Purpose of the Church

If you ask typical church members why their church exists, you'll get a wide variety of answers. Most churches do not have a clear consensus on this issue. Win Arn, a consultant to churches, once told me about a survey he took. He surveyed members of nearly a thousand churches asking the question "Why does the church exist?" the results? Of the church members surveyed, 89 percent said "The church's purpose is to take care of my family's and my needs." For many, the role of the (preacher) is simply to keep the sheep who are already in the "pen" happy and not lose too many of them. Only 11 percent said, "The purpose of the church is to win the world for Jesus Christ."

Then, the (preachers) of the same churches were asked why the church exists. Amazingly the results were exactly opposite. Of the (preachers) surveyed, 90 percent said the purpose of the church was to win the world and 10 percent said it was to care for the needs of the members. Is it any wonder why we have conflict, confusion, and stagnation in many churches today? If the (preacher) and congregation can't even agree on why the church exists, conflict and disagreement on everything else is inevitable.

Unless the driving force behind a church is biblical, the health and growth of the church will never be what God intended.

Rick Warren

The Purpose Driven Church