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The Purpose Driven Church: Every Church Is Big in God's Eyes
“The Purpose Driven® Church has brought focus and direction to more pastors and church leaders than you can count. What a gift!”—John Ortberg, bestselling author Every church is driven by something. Tradition, finances, programs, personalities, events, seekers, and even buildings can each be the controlling force in a church. But Rick Warren believes that in order for a church to be healthy it must become a purpose-driven church, built around the five New Testament purposes given to the church by Jesus. “The issue is church health, not church growth!” declares Warren. “If your church is healthy, growth will occur naturally. Healthy, consistent growth is the result of balancing the five biblical purposes of the church.” Rick Warren shares a proven five-part strategy that will enable your church to grow • warmer through fellowship • deeper through discipleship • stronger through worship • broader through ministry • larger through evangelism The Purpose Driven® Church shifts the focus away from church building programs to emphasizing a people-building process. Warren says, “If you will concentrate on building people, God will build the church.”
399 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
430 people are currently reading
2687 people want to read
About the author
Rick Warren
538 books2,007 followersRichard Duane Warren is an American Baptist evangelical Christian pastor and author.He is the founder of Saddleback Church, an evangelical Baptist megachurch in Lake Forest, California. Since 2022, he is director of the Finishing the Task mission coalition.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 183 reviews
July 5, 2013
After reading this book, the one question that keeps popping into my head is, "Why didn't I read this book going through Bible college?!" And to think that I pastored for nine years without reading this book! My belief is that there are many brethren out in ministry that have criticized Rick Warren without even taking the time to read what they are criticizing. That was me in a nutshell. The funny thing is that he even states in the book several times that the reader might not agree with him on everything. He is right - I did not agree with him on everything but I will say that 90% of his teaching is RIGHT ON! Anyone that wants to be part of establishing a HEALTHY, GROWING church will take heed to the truths here.
This book should be read by ANYONE that has a desire to serve the Lord in full-time ministry. Wow - the foundational principles that are laid out in this book are unlike any other I have ever read.
Three passions of Rick Warren shine forth from this book:
1) His zeal to reach the lost with the Gospel of Christ. This man is serious about reaching the lost and he is very pointed about churches that have all of the truth and do a lot of talking but little doing.
2) His phenomenal attention to church membership and subsequent discipleship. His plan is Biblical and very thorough.
3) His love for the New Testament church.
In addition, I was humbly reminded that I have so much to learn. Rick Warren taught some tremendous Biblical truths in this book that I need to apply as I minister for the Lord Jesus Christ.
This book should be read by ANYONE that has a desire to serve the Lord in full-time ministry. Wow - the foundational principles that are laid out in this book are unlike any other I have ever read.
Three passions of Rick Warren shine forth from this book:
1) His zeal to reach the lost with the Gospel of Christ. This man is serious about reaching the lost and he is very pointed about churches that have all of the truth and do a lot of talking but little doing.
2) His phenomenal attention to church membership and subsequent discipleship. His plan is Biblical and very thorough.
3) His love for the New Testament church.
In addition, I was humbly reminded that I have so much to learn. Rick Warren taught some tremendous Biblical truths in this book that I need to apply as I minister for the Lord Jesus Christ.
February 21, 2013
Although Dr. Warren says some good things in this book, there is not nearly enough good scriptural content to overshadow the over-abundance of flawed theology.
Warren repeatedly tells us in this book that the Church needs to adopt and embrace worldly culture if it intends to reach the lost. He also consistently insists that what we believe (doctrine) is not important to God, and therefore should not be important to us; he states that what God will place His ultimate importance on is what we did with His Son Jesus. However, if one really studies his/her Bible, he/she will understand that God is telling us just the opposite---that He does care about doctrine! Paul speaks of "the gravity and sincerity" of doctrine (Titus 2:7-10).
To tell people that what they believe is not important---that repentance is merely a form of worship, and not critical to salvation---that God is bored with traditional forms of worship---smacks of arrogance, falsehood, and bold-faced deceit of such a critical nature, that it cannot and should not be accepted by people who are saved by the redemptive blood of Christ.
In summation, a plethora of lies, with a few truths sprinkled in, is not the whole truth---but this is exactly what Warren has produced with this book.
Warren repeatedly tells us in this book that the Church needs to adopt and embrace worldly culture if it intends to reach the lost. He also consistently insists that what we believe (doctrine) is not important to God, and therefore should not be important to us; he states that what God will place His ultimate importance on is what we did with His Son Jesus. However, if one really studies his/her Bible, he/she will understand that God is telling us just the opposite---that He does care about doctrine! Paul speaks of "the gravity and sincerity" of doctrine (Titus 2:7-10).
To tell people that what they believe is not important---that repentance is merely a form of worship, and not critical to salvation---that God is bored with traditional forms of worship---smacks of arrogance, falsehood, and bold-faced deceit of such a critical nature, that it cannot and should not be accepted by people who are saved by the redemptive blood of Christ.
In summation, a plethora of lies, with a few truths sprinkled in, is not the whole truth---but this is exactly what Warren has produced with this book.
November 30, 2023
Lots of good practical wisdom on how to "run a church." But at the core of the philosophy is a combination of Southern Baptist Church sensibilities and the Church Growth Movement (Donald McGavran, C. Peter Wagner), both of which Warren explicitly credits in the book. The result is the perpetuation of whiteness cast as "church growth," seen most vividly in the depiction of "Saddleback Sam," a middle-class white man, who is the core audience of Saddleback's outreach efforts and thus the substance of its church membership. This book is a perfect example of what historian Jesse Curtis describes in The Myth of Colorblind Christians: Evangelicals and White Supremacy in the Civil Rights Era, of the way white churches did a 180º from feeling guilty about segregation in their churches, to viewing it as an evangelistic strategy. To (unintentionally!) read both of these books (Warren and Curtis) at the same time was eyeopening, to say the least.
February 12, 2013
Worth reading If you are a Christian leader, but only because it is popular. A lot of bad theology behind this. Growth through Pragmatism rules the day in this paradigm. I've heard several of the pastors from this church and there was never any gospel in their sermons. In fact, they could have easily been Mormon sermons. Read 9 Marks if you want a good book on HEALTHY churches instead of simply having a huge church by any means necessary. Furthermore, his use of scripture was atrocious. He uses different Bible translations to try and make his cases even when they clearly don't mean what he is saying they mean. He apparently likes how the living Bible supports his theology and it isn't even a translation but a paraphrase of someone else's interpretation of the text. One time he even says the Greek word "poruthentes" (Go) in the Great Commission is a present participle when it is really an aorist participle, showing his inability to do basic exegesis. It is a train wreck from beginning to end.
November 9, 2012
Read it only if you want to see why bible-believers are chased out of churches by pastors who want larger congregations.
July 12, 2020
Muchas ideas útiles para aquellos que se preguntan cómo ministrar una iglesia.
El libro es de valor para un ministro o un laico, en el contexto de una iglesia de esfuerzos unificados.
A diferencia de lo que otras personas piensan sobre la eclesiología del Dr. Rick Warren, encontré un libro lleno de pragmatismo sin sacrificar la teología de la iglesia, en cualquiera de sus formas.
El libro es de valor para un ministro o un laico, en el contexto de una iglesia de esfuerzos unificados.
A diferencia de lo que otras personas piensan sobre la eclesiología del Dr. Rick Warren, encontré un libro lleno de pragmatismo sin sacrificar la teología de la iglesia, en cualquiera de sus formas.
April 11, 2009
We read tis book in a church group and I was surprised that it was as good and fundamental as it turned out to be. I had heard various things baout Rick Warren, including hints of his liberalism in various areas but had never verified that this was true for myself, but had no reason to read any of his books by myself. Hence I was pleasantly surprised when this book challenged me a great deal in my spiritual quest.
The first premise of this book was that we are born for His pleasure and His purpose. This should be enough to stop the liberal thinker in his or her tracks, but this tenet is fundamental to Warren's message. All other things fall into place from here.
Some of the most valuable sections concern growing through life's troubles and defeating temptation, both of which cause me problems from time to time. One of the ways in which one avoids temptation is concentrating on spending time with Him and the things he would like us to do. This doesn't mean that one must sit in a pew for days on end or even pray endlessly for 8 hours, but it does indicate that helping out at a soup kitchen or veterans' hospital or hospice might bring you closer to Him than, say, a weekend in Las Vegas.
One of the great messages here is that you can't make your issues go away just by ignoring them. temptations serve to bring us closer to God, even when we fail in them. As Warren says, every temptation is an opportunity to do good. I find great solace in this.
I tend to think that many in our modern age have given up on God simply because we can't be perfect or we resent having to struggle against certain inclinations. We want to feel good about ourselves, but without God in our lives, that's a pretty difficult order.I know a lot of people who try and ultinmately I think it fails for them. It did for me. I had to find something else.
Whether one is an atheist,agnostic or fundamentalist, we all know that being here is a temporary assignment. This book is the kind of encouragement in how to establish and keep a relationship with the one who made us all and discover more about yourself in the process. This isn't a pie-in-the-sky book and it takes some real work and you will probably have to make some changes, but I can tell you that those changes are highly profitable to your well-being. I suggest that you read it with a friend.
The first premise of this book was that we are born for His pleasure and His purpose. This should be enough to stop the liberal thinker in his or her tracks, but this tenet is fundamental to Warren's message. All other things fall into place from here.
Some of the most valuable sections concern growing through life's troubles and defeating temptation, both of which cause me problems from time to time. One of the ways in which one avoids temptation is concentrating on spending time with Him and the things he would like us to do. This doesn't mean that one must sit in a pew for days on end or even pray endlessly for 8 hours, but it does indicate that helping out at a soup kitchen or veterans' hospital or hospice might bring you closer to Him than, say, a weekend in Las Vegas.
One of the great messages here is that you can't make your issues go away just by ignoring them. temptations serve to bring us closer to God, even when we fail in them. As Warren says, every temptation is an opportunity to do good. I find great solace in this.
I tend to think that many in our modern age have given up on God simply because we can't be perfect or we resent having to struggle against certain inclinations. We want to feel good about ourselves, but without God in our lives, that's a pretty difficult order.I know a lot of people who try and ultinmately I think it fails for them. It did for me. I had to find something else.
Whether one is an atheist,agnostic or fundamentalist, we all know that being here is a temporary assignment. This book is the kind of encouragement in how to establish and keep a relationship with the one who made us all and discover more about yourself in the process. This isn't a pie-in-the-sky book and it takes some real work and you will probably have to make some changes, but I can tell you that those changes are highly profitable to your well-being. I suggest that you read it with a friend.
Read
December 27, 2017My Rabbi gave me this book to read when I became Vice President of our Congregation. He didn't even warn me about the evangelical nature of the type of church Rick Warren built. I guess that was a vote of confidence in me.
What Rick Warren has accomplished in developing his church is truly remarkable, and as he explains how he did it, you come to realize that he really has a method and a well thought out scheme for what he does. Of course, choosing to put his church in the middle of the fastest growing town in the fastest growing part of California might have been helpful. Apparently God sent him signs that he was to put his church there. Not a bad choice. Go God!
I found the very idea of asking what the purpose of a church is to be surprising. I mean, doesn't everyone know what a church is for? Or a synagogue? It is a place to pray, right? Hmmm. Maybe it is not so obvious. I don't think the leaders of my synagogue gave that question much thought, in spite of a recent effort at developing a strategic plan, though I can divine a purpose for the organization as I read the plan. It is just not explicit, and we would all benefit from a more explicit understanding of why our synagogue exists. Warren's advice is to then use that known and shared purpose to drive everything - services, programming, outreach to new members, etc. I like it!
His advice about how to make services more inviting came from years of experience and trial and error. He reviews everything from the appearance of the physical building to the sermon and the message. In Judaism, and Catholicism, the service is more rigidly defined by years of tradition, but there is always room for improvement around the edges without losing the core tenants of the faith. Just having good coffee available instead of instant would be a start!
I don't know if reading Rick Warren's book would help a non affiliated Christian decide to accept Christ and affiliate with a church, but I am sure that it will help everyone from top to bottom in a church organization (synagogue or mosque) understand better the elements that go in to creating and maintaining a successful congregation. Thank you Rick.
What Rick Warren has accomplished in developing his church is truly remarkable, and as he explains how he did it, you come to realize that he really has a method and a well thought out scheme for what he does. Of course, choosing to put his church in the middle of the fastest growing town in the fastest growing part of California might have been helpful. Apparently God sent him signs that he was to put his church there. Not a bad choice. Go God!
I found the very idea of asking what the purpose of a church is to be surprising. I mean, doesn't everyone know what a church is for? Or a synagogue? It is a place to pray, right? Hmmm. Maybe it is not so obvious. I don't think the leaders of my synagogue gave that question much thought, in spite of a recent effort at developing a strategic plan, though I can divine a purpose for the organization as I read the plan. It is just not explicit, and we would all benefit from a more explicit understanding of why our synagogue exists. Warren's advice is to then use that known and shared purpose to drive everything - services, programming, outreach to new members, etc. I like it!
His advice about how to make services more inviting came from years of experience and trial and error. He reviews everything from the appearance of the physical building to the sermon and the message. In Judaism, and Catholicism, the service is more rigidly defined by years of tradition, but there is always room for improvement around the edges without losing the core tenants of the faith. Just having good coffee available instead of instant would be a start!
I don't know if reading Rick Warren's book would help a non affiliated Christian decide to accept Christ and affiliate with a church, but I am sure that it will help everyone from top to bottom in a church organization (synagogue or mosque) understand better the elements that go in to creating and maintaining a successful congregation. Thank you Rick.
July 26, 2015
Watched this plan play out in a church I used to go to. It's based on consumerism and numbers. The idea is to make church friendly to Non-Christians by making sermons less scary and easier to understand and moving anything uncomfortable or deep to small groups for the long-term believers. It also covers making the worship more inviting to Non-Believers by trying to upgrade it to a professional level show and being careful not to have any song that might make Non-Believers uncomfortable. These are just a couple of examples.
At first these ideas sound like a good thing, because after all we want as many people to be saved as posible. But at the church I went to it felt like Jesus got pushed out the back door. Reading this book makes me want to vomit.
At first these ideas sound like a good thing, because after all we want as many people to be saved as posible. But at the church I went to it felt like Jesus got pushed out the back door. Reading this book makes me want to vomit.
October 29, 2018
Warren is a possibly unsurpassed in his application of pragmatism and public surveys to the running and shape of the local church. Unfortunately his handle on and use of Scripture is weak, his eagerness to make your church accommodating means vagueness on our message and mission, and his writing is repetitious rather than refined. There is much to learn from Saddleback and Rick Warren's ministry but - as the author himself often reminds the reader - that isn't the model the emulate or even consider when looking to grow the local church; his principles are therefore helpful and many of them should be carefully plied
October 16, 2015
The book is popular because it appeals to a good idea of trying to define one's purpose in life. Yet the author does not exegete Scripture well or harmonize Scripture as well. In the end, if followed, will hinder rather than help the believer.
February 26, 2017
It's basically just a 400 page brochure for Saddleback and how it's better than your church.
March 3, 2015
When you give this book the test of Scripture, there is much to be concerned about.
March 21, 2019
A few things.
First, I'm not a big fan of Rick Warren's writing style. In any given paragraph, he usually says the same thing in fifty different ways, which is great for teaching, but in writing it's very... unnecessary. His page count could have been reduced in half just by fixing this.
Second, it is slightly dated, but nothing major.
Third, this is a great resource for pastors to have! I heard a lot of bad about this book and about Rick, so I thought I'd read it myself, and I'm very pleasantly surprised. Most of the crap about it was from narrow-minded people who judged him without listening to what he was saying. He makes it clear that you can't do the same thing he did, but he also tells you what he did. Even if you don't want to switch to seeker-sensitive, which has been demonized just as both Rick and this book have been, there are still valuable things that you can learn in this book, such as church focus and giving announcements. The problem is that your typical pastor already has decided he is right and that he isn't going to change anything, and then is going to blame his shrinking and irrelevant congregation on everything else except his lack of leadership. Obviously, I don't agree with everything that is said in this book - I rarely agree 100% with any author. But still, this book is worth owning.
First, I'm not a big fan of Rick Warren's writing style. In any given paragraph, he usually says the same thing in fifty different ways, which is great for teaching, but in writing it's very... unnecessary. His page count could have been reduced in half just by fixing this.
Second, it is slightly dated, but nothing major.
Third, this is a great resource for pastors to have! I heard a lot of bad about this book and about Rick, so I thought I'd read it myself, and I'm very pleasantly surprised. Most of the crap about it was from narrow-minded people who judged him without listening to what he was saying. He makes it clear that you can't do the same thing he did, but he also tells you what he did. Even if you don't want to switch to seeker-sensitive, which has been demonized just as both Rick and this book have been, there are still valuable things that you can learn in this book, such as church focus and giving announcements. The problem is that your typical pastor already has decided he is right and that he isn't going to change anything, and then is going to blame his shrinking and irrelevant congregation on everything else except his lack of leadership. Obviously, I don't agree with everything that is said in this book - I rarely agree 100% with any author. But still, this book is worth owning.
August 27, 2025
I don’t frequent church-growth books however certain things had led me to look into this book. Reading it I have found it to be one of the most influential books for “modern day church”. Many of the ideas presented here are staple for church planting/ church growth models today. You see the roots that produce much of the fruit today.
Of course Warren wouldn’t claim it to be, but the method and ideas presented are not the method or ideas of the Apostles.
This approach to church seems to have really played into the spirit of the age, working with it rather than against it.
However, Warren did provide a few positive practical tips for how to apply certain biblical principles.
I would recommend this book more for the acknowledgment of its influence and ideas rather than the application of its ideas and methods.
Of course Warren wouldn’t claim it to be, but the method and ideas presented are not the method or ideas of the Apostles.
This approach to church seems to have really played into the spirit of the age, working with it rather than against it.
However, Warren did provide a few positive practical tips for how to apply certain biblical principles.
I would recommend this book more for the acknowledgment of its influence and ideas rather than the application of its ideas and methods.
June 4, 2018
Excellent! Ides on how your church can become a healthy, effective and growing church on a mission.
April 26, 2022
A lot of this is just common sense. Idk it seems like Warren was writing this more for pastors and church leaders who didn't grow up attending multiple churches. On a side note, Saddleback Sam stole the show.
January 16, 2018
Un gran libro. Totalmente imprescindible para mirar la iglesia y la evangelización con la mirada del nuevo siglo. Ojalá este libro fuera lectura obligatoria en el Seminario.
August 20, 2017
A great how to book for church leaders full of practical insight.
May 3, 2008
Every Christian believer ought to take seriously the need for the Church to be and do what God designed it to be and do, as the Bible reveals this to us. (Tragically, too often we don't care about this --and the condition of our congregations shows it.) Warren (who is also the author of The Purpose-Driven Life) here describes the transformation of the local church he pastors into one in which genuine Christian nurture happens, and through which lost persons are regularly converted to Christ in significant numbers, and explains the principles behind that transformation. Its first step was a long series of weekly Bible studies taking a serious inductive look at the Biblical teaching about the church; and its basic requirement was a willingness to subject every extra-biblical, man-made tradition to a serious analysis of its purpose and effect (especially its effect on the congregation's ability to win souls), viewed in the light of the Church's biblical purposes, and a willingness to change those traditions when necessary.
This book is usually associated with the "Church-growth movement," and the label has some value; but labeling can also be counterproductive. Like most movements, this one isn't monolithic (Warren, for instance, does not advocate the ethnic homogenity of congregations pushed by the movement's founder in the 1960s, Donald McGauvran). And people told by their pastors that "the Church-growth movement is a heresy," or similar rot, are apt to react to the label with prejudiced hostility, rather than seriously reading what Warren has to say. (His theology, BTW, is solidly orthodox; the book's preface is written by his friend, Southern Baptist fundamentalist W. A. Criswell, hardly a rabid liberal.)
Warren's heart for the lost, and his concern for the nurture and edification of believers, radiates from the book; and it's a very easy read. Serious understanding of its principles would benefit the common life and ministry of every congregation today!
This book is usually associated with the "Church-growth movement," and the label has some value; but labeling can also be counterproductive. Like most movements, this one isn't monolithic (Warren, for instance, does not advocate the ethnic homogenity of congregations pushed by the movement's founder in the 1960s, Donald McGauvran). And people told by their pastors that "the Church-growth movement is a heresy," or similar rot, are apt to react to the label with prejudiced hostility, rather than seriously reading what Warren has to say. (His theology, BTW, is solidly orthodox; the book's preface is written by his friend, Southern Baptist fundamentalist W. A. Criswell, hardly a rabid liberal.)
Warren's heart for the lost, and his concern for the nurture and edification of believers, radiates from the book; and it's a very easy read. Serious understanding of its principles would benefit the common life and ministry of every congregation today!
September 30, 2013
The most depressing Christian book I've read.
It's so full of acronyms and other 'middle management speak' from the corporate world that it becomes a very dreary read. By the end of the book I was starting to view Rick Warren as the David Brent of Christianity.
I've read a number of books which explain what God has done in previous revivals and they have filled me with awe and expectancy at what God can do but I did not have that experience here and I have the feeling that churches following the strategies in this book won't encounter the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and a genuine revival.
If you want to know how to create a God glorifying church read the Bible and books on the various revivals over the years rather than this offering.
On a more personal level it has negatively impacted on my church life. Warren set out a format for worship which starts with some lively music to get us warmed up and then moving into something more reflective. This feels like clear emotional and psychological manipulation. If a church uses this method, even it is genuine it has placed a doubt if it is the Spirit moving rather than mere human manipulation.
It's so full of acronyms and other 'middle management speak' from the corporate world that it becomes a very dreary read. By the end of the book I was starting to view Rick Warren as the David Brent of Christianity.
I've read a number of books which explain what God has done in previous revivals and they have filled me with awe and expectancy at what God can do but I did not have that experience here and I have the feeling that churches following the strategies in this book won't encounter the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and a genuine revival.
If you want to know how to create a God glorifying church read the Bible and books on the various revivals over the years rather than this offering.
On a more personal level it has negatively impacted on my church life. Warren set out a format for worship which starts with some lively music to get us warmed up and then moving into something more reflective. This feels like clear emotional and psychological manipulation. If a church uses this method, even it is genuine it has placed a doubt if it is the Spirit moving rather than mere human manipulation.
December 1, 2012
Prior to The Purpose-Driven Church, I read Rick Warren's Purpose-Driven Life. I did not understand all the hype about the book so I finally got around to picking it up. The Purpose-Driven Church is filled with a lot more testimonies and personal examples from Pastor Warren's life. Like The PUrpose-Driven Life, it is written in an easy-to-understand format.
Pastor Warren writes the story of Saddleback, which testifies to the hardships churches face prior to growth. Although at times Warren focuses on marketing-schemes and number, I must say that one needs to look at Warren's motives. Throughout the book, you can easily tell that Warren's heart is for unbelievers to know Christ. Their church was built to share the gospel to non-believers, rather than reaching out to Christians from other churches.
Overall, this book is a good overview to church growth. I like Pastor Warren's down-to-earth writing voice and his ability to translate theories and complex ideas into "everyday" language.
Pastor Warren writes the story of Saddleback, which testifies to the hardships churches face prior to growth. Although at times Warren focuses on marketing-schemes and number, I must say that one needs to look at Warren's motives. Throughout the book, you can easily tell that Warren's heart is for unbelievers to know Christ. Their church was built to share the gospel to non-believers, rather than reaching out to Christians from other churches.
Overall, this book is a good overview to church growth. I like Pastor Warren's down-to-earth writing voice and his ability to translate theories and complex ideas into "everyday" language.
November 3, 2012
I have to admit that I wasn't too pleased when I found out that a group from my church was reading this book. I had all sorts of bad feelings about Rick Warren and the whole Church Growth and "Seeker-friendly" movement.
However, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Putting an emphasis on creating a healthy community, Warren is able (for the most part) to avoid the trap of putting style over substance that is a real problem in the early 21st century American Church.
I would definitely recommend this to any pastor or church lay leader that I knew. Its worth checking out at the very least.
However, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Putting an emphasis on creating a healthy community, Warren is able (for the most part) to avoid the trap of putting style over substance that is a real problem in the early 21st century American Church.
I would definitely recommend this to any pastor or church lay leader that I knew. Its worth checking out at the very least.
March 8, 2009
This audio version only includes the first five chapters of the book. I've never read the book. The first five chapters were good, but they really didn't leave me with any impression worth noting--although, that in itself is worth noting--and no more desire to read the remaining chapters. I'm not a Warren hater by any means--some of the things he's said on the Catalyst podcast were great!--but I can't say that I'd go out of my way to read any of his books to date.
February 7, 2017
Some great teaching on how to foster a healthy church! I didn't agree with 100% of Rick Warren's statements, but the heart behind the book is exactly what so many North American churches need. Biggest takeaway? A church can grow and be relevant/contemporary without compromising the message of Jesus Christ.
Now to go prepare my presentation notes for class...
Now to go prepare my presentation notes for class...
September 30, 2022
Summary
The Purpose Driven Church is written in a manner to address one crucial issue inside today's churches: growth. Author, and Founding Pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, Rick Warren, uses the pages to disciple and encourage pastors and leaders in churches of all sizes to evaluate their churches' current state and condition honestly. Warren claims to write with the small church in mine, especially the bi-vocational pastors (as seen in the book's dedication) whose flock is not large enough to fully support them financially. However, Warren stresses that the advice can be used in all types of churches, just that the approach may need adjusting.
Warren uses this book as an avenue to share his own stories of how he was able to plant and subsequently grow Saddleback Church to be one of the largest churches in the nation. Various areas of interest are addressed, such as how to revive a "dead" church into a purpose-driven church through multiple levels of evaluating what the church is for, the goal or purpose of the church, and the way that can then be communicated within the church, and further applying that purpose to each and every area of the church and its associated ministries.
Further, the book addresses several touchy subjects within the church, which lead to much debate, such as being and becoming seeker-sensitive, the particular style of music played, and even how a pastor preaches in a seeker-sensitive manner. Warren does this all while placing great emphasis on reaching the unchurched—those who have never attended church—going into detail on how this group must be reached in a manner that is culturally relevant to the time. Then taking those unchurched that you get to attend and growing them, through discipleship, outside of the crowd, to Jesus, and into the congregation and further into the core of those who serve within the church.
Analysis
It's pretty hard to argue with Rick Warren, as he has decades of experience in church growth and development. Warren does a great job in his book showing even his own personal growth in terms of building Saddleback Church. Leading, and pastoring in particular, is not an easy job. As he points out, it only gets more difficult as your flock begins to grow larger and larger. Overall, he is quite successful in stirring up the reader's mind to want to get up and get out, ready to come full speed ahead to revitalize their church. This is done well by discussing the countless issues and nuances about the church that those who have been attending for months, if not years, grow to overlook and disregard.
That being said, Warren does tend to keep his advice more on the level of a church that needs to grow but already has at least an okay-sized church body that is likely only lacking in unchurched attendees. In several ways, this deviates from the book's dedicated goal of assisting churches whose pastors are bi-vocational due to size.
Another area lacking in some ways is the discussion of Saddlebacks membership requirements. Warren does an excellent job of explaining that there are various classes, but he seems to not go into as much detail about the required membership covenant that each new member must sign. He does mention that the covenant requires acts such as mandatory serving and tithing but fails to go in-depth about the logistics and general reception within the church of these requirements considering they are not mainstream in most evangelical churches.
However, overall, Warren does a good job at honing in the message to encourage church leadership to take the time to pick apart and assess the current state of the church and see how restructuring with purpose in mind can help grow the church and the overall reach of the gospel message within the churches' community.
Application
Pastoral ministry is challenging, and it will undoubtedly be filled with ups and downs; however, if you walk in God's will, blessings will come. The Purpose Driven Church is a tool that many pastors, young and old, can use to step back and look at where their church sits in its current condition. Is it growing? Are unchurched, lost people hearing and accepting the gospel message? Does the church have a clear, defined purpose? These questions can be answered through the help and guidance seen in this book.
Personally, I find this book to be of massive significance in my walk in pastoral ministry. As someone who attends a church with less than 50 active members, this book has my heart and soul stirred up to get down deep and work to get the church back on track and, more importantly, back on purpose. Simple changes such as the updates to the church building or programs offered outside of worship services can make such an impact that I never really believed until reading this book. And while I disagree with Warren in certain aspects, much of what he writes comes directly from decades of his own experience. So much can be learned from those who have already made the journey. Pastors and churches so often need to stop trying to reinvent the wheel and take advice from people like Warren, who have proven that these methods, if applied culturally and modified to the area you're in, can produce positive results.
The Purpose Driven Church is written in a manner to address one crucial issue inside today's churches: growth. Author, and Founding Pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, Rick Warren, uses the pages to disciple and encourage pastors and leaders in churches of all sizes to evaluate their churches' current state and condition honestly. Warren claims to write with the small church in mine, especially the bi-vocational pastors (as seen in the book's dedication) whose flock is not large enough to fully support them financially. However, Warren stresses that the advice can be used in all types of churches, just that the approach may need adjusting.
Warren uses this book as an avenue to share his own stories of how he was able to plant and subsequently grow Saddleback Church to be one of the largest churches in the nation. Various areas of interest are addressed, such as how to revive a "dead" church into a purpose-driven church through multiple levels of evaluating what the church is for, the goal or purpose of the church, and the way that can then be communicated within the church, and further applying that purpose to each and every area of the church and its associated ministries.
Further, the book addresses several touchy subjects within the church, which lead to much debate, such as being and becoming seeker-sensitive, the particular style of music played, and even how a pastor preaches in a seeker-sensitive manner. Warren does this all while placing great emphasis on reaching the unchurched—those who have never attended church—going into detail on how this group must be reached in a manner that is culturally relevant to the time. Then taking those unchurched that you get to attend and growing them, through discipleship, outside of the crowd, to Jesus, and into the congregation and further into the core of those who serve within the church.
Analysis
It's pretty hard to argue with Rick Warren, as he has decades of experience in church growth and development. Warren does a great job in his book showing even his own personal growth in terms of building Saddleback Church. Leading, and pastoring in particular, is not an easy job. As he points out, it only gets more difficult as your flock begins to grow larger and larger. Overall, he is quite successful in stirring up the reader's mind to want to get up and get out, ready to come full speed ahead to revitalize their church. This is done well by discussing the countless issues and nuances about the church that those who have been attending for months, if not years, grow to overlook and disregard.
That being said, Warren does tend to keep his advice more on the level of a church that needs to grow but already has at least an okay-sized church body that is likely only lacking in unchurched attendees. In several ways, this deviates from the book's dedicated goal of assisting churches whose pastors are bi-vocational due to size.
Another area lacking in some ways is the discussion of Saddlebacks membership requirements. Warren does an excellent job of explaining that there are various classes, but he seems to not go into as much detail about the required membership covenant that each new member must sign. He does mention that the covenant requires acts such as mandatory serving and tithing but fails to go in-depth about the logistics and general reception within the church of these requirements considering they are not mainstream in most evangelical churches.
However, overall, Warren does a good job at honing in the message to encourage church leadership to take the time to pick apart and assess the current state of the church and see how restructuring with purpose in mind can help grow the church and the overall reach of the gospel message within the churches' community.
Application
Pastoral ministry is challenging, and it will undoubtedly be filled with ups and downs; however, if you walk in God's will, blessings will come. The Purpose Driven Church is a tool that many pastors, young and old, can use to step back and look at where their church sits in its current condition. Is it growing? Are unchurched, lost people hearing and accepting the gospel message? Does the church have a clear, defined purpose? These questions can be answered through the help and guidance seen in this book.
Personally, I find this book to be of massive significance in my walk in pastoral ministry. As someone who attends a church with less than 50 active members, this book has my heart and soul stirred up to get down deep and work to get the church back on track and, more importantly, back on purpose. Simple changes such as the updates to the church building or programs offered outside of worship services can make such an impact that I never really believed until reading this book. And while I disagree with Warren in certain aspects, much of what he writes comes directly from decades of his own experience. So much can be learned from those who have already made the journey. Pastors and churches so often need to stop trying to reinvent the wheel and take advice from people like Warren, who have proven that these methods, if applied culturally and modified to the area you're in, can produce positive results.
November 8, 2013
A powerful book for church governance and set up.
August 4, 2022
So many books cover this territory much better.
December 7, 2022
This book is the worst thing ever to happen to modern church. It reads like a grifter’s plan. Watched my open welcoming church become a right winged hate nightmare after this was implemented.
June 4, 2025
top read
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