Christians, especially those of the evangelical or pentecostal bent, have read or at least heard about Rick Warren's "Purpose-Driven Life," a best-selling book since February 2003 that has sparked a nationwide movement with its 40-day campaigns and now an industry, training pastors and selling study guides in more than 100 countries and all 50 states, including Hawai'i.

Warren's Lake Forest (Calif.)-based Saddleback Church program lists 24 churches in the Islands on its Web site, www.purposedriven.com, that have undergone the "40 Days of Purpose" campaign, which includes group studies using Warren's book, study guides and videos.

When the Rev. Jim Miller heard the claims — that following a "Purpose-Driven" path doubles the church budget and swells its numbers by an average of 20 percent — he laughed.

"Presbyterians count that way, too," joked Miller, who serves as First Presbyterian's associate pastor.

Is the hype true, or is it just another flavor-of-the-month Bible study topic?

"We didn't see a radical change," he said. "Our church was growing anyway."

Still, when First Presbyterian members read and put themselves through the program last October, "it gave us good feedback," he said.

Others in Hawai'i found using the "Purpose-Driven" principles (see list) helped their churches cement their core believers, and perhaps lure those on the edges. As the Rev. Cass Bailey of St. Christopher's Episcopal Church said, it helped the congregation feel connected, but "we intentionally didn't do the full campaign."

The "Purpose-Driven" idea isn't a new one for Ron Arnold, pastor at Kaimuki Christian Church, which this month finished its 40-day program, polishing it off with 25 baptisms at Ala Moana Park. Since 1998, his church has been following the concepts in Warren's "Purpose-Driven Church," a book that predates "Purpose-Driven Life."

Arnold called the program a success.

"Attendance increased dramatically," he said. "We had over 70 small groups — unprecedented."

Numbers don't always stay that high, other church leaders pointed out.

"What we experienced was a lot more people involved in small group (gatherings)," said Matt Dirks, pastor at Faith Baptist Church in Kailua. "It got people in the floater community to experience true community."

'Back to the basics'

While Dirks said his church may have felt a little bump in attendance way back in February 2003, when it went through its 40-day program, "I think the real power isn't material, but churchwide commitment."

The campaign in Hawai'i includes Baptist, Episcopal, Four-Square denominations and independent churches, both big and small. The Web site shows several churches that have more than 500 members, a smattering of those with 200-500 members, but the majority in the 200-under category.

Donn Anderson's Waipuna Chapel on Maui falls into the latter category. A mentor church that underwent its 40-day campaign last fall, it has seen benefits both tangible and intangible, he said.

Calling the program a "spiritual re-booting," the 40-day program helped his church "get back to the basics of what you're all about."

Calling himself a "40-days fanatic," the pastor said the program helped his church create a network of small groups.

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"Purpose-Driven Life" A synopsis of the five guiding principles outlined in Rick Warren's best-selling book: 1. You were planned for God's pleasure: Worship God, become best friends with him. 2. You were formed for God's family: Your spiritual family is even more important than your physical family because it will last forever. Find a church family. 3. You were created to become like Christ: Behave like Christ. Accept the Bible as the authority, defeat temptation. 4. You were shaped for serving God: Use your God-given gifts to do good works. Serve others. 5. You were made for a mission: Act as God's missionary in the world. Share what you know about God with others.

Just as there's no free lunch, there's no free "Purpose," either. Waipuna paid about $300 in licensing fees.

A California pastor took Warren and Saddleback to task in a Time Magazine article in the spring for its commercial enterprise. Dennis Costella of Fundamental Bible Church in Los Osos was quoted as saying: "The Purpose-Driven ministry is a marketing strategy. We believe the Bible tells us to present the word of God without packaging it for a contemporary cultural context."

But Warren does so, unabashedly, responding in the Time article, "I'm translating the truth into 21st-century language and evidently a lot of people are listening."

The program includes a workbook, training videos, some program materials, music cassettes with ideas for songs, CD-ROM with references and access to Web sites.

Other videos and kits are also available for sale.

Individual "Purpose-Driven Life" books and workbooks are purchased separately: At Anderson's church, they bundled the book together with a workbook and keychain for a suggested donation of $10, though many people donated more, he said. They ended up raising about $1,000 for materials. Books were given to those who couldn't afford it, said Waipuna's Anderson.

The license agreement depends on the church size — Kaimuki Christian Church on O'ahu paid about $1,100 — but "no church is turned down for financial reasons," Anderson said.

As Kailua's Dirks points out, "I think the Christian book-selling business can be good at their business, and it is a business."

But, he added, "I don't think Rick Warren had that in mind when he wrote (his book)."

Attendance swells

Before Anderson's Maui church underwent its program, three groups of people met regularly at the church, Anderson said. During the program, the number swelled to 13 groups with about 100 participants.

"It was amazing," he said. "Now, it has not sustained that level afterward, but we've increased 100 percent, now have seven groups meeting on a regular basis."

As for the cost?

"You're a realist, you live in Hawai'i," he said. "They market the book at below wholesale cost, including shipping. Whatever they're making isn't much. Whatever they're making is being plowed back into making this available to other churches."

As a mentor to other churches, Anderson offers this advice:

• Don't deviate from the way the program unfolds.

• Clear the church calendar; don't try to do all the normal stuff. If you don't clear your calendar, it isn't going to go as well. All you're going to have energy for is the 40 days of purpose.

• Gather volunteers, and give them a beginning and end date.

• Oh, and count the costs.

"I don't mean that negatively," he said. "Be up front with that. We had not budgeted what it ended up costing us. But the whole leadership wouldn't complain about the expenditure at all, it was so worth doing."