10 ways to introduce P.E.A.C.E. in your church
By Manda Gibson

"Prayer has to be front and center in the P.E.A.C.E. Plan. This is so big it could never be accomplished apart from prayer and God." Lance Witt, Saddleback Church’s executive pastor and teaching pastor

LAKE FOREST, Calif. (PD) — During the 2006 Purpose Driven Church conference, Rick Warren told about a visit to a tent church in South Africa that changed the direction of his ministry.

The church’s 50 adults cared for 25 AIDS orphans. “I thought, ‘This church is doing more to help the hurting than my mega-church,’” Warren said. “It punctured my heart.”

That night, as he looked up at the African stars, Warren asked himself: “How did I miss the AIDS crisis?”

At the same time, he asked God what else he had been missing. “What are the problems so big that no one’s been able to solve them?” he thought.

It was out of that visit and prayer that God began giving Warren a vision for the P.E.A.C.E. Plan, a massive effort to mobilize 1 billion Christians around the world to address the five global giants – the problems so big no one has been able to solve them. The giants are spiritual emptiness, corrupt leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy. To address the giants, small groups from churches around the world are connecting with local churches in areas hit hardest by the giants. In those hard-hit communities, they are working together to plant churches, equip servant leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.

In a two-day P.E.A.C.E. Plan seminar during the Purpose Driven Church conference, Saddleback Church leaders gave an overview of P.E.A.C.E. and outlined how churches can get involved both in their local communities and overseas. Conference attendees spent time brainstorming ways for their churches to get involved and anticipating possible obstacles to P.E.A.C.E. in their churches. Additionally, church system administrators received training in an online system that connects P.E.A.C.E. teams around the world.

Mike Constantz, Saddleback pastor of missions, explained three major components that make P.E.A.C.E. unique. First, P.E.A.C.E. personally involves every member, not just a minority of missions-minded members. Next, P.E.A.C.E. works through church-to-church connections, instead of traditional church-to-missions agency or church-to-missionary relationships. Finally, P.E.A.C.E. activities are sustainable and reproducible in local communities, so, for example, churches in third world countries don’t have to depend on partner Western churches for resources.

“It’s about every church helping their people to live out the biblical purposes and passing it on to other people,” Constantz said. 

Lance Witt, Saddleback executive pastor and teaching pastor, gave pastors 10 guidelines for introducing P.E.A.C.E. to their churches in a healthy way.

1. Get involved personally. “P.E.A.C.E. isn’t something you can delegate,” Witt told pastors. Pastors need not only to learn about P.E.A.C.E., but also to lead an international P.E.A.C.E. trip for their church members.

2. Help your current church and missions leadership embrace the P.E.A.C.E. Plan. Change and conflict often go hand-in-hand in churches, but pastors should make efforts to alleviate this, Witt said. First, they can help leaders understand P.E.A.C.E. vision and values, like how P.E.A.C.E. represents mission, one of the five purposes given to every believer. Also, pastors should help missions supporters understand that P.E.A.C.E. can work alongside current missions programs, as every church member becomes involved in fulfilling the Great Commission. And finally, Witt encouraged pastors to be patient. “Give people space and time to embrace P.E.A.C.E.,” he said.

3. Combine P.E.A.C.E. and prayer. “Prayer has to be front and center in the P.E.A.C.E. Plan,” Witt said. “This is so big it could never be accomplished apart from prayer and God.” Through P.E.A.C.E., people will have to confront their own self-centeredness, and spiritual warfare will occur; both of these things must be fought with prayer.

4. Strengthen your small group network. Because P.E.A.C.E. is led by small groups, healthy groups are key to its success. Witt encouraged pastors to ask themselves: “What do our small groups need to be spiritually ready to do P.E.A.C.E.?” Some of the answers might include training on spiritual warfare or a biblical worldview.

5. Start teaching and preaching a holistic Gospel. Throughout Scripture, God speaks of his care for people’s bodies and minds, not just their souls. P.E.A.C.E. follows this example by addressing people’s spiritual, physical, and mental needs. A pastor who has traditionally just focused on spiritual needs may need to admit his omission to his congregation and start emphasizing Scripture passages and stories that reinforce a holistic theology.

6. Recognize the implications of P.E.A.C.E. on your entire church structure and program. Pastors must consider how P.E.A.C.E. will impact every facet of a church. Budget may be affected as individuals raise funds for trips. In discipleship, churches will need to help people understand that being a fully devoted follower of Jesus means involvement in P.E.A.C.E. As adults become involved in P.E.A.C.E., students will want to get involved too, so student ministry leaders should ask, “What will P.E.A.C.E. look like in our student ministry?”

7. Designate staff or recruit volunteer leadership to help with the implementation. “A pastor can’t do it all. You need staff and lay help,” Witt said. Pastors should look for early adopters who can help champion the P.E.A.C.E. vision within the congregation. In a busy church, pastors and early adopters may need to ask themselves: “Is there anything we need to stop doing, so we can make room for P.E.A.C.E.?”

8. Practice Local, as well as prepare for Global P.E.A.C.E. Early on, churches should begin identifying and facilitating Local P.E.A.C.E. opportunities. They may even want to have a church-wide local P.E.A.C.E. emphasis, giving small groups practical ideas for involvement. “Our small groups are willing to do more than we give them credit for,” Witt said. “They just need to know where to start.” But, cautioned Witt, churches shouldn’t just continue with missions as usual and call it P.E.A.C.E. To be part of P.E.A.C.E., something must address the five global giants.

P.E.A.C.E. is not a program; it is a new paradigm. You don’t change people’s paradigms quickly. Lance Witt

9. Take a long-term view of implementation. “P.E.A.C.E. is not a program; it is a new paradigm,” Witt said. “You don’t change people’s paradigms quickly.” Therefore, pastors should take a long-term perspective and not be in a hurry. They should be patient with their own learning curves and be open to God raising up new and unexpected P.E.A.C.E. leaders in their congregations.

10. By faith, expect and plan for God to use your church. As a church becomes involved in P.E.A.C.E., pastors should celebrate small victories, possibly through testimonies and videos. “Expect to create some raving fans,” Witt said. Even before they fully understand P.E.A.C.E., some church members will embrace it. Be grateful for those passionate supporters, he added.

To learn more about the P.E.A.C.E. Plan, go to www.thepeaceplan.com.