One of America’s best known pastors, Rick Warren of The Purpose Driven Life, has teamed up with publishing powerhouse Reader’s Digest to develop a multi-platform network that will train and connect millions of people worldwide who have found the best-selling book helpful and want more biblically-based advice on life.
“Since the book was published, we’ve received hundreds of thousands of requests from readers asking for more help,” said Warren, founder of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California and the 162-nation Purpose Driven network of churches, in a statement this week.
To respond to the requests, Warren reached out to Reader’s Digest Association, which publishes in 79 countries, and asked if it could help publish the content of his new network, the Purpose Driven Connection, in a variety of high-tech and high-touch formats worldwide.
“We stopped several successful projects a couple of years ago to start preparing for this,” Warren said Monday, noting that planning and preparation took three years. “We’re thrilled to finally get to talk about it prior to the launch early next year. It is unlike anything else and has the potential to change hundreds of millions of lives.”
Three formats for the Purpose Driven Connection have been announced so far, and are slated to be introduced early 2009. They include a quarterly magazine titled, “Purpose Driven Connection”, small group multimedia materials for a national “40 Days of Love” emphasis, and a state-of-the-art Purpose Driven Connection social networking website.
Warren, who will be at the helm of all the platforms serving as editor-in-chief, anticipates more than a dozen formats emerging as the community grows and connects. Yet despite his large investment of time and effort into the project, Warren will not receive any money for his work.
“This is a labour of love,” Warren explains. “We want to help pastors help everyone else.”
The “Purpose Driven Connection” magazine will serve as the main platform in which all the other formats will connect. The magazine will feature stories of everyday people living out God’s purpose and making a difference with their lives.
For its premier issue, the magazine will feature some of the best-known Christian authors, including Tim Keller, Max Lucado, Bill Hybels, Anne Graham Lotz, Chip Ingram, Lee Strobel and Kay Warren.
