"I know God, and the best is yet to come because this church is destined for greatness."Īs CBN News reported in June, Warren announced his coming retirement last year in part because of ongoing health issues. The retiring Saddleback senior pastor ended his message by asking the audience to join in the next part of the church's journey with new pastors Andy and Stacie Wood. "Scripture guarantees the success of those who pursue love when it says, 'Love never fails.'" "Growing churches love, and loving churches grow," Warren noted. "Why? Because they're inspired by God and they're for his glory." "All of these dreams will be realized," he said. Warren then went through a list of goals for the congregation, including the dream of welcoming 20,000 members into the church fellowship, discipling, training church leaders, sending out missionaries to every part of the world as well as adding a new church plant every year that Saddleback existed, Church Leaders reports. ***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.*** These purposes are encapsulated in the motto of Saddleback Church, according to Church Leaders.Ī great commitment to the great commandment and the great commission will grow a great church," he said. Warren said God has five purposes that are summarized in the Great Commission and in the Greatest Commandment. You'll hear me say that a thousand times in the years ahead." He pointed to church health over church growth. ![]() After all, the church is Christ's body and it is God's will for every church to grow," Church Leaders reported him saying. "It is good for churches to pursue success," said Warren. ![]() The title of Warren's sermon that first Sunday was 5 Reasons This Church Is Guaranteed to Succeed. "That's what it means to be purpose-driven - begin with the end in mind. Saddleback was launched with a "purpose-driven value" at the beginning "with the end in mind," Warren explained. The success of the book allowed him to give away most of his income and re-invest in the church and others. As of 2020, the book has sold more than 50 million copies in 85 different languages. In 1995, Zondervan published his book The Purpose Driven Church: Every Church Is Big in God's Eyes, and in 2002 published a sequel, his New York Times best-seller The Purpose Driven Life. and in Germany, Argentina, China, and the Philippines.ĭuring his sermon, Warren talked about a familiar theme that has made him a household name – being "purpose driven." According to the church's website, it has over 200 ministries and 11 campuses in the U.S. Now known as one of the largest churches in the United States, Saddleback has grown to have more than 20,000 people attend services each week. "These were just 50-60 people who had shown up in response to a letter that I had written to the community." "We didn't know each other - they didn't know me, I didn't know them, they didn't know each other," Warren said. ![]() Warren, a graduate of California Baptist University in Riverside, had received his Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary just a year earlier. ![]() Only around 50 people attended that first Sunday service on March 30, 1980, at the Laguna Hills High School, according to Christian Headlines. He urged the audience to "invest" their lives in something of eternal value. "I have decided to repeat and re-preach the very first message I preached when starting this church, word for word, 43 years ago." Standing behind the same hand-carved pulpit made by a church member the first year of Saddleback's existence, Warren closed out his 43 years of service by saying he's preached 6,500 sermons and studies in those four decades.īut on Sunday, he announced he would conclude with the same sermon he started with in 1980. "It has been my privilege to love you, pray for you, serve you, encourage you." Have I told you lately that I love you?" Warren, 68, said after he came on stage to applause from the congregation on Aug. Rick Warren, the founder and senior pastor of Saddleback Church, has preached his final sermon to his Lake Forest, California congregation.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |