Saddleback Church: What’s Happening for the Next 10 Weeks Up to Easter

We’re showing you this letter from Rick to the Saddleback Staff for a couple of reasons.

First, it is reflective of the way Rick communicates to the staff.

• He says things in a positive way and conveys his own sense of excitement about the things that are happening at the church.
• He gives tangible examples that show success, and then he affirms the staff.
• He also talks about the ‘this is next’ plans, helping to building enthusiasm for what comes next. He wants to avoid a let down after the hard work of a successful plan.

Second, he’s already talking about Easter, helping the staff to prepare for a high attendance Weekend.

Third, he talks about Saddleback’s new campaign, “LIVE YOUR CALLING: What On Earth Am I Here For?” This campaign has been reimagined for a new generation and offers a discipleship tool proven to be effective in any church, regardless of size.

What’s happening on the Weekends for the next 10weeks — up to Easter

Dear Staff,

I hope you sense the air of excitement and growth our church has entered into. Last we had 24,500 at services!!!! FOUR of our campuses had over 1,000 in attendance!!! I know you are all working so hard and I appreciate you so much!

For this campaign, God gave me a fresh way to restate the callings (purposes) of life. These are the sermon titles for the rest of this series:

• Jan 26-27 – CALLED TO BE LOVED (“We love because he first loved us” – OUR WORSHIP is expressing love to God)
• Feb.2-3 – CALLED TO BELONG (OUR FELLOWSHIP/MEMBERSHIP)
• Feb 9-10 – CALLED TO BECOME (OUR DISCIPLESHIP)
• Feb 16-17 – CALLED TO BLESS (OUR MINISTRY/SERVICE OUT OF YOUR SHAPE)
• Feb.23-23 – CALLED TO BE SENT (OUR MISSION)

Immediately after LIVE YOUR CALLING: What On Earth Am I Here For, we will begin a 5-week series on “LIFE LESSONS FROM BIBLE HEROES” based on the 10-week Bible series I’ve been working with Mark & Roma Burnett on for a year that will show 2 hours each Sunday night on the History Channel for the five Sunday evenings of March.

• We will have a Sermon Series and Small Group Discussion Questions based on each weekend’s 2-hour movie.
• We will encourage all Small Groups to DVR it and watch the weekly movie AND
• We will show each 2-hour episode after the Sunday night service on our Hi Def Screens in the Lake Forest Worship Center — and maybe repeat on Monday nights.

March 2-3 — Part 1 — Rick teaching

March 9-10 — Part 2 — Buddy teaching

March 16-17 — Part 3 — Tom teaching

March 23-24 — Part 4 — Kay teaching (Palm Sunday)

March 28-31 — Part 5 — Rick teaching (Easter Week) — This will be an incredible series to follow up LYC campaign

Your church can sign-up for “LIVE YOUR CALLING: What On Earth Am I Here For?” at http://www.purposedriven.com/churchsignup/

When will sermons be available?

Pastor Rick will be delivering his first Campaign sermon at Saddleback on Sunday, January 20th. This means the What On Earth Am I Here For? Sermon transcript and MP3 for Part 1 will be available by Thursday, January 24th at the Saddleback Resources Sermons Page.

When should my church start the Campaign?

The Nationwide launch date of the Campaign is February 3rd, but thousands of churches will be starting after this date. It is most important to make sure your church has prepared for growth and followed the guidelines in the Campaign Success Guide.