Church hopes to have positive impact

"This book is going to have a very positive impact on this Valley," said Leo Kruger, senior pastor of Valley Christian Fellowship in Gardnerville of the best-seller, "The Purpose Driven Life."

"And," he said, "I truly believe that what we're about to do with the book will benefit everyone involved. To start off, we're giving it away for free to anyone who will read it with us, but we're finding out that a lot of people already have the book."

Kruger explained that this campaign is not limited to people in his church, anyone can participate by signing up to join a small home group.

"For us, this is not a church-growth gimmick," Kruger said, "it's a thought-provoking study designed to help people better understand their place in the world and to take that first step towards a more meaningful life, and it's open to everybody."

Kruger said that hundreds of people in the area will be reading the book over a 40-day period, in a campaign called "40 Days of Purpose." Each week for six weeks, small groups will get together in homes around the Valley to watch a 20-minute video and talk about the chapters they've read that week.

"It will get people thinking and interacting in a positive way, while forming a better understanding of what life is all about," he said.

"I'm confident about what this campaign will do," Kruger said, "because several men whom I highly trust have done it in their own communities, one of them two years in a row and another is my own pastor in Great Falls, Mont. It's really about strengthening relationships, developing new ones and meeting people's needs - right where they are today."

"Right now we have about 30 small study groups forming, and with two weeks to go, we expect to add even more," Kruger said. "We've posted all the 'host homes' and small groups in our coffee house, Holy Grounds, located next to the church, and anyone can come in to join a group just by registering or calling a host."

Valley Christian Fellowship and Holy Grounds Coffee House are located in South Gardnerville in the old theaters on Highway 395, right next to the Gardnerville post office. Kruger said he welcomes everyone to stop by for a cup of coffee, or give him a call at 783-8630.