The PEACE Plan’s success in Rwanda has sparked international interest from other countries that long to implement the same training and national strategy. Those committed to launching the PEACE Plan in their own nations include Brazil, Cambodia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, India, Mexico, The Philippines, and Russia.

Implementing the PEACE Plan not only builds and unites healthy Purpose Driven (PD) Churches, but it transforms lives across entire communities and helps take the Good News to the last unreached tribes.

Laying the groundwork for this global movement are key leaders from Saddleback’s Purpose Driven and PEACE teams, including The PEACE Plan Pastor, Mike Constantz, PEACE Training Director, Dr. Mary Ann McMillan, and Purpose Driven Director of Hispanics, David Tamez. This month, all three headed to various PD headquarters around the world to train church leaders in PEACE and the Purpose Driven movement.

Starting on September 7, the team traveled to Saddleback South Manila where they met with Class 401 graduates. They introduced members to The PEACE Plan and how to utilize it to make an impact in mission.

The need to equip members has never been greater for The Philippines. On the southern island of Mindanao, the Islamic City of Marawi was recently seized by an ISIS-like group. An ongoing 4-month battle has left over 300,000 refugees seeking safety in surrounding areas.

According to Pastor Mike, Saddleback South Manila is actively helping those who have fled their homes. “They’re currently offering trauma counseling,” he explained, “—and they’re communicating with the local government to see what other efforts can be made.”

From South Manila, the three-member team headed to Bacolod on the northwest coast of Negros Island in the Philippines. There they met with Jose Ascalon, Senior Pastor of Ikthus Church who has been wholeheartedly committed to training Purpose Driven leaders. READ how the Purpose Driven Church movement changed his ministry.

With plans to launch a Purpose Driven Academy in November, Pastor Jose invited Pastors Mike, Mary Ann, and David to coach local pastors in Purpose Driven Leader Training and PEACE Leader Training. During the event, mission leaders were instructed on ways to implement The PEACE Plan. Follow-up sessions will take place in the near future, focusing on specific skills training related to HIV/AIDS, orphan care, church planting, poverty, health, illiteracy and other topics.

From The Philippines, the team traveled to Saddleback Hong Kong where they spent three days teaching with Campus Pastor, Stephen Lee. The goal was to provide PEACE Leader Training for 30 graduates who just completed Class 401.

It was also an opportunity to prepare for the Purpose Driven Church Conference taking place in Hong Kong on November 9–11. Slated to draw 300 pastors from China, Hong Kong, and Asia, the event will equip pastors to mentor other leaders, ultimately bringing growth to churches across the region.

“The biggest take away at the PEACE Leader Training was the moment when leaders fully understood how to mobilize members according to their passions,” says Pastor Mike. “They’re already making plans to serve churches throughout Cambodia.”

Sharing the vision was Pastor Stephen Lee and Saddleback Hong Kong’s Worship Leader Alex. They traveled with Pastor Mike from Hong Kong to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. There they met with Kevin Nguyen, Pastor of Saddleback Irvine South, and Fernando Mewengkang, Senior Pastor of Galilee Church in Jakarta.

With a burning passion for the Purpose Driven Church, Pastor Fernando invited over 300 leaders to Indonesia’s first nationwide PD conference. Held from September 18–20, the gathering featured a worship seminar by Pastor Alex and PD Training led by Pastor Kevin and Pastor Stephen.

As pastor of Saddleback Irvine South—now in its 10th year—Pastor Kevin felt his experience could benefit many of the established church leaders who are seeking tools to overcome the growth plateau. With just a five-day notice, Pastor Kevin said “yes” with an open willingness to be fast, fluid, and flexible.

His obedience gave him an opportunity to share his heart for the Purpose Driven model. “As a Saddleback pastor, I get to live and breathe the five purposes,” says Kevin. “It was incredible to share these timeless principles with other leaders. They were so passionate, committed, and ready to charge forward in breaking through ministerial barriers.”

Indonesia is the third fastest growing economy in the world, with a population that is 85% Muslim. This demand for proven church-health strategies have left local pastors hungry for an opportunity to impact the nation. With three Saddleback campuses represented at the training, the event exemplified the power of PD and PEACE, and how pastors in Indonesia can benefit from such principles.

“It was an honor to work alongside Pastor Fernando as the lead PD catalyst for the nation,” says Pastor Kevin. “He’s helping build spiritual leaders, and is fully equipped to coach others in the paradigm. On a personal level, the training really filled my cup. It was amazing to see God at work around the world and moving in a Muslim country. It reminded me that not only is every member a minister, but that every member is a missionary.”

Having flown from the Philippines to Hong Kong and on to Indonesia, Pastor Mike continued to Delhi, the next Purpose Driven destination. Arriving on September 19, he connected with Covenant Life Pastor, Jeremy Dawson who united 12 PD Master Trainers representing 12 Indian states. These leaders oversee PD and PEACE efforts in their own states, with as many as 200 million people per state.

“These Indian pastors have learned PD and PEACE and are Master Trainers,” explained Pastor Mike. “This gave us the opportunity to go into a much deeper level of implementation.”

These PD and PEACE Master Trainers are a result of the ongoing training over the past few years by Pastor Kelly Walter from Kansas City and Pastor Kim Ryan, both of whom have been instrumental in sharing Purpose Driven strategies. Read Pastor Kim’s story HERE about his ministry of planting PD churches across India and Cambodia.

During the three-day training in India, the 12 leaders were given tools on how to scale Purpose Driven and PEACE Plan models across an entire state. Pastor Jeremy shared his story of planting churches in Delhi, including three Purpose Driven Churches in the past year. With 12 Master Trainers now fully equipped in PD and PEACE, Pastor Jeremy is gearing up to empower additional leaders in other Indian states.

These ongoing efforts to launch nationwide strategies are just the beginning for the Global Purpose Driven movement, says Pastor Mike. “We’ve already launched across Africa,” he says. “But now we’re focusing on countries in Latin America, Asia, Europe, North America, and eventually the Middle East. It takes a great deal of energy to not only launch, but to sustain.”

During Saddleback’s Lake Forest Purpose Driven Church Conference in June, a total of 30 U.S. churches expressed an interest in partnering with other countries to become International Partnering Churches (IPCs). As the vision spreads, more people are getting equipped to serve unreached people groups.

In the following weeks, Pastor Mike plans to visit Canada, Mexico, Colombia, El Salvador, and Costa Rica. In Mexico alone there are 1,800 Purpose Driven Churches in five states, plus 30 coaching churches that are training pastors in PD and PEACE.
“We’re at a point where we have more momentum than we’ve ever had before,” says Pastor Mike.

To learn how you can be involved in starting a Purpose Driven Church, visit pd.church/start.