N.C. Baptist church to be on national news show

From staff reports

A Baptist Church in North Wilkesboro is slated to appear on a national news program Monday.

Celebration Church, which is part of the Brushy Mountain Association, will be featured in an ABC News Nightline story on Rick Warren and the purpose-driven church movement, according to Tom Bartlett, the pastor of Celebration Church.

Bartlett said he was interviewed by Martin Bashires, the co-anchor of Nightline, for about an hour. The show's crew also filmed the church's services and the community, he said.

The purpose-driven model encourages churches to focus on five purposes - worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry and evangelism. The movement was critiqued in a Wall Street Journal article last year.

Warren is pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., and author of the best-selling book, "Purpose-Driven Life." He has taught the purpose-driven concept to more than 400,000 pastors, ministers, and priests around the world.

More than 100,000 churches in 160 countries follow the purpose-driving model, according to organization's web site at purposedriven.

Celebration Church received a "church health award" from Warren's organization last year.

Nightline is broadcast on many ABC stations at about 11:30 p.m. after the late local news.