Friday, May 11, 2007

Is the Oldest Presbyterian Congregation in the US Purpose Driven?


This post may be outrageously distateful to some while refreshing to others. Anyway, I could not help but be surprised by reading about First Presbyterian Church of Jamaica...

One way First Presbyterian [Church of Jamaica] has achieved a larger congregation in the last several years is through adopting the Purpose Driven Model, an approach popularized by Rick Warren, the author of the best-selling book, “The Purpose-Driven Life.”

O’Connor [Senior Pastor] said by preaching that every individual is designed for a specific purpose that he or she can discover, he has been able to attract more people to church services.

“All people want to know their lives are lived in significance. That was a connection that was made,” he said.

Willingness to devise new methods of bringing faith to people is essential, he said.

However, 345 years later, First Church’s message remains the same.

“It’s a place where people are loved and welcomed,” he said. “ You can come as you are.”

Press Here to read the complete Queens Tribune Report

1 comment:

Stushie said...

Sounds good to me. Our church adopted some fo the Purpose Driven stuff and managed to increase worship attendance by 50%.

Love it or hate it, it works!