This Spring our church will be participating in a 40 Days of Purpose Campaign. This will run for six weeks across seven weekends beginning on Sunday 5^th March and ending on Sunday 16^th of April (Easter Sunday). This spiritual growth campaign is designed to answer the question, “What on earth am I here for?” The events of the campaign will give us opportunities to adopt habits of spiritual growth, memorize scripture, participate in small groups, serve in a ministry of our church, share our faith and learn to live a lifestyle of worship to the glory of God. We are very excited as we envision our entire congregation living in alignment with God’s purposes for their lives, and the impact this could have on our church and our community!  Other churches that have already gone through the 40 Days have experienced real blessings.

The 40 Days of Purpose Campaign has three main strands:

1.   The Sunday Evening Services will introduce the theme for each week. The times for the Sunday evening service will change for this period to enable as many to manage along as possible. More information about these services will be given very soon.

2.   The opportunity to participate in a Small Group study for the six weeks of the Campaign. Next weeks update mail will have full details of how to become involved so keep your eyes on the letterbox!

3.        Daily Readings from The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. Everyone who gets involved in the campaign will have a copy of the book. Further details will follow. Don’t go out and buy a copy as the church has secured a great deal !

Details about all arrangements and activities will be communicated to everyone in a phased manner which will mean that you don’t get overloaded all at once. We’ll be using mail, email, church web site and announcements to make sure you are kept up to date. A “40 days Kiosk” will be set out in the Church foyer as an additional resource for getting up to the minute information and materials.

So in order to prepare for these exciting 40 Days of Purpose there are a couple of things we’d like you to do………

1.        PRAY ! – Its essential and lies at the core of the Campaign. Pray that this will be a special time in the life of our church. Pray that people who have never been involved in a small study group will be encouraged to join. That all of us will receive a fresh insight about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. That our faith will be reinvigorated. That relationships within the church will be strengthened. Also pray for friends, colleagues or neighbours who may be interested in being part of 40 Days. Each week Prayer bulletins will be communicated to everyone. These bulletins will focus on specific Prayer Points for that week. The first “Prayer Focus” is included with this letter and we would ask that we all commit to following these bulletins as we prepare for the Campaign. You’ll hear more about Prayer next week.

2.        JOIN A GROUP! - Next week everyone will be sent a Campaign form on which you can help us identify your ideal group and time to meet. For maximum impact on your life it’s essential that you commit to joining a group throughout the Campaign. They’ll be non-threatening. Discussion will be open and relaxed. Focus for the discussion will be given by the Small Groups Work book which everyone will receive. Different groups will meet at different times and have different mixes to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to pick the optimum time and group structure for them – So look out for next week’s information on getting signed up!

The 40 Days will end with Celebration Sunday on the 16^th April (Easter Sunday) – A celebration event where we will give God thanks for all that he has done and we have learned over the 40 Days. Let’s commit ourselves to this event, be prepared to do things a little bit differently during the campaign as God prepares us to make a difference for Him. Think ahead and arrange your diary to ensure that you are available for all that will go on.

It’s an exciting time for the church. We trust and pray you will