40 Days of Purpose

Kathy Vaselkiv

Early last year Central's Session decided to have our congregation join more than 1500 other churches across the country and around the world in 40 Days of Purpose, a church-wide program of spiritual renewal, from April 20th-June 1st. George Antonakos, our Interim Senior Pastor, wrote in News & Views on March 2nd that it was his deeply held conviction that one of the reasons that God delayed the identification and selection of a new pastor was so that Central could engage in this experience. 40 Days of Purpose was based on the recurring biblical emphasis of change and preparation often experienced during this span of time (40 days); our Session hoped it would unify our members in our stated mission and ministry, accelerate personal and corporate spiritual growth and prepare Central for its next level of growth as it welcomed a new senior pastor.

The campaign was designed to answer the question of "What on earth am I here for?" with a biblical response focused on worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry and evangelism. Each Central member and friend was asked to commit to reading a selection from The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, Pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, for 40 days, join a weekly small group for seven sessions, attend Sunday worship services and participate in three church-wide events - an opening seminar, a ministry fair and a concluding celebration. Almost 500 people attended the opening simulcast and luncheon introducing 40 Days of Purpose on Saturday, April 12th; more than 800 copies of The Purpose Driven Life were distributed during the campaign and about 600 people participated in small groups. In addition, our Children's and Student Ministries incorporated 40 Days content into their curriculum during this time. It was really exciting to have the whole Central family focusing on the same daily readings and Scripture passages.

It was a joy to join with close to 700 individuals at Loch Raven High School on Sunday afternoon, June 1st to worship together and celebrate the stories of transformed hearts and lives. There were stories of new faith in Christ, long-time believers who felt renewed passion for discipleship and ministry and a growing anticipation of how God might use our congregation for his purposes in the future. There were 55 people asking to take the New Member Class and join our church at the end of 40 Days of Purpose. The campaign helped Central continue to move from a church with small groups to a church of small groups. There are about 100 more people in small groups this fall than there were prior to 40 Days of Purpose, and the Small Group Ministry Team scheduled a "small group connection" in the fall similar to that used to encourage people into small groups for 40 Days.

Perhaps the most exciting indication that God's hand was in this time of focused attention to his purposes for individuals and our congregation was a long-awaited answer to prayer after 40 Days of Purpose concluded. Several weeks after the conclusion of the campaign, our Pastor Nominating Committee announced they had a candidate for senior pastor and the congregation voted to call Pastor John Schmidt to Central on July 15th.