Religion

By CINDY MALLETTE
Staff Writer

The goal of the Rev. Rick Warren's P.E.A.C.E. Plan is set forth in its name:

So far 7,700 Christians have gone to 68 countries to fight against the "five global giants" as Warren calls them -- spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, extreme poverty, pandemic diseases, and rampant illiteracy.

A. Larry Ross, spokesman for Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., where Warren is pastor, said the goal is to emulate Jesus' ministry.

"Pastor Warren wants to help other churches do what Jesus did," Ross said on Friday. "That plan does the five things Jesus did while he was here."

The plan includes teams of Christian volunteers -- most of whom come from churches completing Warren's "40 Days of Purpose" personal growth program -- meeting with church members in nations seeking help fighting the five giants.

Ross said the host nations have invited the Christian volunteers to come, and that's been a key to plan's success.

"It's all done through relationships," he said.

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame heard Warren speak about the P.E.A.C.E. plan in 2003, and was quoted in the August 18 issue of Time magazine that his goal is to become the first "Purpose-Driven Nation." In Rwanda, Ross said, each of five provinces are taking up one of the letters in the P.E.A.C.E. Plan and working to make it a reality in their region. The end result, Rwandans hope, is for the entire country to have accomplished all five goals.

Uganda has asked to be the second Purpose Driven Nation, Ross said, and the Kenyan government has invited Warren to train its parliament in the P.E.A.C.E. Plan's leadership principles.

Working with the nations' governments is part of P.E.A.C.E. 2.0. The original plan is being broadened to include the public and private sector to extend its effectiveness, Ross said. That means partnering with other non-governmental organizations already on the ground in the nations where P.E.A.C.E. volunteers are working. Ross said P.E.A.C.E. Plan organizers have not partnered with the long-established African mission ministry Mercy Ships yet, but indicated it would be a possibility.

Mercy Ships is a global Christian charity headquartered in Smith County.