World-renown Pastor Rick Warren, author of "The Purpose Driven Life" and founder of Saddleback Church in the United States, is preparing to launch a new initiative called the PEACE plan, a strategy which will have a significant impact on global evangelism. It is part of Warren’s vision for a new reformation in churches and a new spiritual awakening through churches worldwide.

P.E.A.C.E. is an acrostic for:

Plan churches
Equip leaders
Assist the poor
Care for the sick
Educate the next generation.

"The objective is to mobilise every believer to live on mission in a strategic way by attacking what Rick has identified as the five global evil giants," said Andy Hein, Mobilisation Pastor at Saddleback Church. It is a plan described by Warren as being built upon ‘exponential thinking’.

‘Five giants’ have been categorised as the biggest problems affecting billions on the earth. They are ‘spiritual emptiness’, ‘a shortage of servant leaders,’ ‘poverty’, ‘disease’, and ‘illiteracy/ignorance’.

PEACE is a local church initiative, designed to mobilise millions of small groups to help believers start reaching out at home and around the world.

"Once a small group has begun reaching out in their own Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, that small group can go to another country and connect with a church in that country," said Hein.

"We believe average people can train and equip other believers to do the PEACE Plan in their own church and context," said Warren. "We only do what can be reproduced by normal folks in normal churches. That way the plan will keep multiplying and never stop. Once PEACE is released through other local churches, it will continue to reproduce around the world in an exponential fashion. It is going to be amazing to watch. But it all must start with prayer."
Christians will receive the training they need to obey both the Great Commission and the Great Commandment through the PEACE plan.

"In the past we have relied heavily on full time missionaries to get the job done. Our vision is to also add a billion Christian foot soldiers that are engaged in the battle in a strategic and intentional way through their own local churches," Hein said.

The goal of the PEACE plan is for "the global glory of God."

"Our prayer is for the fulfilment of Habakkuk 2:14, 'For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea,'" Warren added.

For nearly two years, the PEACE plan has been tested quietly by the Saddleback Church. By using the "40 Days of Purpose" and "40 Days of Community" local church campaigns, thousands of other churches have been preparing for the PEACE plan. The training tools and curriculum are expected to be released in 2006. The PEACE plan will be launched through other churches at that time.

Over 400,000 pastors and church leaders have attended "purpose driven" life training, based on Pastor Rick Warren's, "The Purpose Driven Life."