Pastor Rick Warren, internationally known author of The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church, addressed the General Assembly of the Association of Evangelicals in Africa (AEA) via livestream on Wednesday, calling on African evangelical leaders to take the lead in completing the global mission of the Church.

Speaking from California to evangelical representatives from African nations gathered in Nairobi, Warren emphasized Africa’s central role in the future of Christianity, urging the continent’s churches to step forward in global leadership.

“There are more Christians in Africa than there are people in the United States,” Warren said. “Africa is now the most Christian continent on Earth, with over 430 million believers. The Church in Africa must lead the rest of us.”

Warren, founder of Saddleback Church in California—which sent missionaries to every country in the world—shared his vision for Finishing The Task, a global initiative committed to completing the Great Commission by the Church’s 2,000th anniversary in 2033.

An experience in South Africa that changed Warren's course of ministry

Warren recounted the moment two decades ago in South Africa that fundamentally reshaped his understanding of mission and ministry.

“I had come to Johannesburg to teach pastors,” Warren said. Over three days, he provided training for leaders, which was livestreamed to different sites across the continent. “But when it ended, I asked to see a typical South African church,” he continued.

He was taken to a remote village far off the main road—a place without electricity or running water—where a small congregation was meeting under a tent.

“They had a garden to feed the children, a few schoolbooks, but no beds. The children slept in the tent at night,” he said. “And I realized this small African church was doing more to alleviate suffering than my large, well-funded church in America.”

That moment pierced his heart. “I wept,” he said. “And I repented. I had spent years training leaders but hadn’t cared deeply enough about those who were suffering.”

The encounter became more personal when a young local pastor, just 25 years old, approached him and said, “I know who you are. You’re Pastor Rick. I download your sermons every week at the post office—you’re the only training I’ve ever had.”

“I couldn’t believe it,” Warren said. “This young man walked two hours every week just to download a sermon and walk back to teach it to his congregation. That moment changed me forever. I knew then I would spend the rest of my life serving men like him.”

That evening, Warren sat on the red African soil under the stars, reading through the Gospels and asking God to show him His strategy for reaching the world. From that time of prayer and reflection emerged the “P.E.A.C.E. Plan”—a five-part approach rooted in the ministry of Jesus: proclaiming the gospel, equipping leaders, assisting the poor, caring for the sick, and educating the next generation. The model has since been adopted by thousands of churches worldwide.

“God revealed the P.E.A.C.E. plan to me in Africa,” he said. “So in many ways, I became an African. I even hold dual citizenship—I serve on the President’s Advisory Council in Rwanda.”

Today, some of the largest churches in Europe are led by Africans

Warren went on to describe how, over the last century, the center of Christianity has shifted from the global North to the global South. “One hundred years ago, 95 percent of all Christians lived in Europe and North America,” he said. “Today, 95 percent live in Africa, Latin America, and southern Asia.”

The future of the Church, he said, can be summed up in three words: “Southern, urban, and young.”

“Half of the world is under 30 years of age,” he added. “If we’re going to reach the world with the gospel, we must reach young people in the global South and in the world’s cities.”

Warren also highlighted the global influence of African Christian leaders. “The largest churches in the United Kingdom, Paris, and Moscow are all led by African pastors,” he said. “You are not just the future—you are the present.”

Equipping local churches for global mission

A key point in Warren’s message was the empowerment of local churches. He recounted how Saddleback Church mobilized its members to carry out the “P.E.A.C.E. Plan” in every country in the world. “Our goal was to prove that churches—not just mission agencies—can do this,” he said.

Warren emphasized that past efforts to fulfill the Great Commission failed because they were often created by a few individuals from the West and rarely involved churches in the Global South or local congregations at all. “Of 700 previous plans to complete the Great Commission, not one succeeded,” he said. “And not one included the whole Church.”

Now leading Finishing The Task, Warren said the strategy is inclusive, collaborative, and centered on the local church. “A church of 10 or 20 people can do this,” he said. “It’s about equipping every believer to play their part.”

Warren concluded by encouraging African leaders to take leadership of global missions. “I believe with all my heart that God has called the Church of Africa to lead,” Warren said. “The task is urgent. And Africa is ready.”