Over the years, far too many people have become spiritual dropouts. These are people who start down the road of discovering all that God has for them. Most often, they are incredibly enthusiastic and excited about discovering their purpose. And yet, at some point, they lose hope. They give up. They drop out. All through this series, we have continually been reminded that discovering our purpose is a process. It's a journey. It's ongoing. As we wrap up the series this week, we'll talk about what it takes to make sure we don't become another spiritual dropout statistic. We'll learn how to finish strongly so that we may obtain the prize set before us.

We've come a long way with this series. We've talked about the importance of living a life of purpose. We've walked through the steps of aligning our life with the values we hold; of recognizing the uniqueness of our S.H.A.P.E.; of committing our lives to our purpose; and, of defining our life's mission statement. The question some are likely asking is this; how do I find the time to live our my purpose? It's a valid question. The reality is that most of us have far too much on our plates as it is. North Americans are far too busy. As the saying goes, "God put me on earth to accomplish a certain number of things. I'm so far behind, I will never die!" So, the challenge is this: Are we going to let our schedule control us, or are we going to make the hard choices necessary to make our schedule align to our purpose? It can be done. It is possible. But it wont be easy. This week, we'll talk about what we have to do in order to organize our time around our purpose.

Over the past few week's we've been walking through the steps that are necessary to discovering your purpose. We'll continue doing that this week by talking about writing a life mission statement. This statement is a concise, easy to understand statement that will help direct your life. It's more than a goal - in fact, it goes much deeper than that. At the same time, we'll look at four purposes that every person is called to incorporate into their life. These are things that we have in common when it comes to living a life of purpose.

Many years ago, Nike came up with one of the most famous slogans of all time: Just Do It. Let's be honest, too many people never "just do it." They waver. They debate. They consider all the options. They keep a back up plan. They talk about doing it. But they never get around to actually making the commitment to step out and do it. As we continue looking at Living A Life Of Purpose, we're going to zero in on making a commitment to living out your life's purpose. "But, how can I commit to living out my purpose before I know what my purpose is?" It's a great question. And yet, God doesn't seem to do things the way we think they should be done. All through the Bible, we find God inviting people to commit to his plan before he gives them all the details. What God is really doing is asking us, "Do you trust me? Will you commit to me even without knowing all that I have in store for you?" How you answer that question will determine just how much of your purpose you'll discover.

Have you ever wondered what your life would have been like if your parents were different? If you had grown up rich? Or in another country? Maybe you've struggled with why God seemed to allow certain things to happen to you in your life. You've found yourself weighed down by something in your past. This week, we'll look at some of those issues as they relate to living a life of purpose. We'll talk about how God takes everything in our lives: our passions, our desires, our abilities, and yes, even our upbringing, and uses those elements to shape us into the person he has created us to be.

Everyone values something. We all deem certain things to be important to us. And yet, far too often, the things we claim are important don't line up with the way we live life. In other words, what we value in theory is often much different than what we value in practice. The first step to living a life of purpose is deciding what truly matters in your life and then aligning your actions to what you value. This week, we'll look at how to do just that. God has created us to place value on certain things. We'll talk about how we ascribe worth and what that says about our purpose.

A major newspaper in the U.S. recently polled their readership. Among the questions asked was, "If you could ask God anything, what would your first question be?" Overwhelmingly, people responded, "If I could ask God one question, I would ask him, 'Why am I here?'" It doesn't matter what your spiritual background is, people want to know if this life truly matters. Are we just the result of some random, chanced event in history? Or is there something more? Can we truly have purpose in this life? Is there a reason behind our existence? Living A Life Of Purpose answers those very questions. Based on Rick Warren's best selling book, A Purpose Driven Life, this series promises to take us on our journey of discovering our God-given purpose. Week One: Why Am I Here? In week one, we'll take some time to introduce the series and lay the framework for where we'll be going for the rest of the weeks. We'll talk about the benefits of knowing your purpose, and offer some insight into the first steps to discovering your purpose.

Week Four: Developing Mature Leaders Browse any book store, search Google for Christian conferences, or follow a few church-related blogs, and you'll discover that there is no shortage of opinions when it comes to the role of church leadership. And yet, it seems like we struggle with how to develop leaders within the church. Could it be that we are asking the wrong questions? Or, could we going at leadership development the wrong way? This week we wrap up The Journey Forward series by focusing on the fourth element we need to pack: developing mature leaders. What if we viewed church leadership as a calling rather than an office? What if we emphasized spiritual maturity rather than specific positions within the church? How would that look? What if people just naturally began to lead in certain areas? Would our church be more effective?

Week Three: A Focus on Mission Ask any Christian and they will tell you that reaching the unchurched is important to them. And yet, our actions seem to tell a different story. According to a number of different studies, close to 95% of Christians will never lead another person into a relationship with Jesus Christ. It's a sad fact that The Church is becoming less influential within society every year. The average person simply doesn't see any relevance in the local church and has no interest in becoming part of it. This series is focusing on the journey forward. It is a journey that God wants to take us on. For it to be successful, we need to pack a few things. So far, we've packed a dependance on God and a desire for community. This week, we're including a focus on mission to our list of elements. Join us as we work through what it means to focus on mission.

Week Two: A Desire For Community The fourth book of the New Testament, Acts, tells the story of the launch of the Church. From a core group praying in the upper room of a house, to a team of missionaries launching churches in various cities, the Church has been passionate about community. They saw each other as family. They were committed to growing together as they experienced the journey God had for them. As we continue to look at the journey God has laid out for us, we must come to terms with what it means to be in community together. What does it mean to be a church family? What role should we play in one another's lives? Do we stand with those who are hurting and celebrate with those who are victorious? Join us this week as we learn what it means desire community within the church.