By Mark Kelly
Hundreds of thousands of churches all over the world have been transformed by an idea: Balancing your focus on all five of God’s eternal purposes for the Church will bring a congregation into vigorous health and allow it to experience the spiritual and numerical growth God intends it to have.
A global phenomenon like Purpose Driven is bound to be misunderstood by some. It’s inevitable that misinformation would circulate. In spite of all the time and effort spent helping people understand the biblical vision of the purpose driven church, we have found seven myths pop up regularly:
Myth: “Purpose Driven is about following the latest fad.”
Some critics dismiss Purpose Driven as nothing more than trading hymns for praise choruses and dressing casually. PD is not about being “contemporary” and it isn’t concerned with adopting whatever fad happens to be all the rage in this month’s workshops. Purpose Driven is about being biblical. Rick Warren says: “The five purposes of the church commanded by Jesus in the Great Commandment and Great Commission never go out of style. They are not a fad. They are eternally relevant. Any church that fails to fulfill the five purposes Jesus established for his people is not really a church!”
Myth: “Purpose Driven is about being 'seeker sensitive.'”
Another bit of misinformation has it that Purpose Driven is merely another example of churches trying to be “seeker sensitive.” PD churches are committed to the purpose of evangelism, not any particular method of evangelism. They do evangelism in many different formats and use many different methods. Thousands of Purpose Driven churches don’t have an evangelistic seeker service at all.
Myth: “Purpose Driven is about adopting a certain worship style.”
It’s impossible to generalize about a “purpose driven” worship style. PD churches worship God in thousands of styles – liturgical, charismatic, traditional, contemporary, country, multi-sensory, casual, and many others. Purpose Driven principles affirm variety in worship – as long as it is offered to God authentically and accurately – “in spirit and truth.” Pastor Rick teaches that a congregation’s worship style must match the people it is seeking to reach in its ministry area.
Myth: “Purpose Driven is only for mega-churches.”
Purpose Driven churches can be found in all sizes and shapes. The Purpose Driven strategy focuses on balance, health, and strength, not size or shape. The size of a church is not related to its strength. A smaller church can be strong if it is balanced in its focuses on the five purposes; a larger church can be weak if it is unbalanced. Purpose Driven is a church health strategy, not a mega-church growth strategy.
Myth: “Purpose Driven is only for big-city churches.”
Purpose Driven principles not only work regardless of church size, they also work in any location. PD congregations are now found in huge cities, towns, villages, and rural areas – even out in the bush in remote places all over the world. Purpose Driven is not an American strategy either. In fact, there are probably more Purpose Driven churches outside of the United States than within. Rick says: “Purpose Driven is a biblical strategy, and anything that is biblical will work anywhere!”
Myth: “Purpose Driven is a new denomination.”
Purpose Driven is not a new denomination, and you don’t have to be part of any particular denomination to implement PD principles. There are Purpose Driven congregations in more than 200 different denominations and associations. Our desire is to work with denominations to strengthen their churches. Each church can maintain its own heritage and doctrinal convictions while cooperating with others on accomplishing the five purposes every church is called to do: worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and evangelism.
Myth: “Purpose Driven is only about targeting Baby Boomers.”
Purpose Driven churches around the world focusing on reaching thousands of different people groups in many languages and dialects. There are PDCs for every age group: Builders, Boomers, GenXers, and Millennials. Thousands of PDCs are reaching every possible lifestyle group, as Pastor Rick says, “Cowboys, bikers, professionals, singles, artists, surfers, academics, Amazon boat people, pre-moderns, moderns, post-moderns, and someday intergalactic aliens!”
For more information about what it means to be purpose driven, please visit our Web site or check out our FAQs.
