Purpose-Driven Ministries Honors 79 Churches with $1,000 Church Health Awards

By Katherine T. Phan

Purpose-Driven ministries awarded $1,000 checks to 79 churches from 20 nations that received its Church Health Awards during the Purpose-Driven Church Conference at Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, California, May 11-14.

This year was a record high for the number of churches being honored. On average, only four to six churches that have demonstrated healthy integration of the Purpose-Driven paradigm have been awarded annually since 1999. Since thousands of churches in the past few years have joined the trend, the number of churches experiencing success with the “40 Days of Purpose” program has also increased.

Rick Warren, founding pastor of Saddleback Church and Purpose-Driven ministries, said the awards were given on the qualitative criteria rather than its “size or shape”.

"These churches understand the importance of maintaining a balance between the five biblical purposes of worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry and mission," he said.

Warren added, “These congregations embrace purpose-driven characteristics to not only grow in numbers, but, more importantly, to grow in health.”

About 4,000 pastors and church leaders from 46 nations attended the Purpose-Driven Conference at Saddleback Church.

The "40 Days of Purpose" program is based on the best-selling book The Purpose-Driven Life" written by Warren, which has sold over 160 million copies worldwide.

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