WHY DON’T MOST BELIEVERS GROW TO MATURITY?
“Let us look closely at our ways and examine them and then return to the Lord.” Lamentations 3:40 (GW)
“If we examine ourselves, we will not be examined by God and judged in this way.” 1 Corinthians 11:31 (NLT)
“Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular CHECKUPS.” 2 Corinthians 13:5 (Mes)
“People need more than bread for their life; real life comes feeding on every word of God.” Deuteronomy 8:3 (NLT)
“Faith comes from HEARING THE WORD of God.” Romans 10:17 (CEV)
“I don’t really know it until I do it!”
“Make every effort to apply the benefits of God’s promises to your life. Then your faith will produce a life of moral excellence which leads to knowing God better.” 2 Peter 1:5 (NLT)
“Anyone who listens to the Word and takes no action is like someone who looks at himself in a mirror and . . . goes off and immediately forgets it. But anyone who . . . puts it into practice will be blessed in every undertaking.” James 1:23-25 (NJB)
“Remember, it is a message to obey, not just to listen to. If you don’t obey, you are only fooling yourself.” James 1:22 (NLT)
Jesus: “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the Word of God and ACT ON IT.” Luke 8:21 (NAB)
“Let our lives lovingly express truth in all things, speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly.” Ephesians 4:15a (Amp)
“Each day tell someone that he saves.” Psalm 96:2 (LB)
V. CAMPAIGNS: USE AN ANNUAL SPIRITUAL GROWTH CAMPAIGN TO BOOST THE GROWTH OF YOUR PEOPLE.
• WHAT IS A GROWTH CAMPAIGN?
An intensive, extended, all-church emphasis involving every age group that focuses on a particular aspect of spiritual growth.
SOME PAST CAMPAIGNS AT SADDLEBACK
I Want To Growth 1980
I Love My Church 1983
Building For Life 1998
Millennial Members 1999
50 Days of Faith 2000
50 Days of Love 2001
40 Days Of Purpose (6 weeks)
40 Days Of Community (6 weeks)
40 Days in the Word (6 weeks)
Live Your Calling (6 weeks)
50 Days of Transformation (8 weeks)
Daring Faith (10 weeks)
The Miracle of Mercy (8 weeks)
40 Days of Prayer (6 weeks)
In Saddleback’s history, nothing has produced more change and growth in our members than campaigns!
EXAMPLE: 40 DAYS OF PURPOSE (2002)
671 new believers were baptized
1,200 new members took Class 101 and joined
2,000 increase in weekly worship attendance
1,400 new small groups were started
2,200 more people started serving in ministry
3,700 committed to a world missions project
5 TRANSFORMATION COMPONENTS
The first thing you do is call your entire church to unified prayer. The Bible says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” Months of prayerful preparation precede each campaign. Many churches schedule days of fasting to prepare their hearts for awakening. There is mountain-moving power in unified prayer.
The entire church - every small group (or Sunday school class) every age group, and every worship service focuses on the same theme for 40 days. Church programs usually point members in twenty different directions, but the power of focus is amazing.
Campaigns are built around four habits everyone needs to grow in: weekly worship attendance, a daily quiet time, a weekly small group Bible study, and a weekly Scripture memory verse. These habits keep people growing long after the campaign is finished.
Each weekend message during a campaign is designed to cause people to become “doers of the Word, and not hearers only.” Each sermon has either a homework assignment, or an event after the service, like the Ministry Fair or Missions Fair, where people could act on what they've learned.
Exponential faith thinking stretches your faith by adding a zero to whatever you goal is. For instance, if you have 4 small groups, you ask, “What if we prayed and worked to start 40 classes or groups?” It’s thinking so big that you are forced to completely depend on God because you know you cannot reach your goal on your own power. This “faith factor” is what takes the campaign out of the realm of “What we’ve always done” or “What we think we could do” and instead expects God to do something that's never been done before in your church. We’ve heard thousands of testimonies from churches about this.