Top 5 Church-Wide Campaigns for 2018

Looking for the latest? Here’s my Top 5 Church-Wide Campaigns for 2020

Planning a church-wide campaign for 2018? If you’re thinking about fall, 2018, you’ve still got plenty of time. If you’re thinking about late winter or even spring…it’s time to decide!

Although you would really have to hustle to take advantage of a campaign in February (in my mind the second best time of the year for a campaign), there are two other windows when the impact of a campaign can be optimized (post-Easter and fall).  See also, When Is the Best Time to Launch a Church-Wide Campaign.

While choosing the best church-wide campaigns is certainly subjective, I’ve made these selections with 15 years experience leading churches through the process of choosing, designing and launching powerful and trajectory altering church-wide campaigns.  See also, How to Choose the Right Church-Wide Campaign and Church-Wide Campaign Coaching.

If you’re a subscriber to MarkHowellLive.com you’ll notice some repeats from last year’s list. The truth is that although most years offer a selection of new campaigns, some are still too good to exclude.

Here are my picks for the Top 5 campaigns for 2018:

Launched at Saddleback in October, 2017,  40 Days of Prayer is the newest campaign from Rick Warren and Saddleback. DVD-driven, 40 Days of Prayer is a 6 session study that accompanies a 6 week message series.

The 40 Days of Prayer campaign is fully loaded!  And I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a more perfectly timed campaign. Has there ever been a time when longtime church members and their neighbors would be more open to learning how to pray?  I found myself thinking about when I’ll be using it and what it will mean to our congregation (even into the crowd and community with the right strategy), and I am really looking forward to this one!  I’m thinking it’s right on target!

You can read my full review right here.

DVD-driven, Transformed is a 7 session study that accompanies a 7 week message series.  Although this campaign launched in 2014, this is a potent theme and should be on your radar.   Anchored in the apostle Paul’s profound truth in Romans 12:2, this campaign will guide and grow your church by exploring what the Bible has to say about every essential area of our lives: Spiritual, Physical, Mental, Emotional, Relational, Financial, and Vocational.Like all of Saddleback’s campaigns, this one is the complete package and is a true church-wide campaign with material for the whole family.

I like Transformed because it will appeal to both the congregation and the crowd (and in many situations to the community as well). Who doesn’t sense the need to change in some way? You can read my full review right here.

Recently had an opportunity to take a look at a powerful new campaign from Dave and Jon Ferguson. Starting Over: Your Life Beyond Regrets is the newest project from the authors of Finding Your Way Back to God.

Starting Over was developed as a result of many conversations the Ferguson’s had with people who had read Finding Your Way Back to God: Five Awakenings to Your New Life. The authors made a curious discovery. If you’re familiar with Find Your Way Back, you may remember that the second awakening was awakening to regret. Their discovery? “Many of the people we talked to experienced the Awakening to Regret but then got stuck there.” Starting Over was developed to help people “come face to face with your regrets and learn to start over.”

I have to tell you, I believe Starting Over: Your Life Beyond Regrets may have even greater potential than Finding Your Back to God. Why? I think regret is an even more cross-cultural topic. While everyone may not be overwhelmed by feelings of regret, everyone can personally relate. If you’re looking for a compelling study that will appeal to Christians and non-Christians alike, take a look at Starting Over. I love this study and I think you will too!

You can read my full review of the book and the study right here. Also, you’ll find all of the resources for the church-wide campaign right here.

Divine Direction: 7 Decisions that Will Change Your Life is the latest “campaign” from Craig Groeschel and Life.Church.  launched in early 2017 at Life.Church. Divine Direction has all the pieces you need to be considered a church-wide campaign (i.e., sermon outlines, small group discussion guide, promotional artwork, etc.). And to top it off, everything except the tradebook is available free on their open church site.

Designed to help participants learn how to seek God’s will for their lives and how He cares more about who they are than what they do, Divine Direction has real potential both for regular church attenders and their friends.

You can find out more about Divine Direction right here.

What Makes You Happy? by Andy Stanley and North Point Ministries might seem an odd choice for a 2018 top 5 church-wide campaign. After  all, the videos were recorded at North Point in 2015! So why is it on my list? Easy! Here’s why:

First, What Makes You Happy is a 6 session study on three things all happy people have in common and how these three things can be realities for you as well. If you’re looking for a cross-cultural campaign, this is a great topic that will actually connect beyond the usual suspects (beyond the congregation and into the crowd and even the community).

Second, the videos feature Andy Stanley and there are very few more effective communicators (and especially communicators who connect cross-culturally to both insiders and outsiders).

Third, everything you need to make the series happen is available right here (i.e., sermon planning, series promotion, etc.). The group videos are available for streaming (as of 12/18/17) on North Point Ministries’ Anthology or RightNow Media. The study guides are available from North Point Ministries or Amazon.

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How to MAXIMIZE Your Church-Wide Campaign is designed to help you get everything possible out of your next campaign.