Forty Days of Purpose is an evangelism and discipleship effort. The movement is tied to the church-based P.E.A.C.E. plan projects going on in individual churches.

The global P.E.A.C.E. plan was announced by Rick Warren of Purpose Driven Ministries in 2005.  It stands for: Promoting reconciliation, Equipping servant leaders, Assisting the poor, Caring for the sick, and Educating the next generation. 

Forty Days of Purpose kicked off in Rwanda with a traditional celebration. Warren spoke as
well as Rwanda's President Kagame. Kagame praised the P.E.A.C.E. .plan which helps bring together the talents of the public, private, and faith communities. He also commented on the strength of Saddleback Church's Western Rwanda HIV/AIDS Healthcare Initiative which utilizes churches as medical clinics. 

He said, "This model can be replicated in other parts of our country. More importantly, more Rwandans of faith need to adopt this mindset."

Also during the celebration, 200 pastors wearing cap and gown were recognized for completing two years of training in the principles of the Purpose Driven program. 

The Forty Days of Purpose will overlap with Rwanda's yearly observance of the 100 days of genocide that began on April 6, 1994. 

Pastor Rick Warren, along with four police experts from
Saddleback Church, spent some time earlier this month training 50 Rwandan police
officers in Kigali on utilizing the ministry's PEACE plan in their jobs.

Published news accounts from the New Times in Kigali report
the training covered road safety, criminal investigation and clinical
psychology.

The plan itself is a massive mobilization of Christians into
an outreach effort that uses the Gospel to attack spiritual emptiness, corrupt
leadership, poverty, disease and illiteracy. 

The PEACE plan Promotes reconciliation, Equips leaders,
Assists the poor, Cares for the sick and Educates the next generation. The goal is to cultivate church-to-church
connections and help new ministries sustain themselves. Many of the PEACE teams plant churches in
areas where there were no churches to begin with. It's a growth effort focused on discipleship
and not numbers growth only.

Warren will speak at the October convention on his PEACE plan. The plan is "very similar to the concerns of the Baptist General Convention of Texas," according to Charles Wade, executive director of BGCT. 

It's an endeavor to get the church to be the forerunners in eliminating social issues such as illiteracy, poverty, and AIDS. His sermon will be the focal point of the meeting which is called "Missions – Together We Can Do More." Up to 2.3 million people from 5,600 congregations could be in attendance at the conference. 

Time magazine has named Warren America's New People's Pastor. "Rick has caught the attention of the people around the world with his vision of what local churches can do to make a genuine difference in solving the giant problems facing humanity," said Wade. The Economist calls Warren one of the most influential pastors in America.  

Warren's Saddleback Church started with one family in 1980 in Lake Forest, California. Currently 22,000 attend weekly.