Rick Warren
He is the founder of Saddleback Church, an evangelical Baptist megachurch in Lake Forest, California. Since 2022, he serves as executive director of the Finishing the Task mission coalition. Rick Warren was born in San Jose, California, to Jimmy, a Baptist minister, and Dot Warren, a high-school librarian, and was raised in Ukiah, California.
Also recorded as Richard Duane Warren
Rick Warren

Pulso Cristiano · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Name
- Rick Warren
- Birth Name
- Richard Duane Warren
- Born
- 28 January 1954
- Birthplace
- San Jose, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- Founding pastor, author, Executive director Finishing The Task
- Spouse
- Kay Warren (m. 1975)
- Education
- * California Baptist University (Bachelor of Arts)
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
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He is the founder of Saddleback Church, an evangelical Baptist megachurch in Lake Forest, California. Since 2022, he serves as executive director of the Finishing the Task mission coalition. Rick Warren was born in San Jose, California, to Jimmy, a Baptist minister, and Dot Warren, a high-school librarian, and was raised in Ukiah, California.
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wikidata · Q380107 · wikipedia · Rick Warren
In this article
Biography
Biography
Warren earned a Bachelor of Arts from California Baptist University, followed by a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1979, and later a Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary. Warren founded Saddleback Church in 1980 in Orange County, California, beginning with a small Bible study group that quickly grew into a large congregation averaging nearly 20,000 attendees weekly. He developed the Purpose Driven philosophy of ministry, emphasizing church growth through five purposes: worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and evangelism. Warren authored The Purpose Driven Church in 1995 and later The Purpose Driven Life, both of which became widely influential, with the latter selling over 30 million copies. He also co-founded the P.E.A.C.E. Plan, a humanitarian initiative for churches, and has spoken at major international forums including the United Nations, the World Economic Forum, and TED. Throughout his career, Warren has been involved in political and social issues, sometimes drawing controversy. He has publicly opposed same-sex marriage and supported California Proposition 8. He has worked with diverse religious communities and emphasized dialogue. Warren has received numerous recognitions, including Time’s "100 Most Influential People in the World" in 2005, and has been active in humanitarian and mental health initiatives following the death of his son.

Pastor Rick Warren at Saddleback Church.
Pastor_Rick_Warren.jpg: All About You God derivative work: UpstateNYer · Pastor_Rick_Warren.jpg

President George W. Bush speaks with Pastor Rick Warren Monday, Dec. 1, 2008, during President Bush's participation at the Saddleback Civil Forum on Global Health at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. White House photo by Eric Draper
White House photo by Eric Draper
Key facts
Key facts
• Honorific Prefix — The Reverend • Name — Rick Warren • Birth Name — Richard Duane Warren • Born — 28 January 1954 • Birthplace — San Jose, California, U.S. • Occupation — Founding pastor, author, Executive director Finishing The Task • Denomination — Non-denominational • Church — Saddleback Church • Spouse — Kay Warren (m. 1975) • Children — 3 • Education — * California Baptist University (Bachelor of Arts) • Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity) • Fuller Theological Seminary (Doctor of Ministry)
Early life and education
Early life and education
Warren was born in San Jose, California, the son of Jimmy and Dot Warren. His father was a Baptist minister; his mother a high-school librarian. He was raised in Ukiah, California, and graduated from Ukiah High School in 1972, where he founded the first Christian club on the school's campus. He studied at California Baptist University in Riverside, California and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. He then studied at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas and earned a Master of Divinity in 1979. He also studied at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California and earned a Doctor of Ministry.
Ministry
Ministry
Warren says he was called to full-time ministry when he was a 19-year-old student at California Baptist University. In November 1973, he and a friend skipped classes and drove 350 miles to hear W. A. Criswell preach at the Jack Tar Hotel in San Francisco. Warren waited afterwards to shake hands with Criswell, who focused on Warren, stating, "I feel led to lay hands on you and pray for you!" During his time at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Warren worked at the Texas Ranch for Christ, a ministry facility of Billie Hanks Jr., where he began writing books. He co-wrote two books, The Victory Scripture Memory Series and Twelve Dynamic Bible Study Methods for Laity, with Hanks and Wayne Watts. In January 1980, Warren began a Bible study group with seven people and his wife at their Saddleback Valley condo in Orange County, California. In April 1980, Warren held Saddleback Church's first public service on Easter Sunday at the Laguna Hills High School Theater with 200 people in attendance. Warren's church growth methods led to rapid expansion, with the church using nearly 80 different facilities in its 35-year history. The church averages nearly 20,000 people in attendance each week. In 2005, during the Centenary Congress of the Baptist World Alliance, he affirmed that the withdrawal of the Southern Baptist Convention from the Alliance was a mistake since theological differences should not prevent fellowship with other churches. Warren has been invited to speak at national and international forums, including the United Nations, the World Economic Forum in Davos, the African Union, the Council on Foreign Relations, Harvard Kennedy School, TED, and Time's Global Health Summit. He has been a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) since 2005. In August 2008, Warren drew greater national attention by hosting the Civil Forum on the Presidency, featuring senators John McCain and Barack Obama at Saddleback Church. The forum marked McCain and Obama's first joint appearance as the presumptive Republican and Democratic presidential nominees and was broadcast live on national television. In December 2008, President-elect Obama chose Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration ceremony. The decision angered pro-choice and LGBT advocates and led to criticism of both Obama and Warren. Obama defended his choice of Warren, saying that although he disagreed with the minister's positions on abortion and same-sex marriage, there should be room for dialogue on such difficult social issues. More controversy ensued when it was announced that Warren would be the keynote speaker at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Annual Commemorative Service on January 19, 2009, the day prior to the inauguration. He delivered the invocation at Obama's inauguration the next day, which was generally praised for its positive message. In January 2009, Warren and the Reader's Digest Association partnered in the launch of the Purpose Driven Connection, a quarterly publication sold as part of a bundle of multimedia products. In November 2009, the partners announced that the magazine had not drawn enough paying members and would cease after publication of the fourth issue that month. In 2010, Warren was chosen to lead a prayer at the inauguration ceremony of the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame. Since that date, he has been part of the latter's Presidential Advisory Council. In June 2021, Warren announced he would be retiring from the senior pastor position at Saddleback, but that he would stay on until his successor is appointed. In January 2022, he became executive director of Finishing the Task, a mission coalition. In August of that year, Warren stepped down as lead pastor while maintaining a founding pastor role. In May 2023, Warren was installed as the first honorary chancellor of Spurgeon's College. The following month, during the annual Southern Baptist Convention, after Saddleback Church was disfellowshipped from the convention for hiring a female pastor, he championed the ordination of women.
Purpose Driven
Purpose Driven
Warren taught the material that would one day become the Purpose Driven philosophy of ministry to individual pastors who called or wrote him in Saddleback's early days. Warren gained experience teaching the material through his participation in the Institute for Evangelism and Church Growth, affiliated with Fuller Theological Seminary. In 1995 Zondervan published Warren's best-selling book, The Purpose Driven Church, which distilled many of the lessons he had learned while starting Saddleback Church and honed during years of training other pastors. After sharing the "Saddleback Story", the book makes a case for building a church around five purposes (worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and evangelism) through what Warren called a "crowd to core" method of church growth. He encouraged churches to reach their community, bring in a crowd, turn attendees into members, develop those members to maturity, turn them into ministers, and send them out on a mission. In 2004, more than 10,000 churches of various denominations attended a seminar or a conference led by Warren.
P.E.A.C.E. Plan
P.E.A.C.E. Plan
In 2003, Saddleback Church, Kay and Rick Warren founded the P.E.A.C.E. Plan, a humanitarian development program for churches.
Recognition
Recognition
In 2004, Warren was named one of the "leaders who mattered most in 2004" by Time. In April 2005, Warren was named by Time as one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World". Warren was named one of "America's Top 25 Leaders" in October 2005, by U.S. News & World Report. In 2006, Warren was named by Newsweek one of "15 People Who Make America Great". In 2006, The Purpose Driven Life sold more than 30 million copies, making Warren a New York Times bestselling author.
Personal life
Personal life
Warren has been married to Kay Warren since June 21, 1975. They have three adult children and four grandchildren. He considers Billy Graham, Peter Drucker, and his own father to be among his mentors. In 2006, after the success of his book The Purpose Driven Life, he claimed to have made the decision to "reverse the tithe", donating 90% of his income to three foundations and no longer receive a salary from the church. Warren's youngest son, Matthew, died by suicide on April 6, 2013, after 10 years of struggling with mental illness since childhood. He says that, after the event, more than 10,000 people wrote to him about their own struggles within the church. In March 2014, Warren launched a ministry to educate Saddleback on its role to help people struggling with mental illness at The Gathering on Mental Health and the Church. According to Axios, Warren is a member of Dialog, a secret society founded by Peter Thiel and Auren Hoffman.
Political and social views
Strategy for church growth
Strategy for church growth
In 2006, Wall Street Journal writer Suzanne Sataline cited examples of congregations that have split over the growth strategies and congregations that have expelled members who fought changes. She wrote, "Warren acknowledges that splits occur in congregations that adopt his ideas, though he says he opposes efforts to expel church members."
Traditional view of marriage
Traditional view of marriage
In December 2008, when Warren was announced to lead a prayer at President Barack Obama's inauguration in January, media outlets criticized the choice, accusing Warren of hate speech because he had written in a letter to his church in October that he believed the biblical definition of marriage between one man and one woman should not be changed. A few months earlier, in June 2008, he said that he had developed good relationships with several gay people because of the church's ministry for people living with HIV/AIDS, without having to compromise his biblical beliefs and agree on all subjects. President Obama defended Warren, recalling that he had been invited to speak at Saddleback, despite his differing views on gay people, and that it was this kind of peaceful dialogue that he wanted to implement in inviting Warren. On another side, some evangelical pastors have criticized Warren for not being militant enough against same-sex marriage and abortion. To these critics, he replied that they put too much attention on the fight against gay marriage and abortion.
Social work with Muslims
Works
Works
• The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life • The Purpose Driven Church: Growth Without Compromising Your Message And Mission • The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? • Answers to Life's Difficult Questions • The Power to Change Your Life • What on Earth Am I Here For? Booklet • Rick Warren's Bible Study Methods (Previously, "Personal Bible Study Methods") • The Purpose of Christmas • Words To Love By • God's Great Love for You • God's Big Plans for Me • The Lord's Prayer • The Purpose Driven Life: 100 Illustrated Devotions for Children
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Social work with Muslims
In 2009 and 2012, evangelical pastors also criticized him for attending Islamic conferences and wanting to work with Muslims to solve global problems. To these criticisms, he responded that he sought to be a friend to all such as Jesus Christ.