It’s finally here! After months of growing excitement, preparation and prayer, Saddleback kicked off 40 Days of Community on Oct. 2 and 3. More than 3,000 small group hosts, many of them first-time hosts, picked up campaign materials for their small groups.

The 40-day campaign will focus on helping small groups fulfill God’s purposes together through a special 40-day devotional guide, small group Bible studies, scripture memory and weekend messages. Through a special 40 Days of Community food drive, Saddleback will also feed Orange County’s 35,000 homeless and hungry for a 40-day period.  

Pastor Rick called the ministry potential unleashed through small groups during the campaign “revolutionary.” Focusing his message on five particular areas where we need one another, Pastor Rick challenged every Saddleback attendee to find a group during the next six weeks.

Saddleback isn’t alone in the campaign either. More than 900 other churches will go through the campaign this fall as well.

“You cannot be what God made you to be, you cannot do what God created you to do and you cannot fulfill the purposes God made you to fulfill without other people,” Pastor Rick said during the weekend message. “We were made for each other...God made us for a family. That’s why we are starting this new revolution.”

40 Days of Community small groups started meeting this week in more than 83 cities throughout Southern California.  As group hosts poured on and off the church campus to pick up materials, the excitement was obviously growing. 

“We just wanted to take Rick up on the challenge and see what God would do,” said Billie Harmon.

Billie, a teacher, invited the entire staff at her school to join her at her Monday group.

“Our school really needs to build community among our teachers and among our students,” Billie continued. “I’m very excited to see what God is going to do at the school.”

Christy Wrightson is starting a 40 Days of Community group with the hope of getting some of her un-churched friends involved in a church.

“We thought this was a great opportunity to invite people who might not normally come to church and a great way to reach out into the community,” Christy said. “We have little kids and we wanted them to be involved as well. We’re very excited about this and ready to go!”

This weekend Pastor Rick will turn our attention to our small groups reaching into the community together with a special focus on the 40 Days of Community Food Drive. Although more than a thousand people have pitched in to help over the last two weeks, there are still a variety of opportunities for small groups to get involved in the massive project.

If you aren’t currently in a small group, it’s not too late to get started. Click here to find a small group near you.