bible but also re-enforce purpose driven principles. If you have just completed a 40 Days of purpose campaign consider planning for a 40 Days of Community campaign in two years. The earlier question on embedding the DNA of purpose driven into your church needs to be answered and reflects on the need to train leaders in understanding what principles and practices need to be introduced into the church. Detailed discussion on these points by the leadership will give clarity to the leaders and provide a positive way forward.


Q: Can we take more time than 40 days to complete the programme?

A: Yes the programme is under your control. However it has been planned for 40 days and this makes the best impact.


Q: I have some of my church who have been through 40 Days of Purpose and some who haven’t, how do I deal with this?

A: This depends on how long ago you completed the campaign. You may want to consider re-running the campaign. Some churches repeat the campaign every 3-5 years. Alternatively set up a small group. The individual members would read the Purpose Driven Life book daily and then use the Small Group study book during their meeting together. It is important that for maximum impact they see the ‘Simulcast ‘ video and the leader sets a firm direction for the group when the course is completed.


Q: Can we start our 40 Days Campaign on a different date from everybody else?

A: Our experience is that it's better to have one start date for all of the churches involved in a campaign, so that every congregation is at the same phase at the same time. This guarantees that we can give you the best support and resources necessary for a successful 40 Days campaign. Here are just a few reasons to stay within the Campaign dates:
1. We cannot guarantee that you will receive your resources in time. We've planned our inventory levels and shipping cycles to coincide with the Campaign start dates. If you start at a different time, you run the risk of not obtaining your resources in time, or having to buy The Purpose-Driven Life books at a higher rate locally (We're able to offer them at a special Campaign price). We don't want to see you spending more money on resources than necessary.
2. Starting at a different time gets you off-schedule with our strategically timed communication and coaching. We will be sending out weekly emails that are time-sensitive; our goal is to provide specific coaching for each week leading up to and during the 40 Days Campaign. You and your team will miss out on the benefit of this week-by-week coaching that deals with specific issues we know you'll face as you get closer to your 40 Days Campaign.
3. Starting at a different time means your church will miss being part of a simultaneous launch with other churches; this means you'll miss out on the full power and impact of 40 Days.

Q: We're sort of a Lone Ranger church. Is it really that important to do this Campaign when everyone else is doing it?

A: In addition to the benefits of strong support and timely resourcing, imagine the benefits of SYNERGY. There is a certain energy and power that comes from doing 40 Days in concert with a group of others. Perhaps it’s best to quote a church leader who's already been through 40 Days: “The reason I feel this is one of the most effective Campaigns I’ve ever been a part of is the synergism that this created ... with other churches all across the country, and around the world for that matter.”


Q: We're a small church and can't afford to do 40 Days of Purpose. What are our options? Are scholarships available?

A: If you cannot afford to participate in the Campaign - particularly if you are a small church or a new church plant, please contact us at allen@purposedriven.co.uk or phone us on 01255 435577 and let's discuss what you can afford. We'll work it out.


Q: What do we get for the basic registration fee?

A: In general, your registration fee gets you the following:
    Seven weekend service plans, including Rick's sermon notes for each week of the Campaign.
    A comprehensive Campaign Resource Kit with a CD-ROM of 150 reproducible and customisable materials.
    A set of eleven DVD training sessions.
    Detailed Campaign planning guidelines.
    A DVD of the National Simulcast, which kicks off the Campaign.
    Samples of the resources that can be purchased from us
    Special pricing for the Purpose driven Life study book
    Contacts with other organisations to help you with promotion materials
    Our Day 41 strategy planning book to help answers those long-term where are we going questions
    Our support to you at every stage of your campaign

Q: Can our church just order some of the Campaign resources without participating in the Campaign?

A: Campaign resources are only available to churches who are participating in the 40 Days of Purpose. Unfortunately, we do not have enough of a supply to provide resources to non-Campaign churches at this time. We have found that churches who complete the full campaign and are committed to the whole campaign gain the best benefit. A half-hearted approach frequently gains a half-hearted result.


Q: Can our church team up with another church and share the Campaign tools?

A: We don’t recommend this approach to the 40 Days. The Campaign involves a set of resources as well as on-going communication and support. Logistically, it would be difficult to co-ordinate those resources, support and communication with a group at another physical location. We do however allow daughter churches in the same parish to work together provided there is one location for sending materials and our office contact.  If cost is the issue, we’ll work with you to arrive at a cost that is manageable for your church.


Q: We're a small church. Can we really do a Saddleback spiritual growth campaign?

A: We encourage you to go for it! As a small church, you may not require the same number of people on your Campaign Team, and you may not need to use all of the communication tools we provide - but we've seen time and again how this spiritual growth campaign has been used by God to lay the groundwork for a deep spiritual encounter and to create the momentum for the greatest numerical growth in a congregation’s history! Many leaders in small churches feel overwhelmed because they have to complete many roles. This material helps leaders to set a biblical foundation for their church and raise the vision of all the members to God’s potential.


Q: We're a new church plant. Should we think about only doing a part of the Campaign?

A: We recommend that you do the whole Campaign, no matter the size or history of your church. The power and impact of the Campaign is best captured by the principle of “multiple reinforcement.” This means that the themes of the Campaign are reinforced by layering the same message as it is repeated from several perspectives: the Weekend Services, the weekly Bible Studies, the daily personal readings, and the weekly memory verse. All of these are essential to experience the full power of the Campaign. To extract any of the pieces means you minimise the impact.


Q: We're a traditional church. Is this campaign better suited to contemporary seeker-oriented churches?

A: The five purposes taught during 40 Days are biblical and timeless, and they apply to every person in the world. As to your particular church style and denomination, you will select delivery mechanisms that suit your church culture. The campaign materials are designed in such a way as to give you maximum flexibility to customise everything so that it fits into your context, while still enabling you to deliver a message that’s consistent with biblical principles. We’ve heard story after story from “traditional” churches whose members were sceptical about this campaign working in their setting, but who were enthusiastic about it by the end of the first weekend after they saw lives changed through the power of the Biblical truths presented during 40 Days.

Q: How effective is the 40 Days Campaign at reaching the unchurched?

A: Although this Campaign was originally designed as a discipleship tool for people who are already Christians, we discovered - almost by accident - that it has a tremendous power to attract and transform the unchurched! By asking, during the opening week, “What on Earth Am I Here For?” your church has a powerful opportunity to draw in the unchurched who feel something is missing in their lives. This question is an especially effective bridge for hosts to use when inviting people to their homes for a six-week video-based discussion group. So, in essence, 40 Days could become one of the most effective evangelistic tools your church has ever implemented to draw in those on the margin.

Q: Is this Campaign just marketing hype, or is there real Biblical depth to it?

A: Well, somebody actually asked this, so we thought we’d answer it here just in case anyone else was thinking it and just didn’t have the nerve to ask! As you read The Purpose-Driven Life, you'll reference over 1,000 scripture verses that illuminate the biblical principles being taught through the book. The five purposes – worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry and evangelism – are all drawn from scripture, and even the concept of a 40-day journey is based on example after example in the Bible where God used a 40-day time frame to work a major change in a person’s life. So, be reassured, this Campaign will help ground people in the Word of God.

For any other queries please refer to the Purpose Driven web site www.purposedriven.co.uk or contact the office on 01255 435577.