From Tradition to Transformation: How 21-Day Campaigns Can Shift Your Church Culture

by Gary Rohrmayer

What if your church became known—not just for its Sunday services—but for producing everyday disciples who live like Jesus, love like Jesus, and lead others to Jesus?

For many traditional churches, that dream feels out of reach. Culture change is hard. It takes determination, relentless focus, consistent communication, simple steps, examples to follow and deep conviction. And yet, one simple, Spirit-led step can start your cultural transformation is the corporate habit of the 21-Day Campaign.

Why Culture Change Matters

Traditional churches often function on a program-driven model. People attend services, give to the budget, volunteer in a few ministries, and go home. It’s activity—but not necessarily reproductive disciple-making.

Jesus called us to something more: “Go and make disciples…” (Matthew 28:19). That means cultivating lives shaped by prayer, Scripture, community, and mission.

But how do you get there from here? Enter 21-Day Campaigns.

The Power of 21 Days

Inspired by the Prophet Daniel’s example, who was deeply concerned over the spiritual condition of his people, prayed and fasted for 21 days (Daniel 10:1-3). We believe that there are certain seasons in our lives that we need to give focused attention to the spiritual needs of our own soul, family, church, and community. During a 21 Days Campaign, you will teach your people how to meet with God daily. Research shows it takes about 21 days to form a new habit. These campaigns—such as Dangerous Prayers, Courageous Prayers, Cherish, Encounter, Victorious, Prayer and Fasting, Generous, Spiritual Conversations or Jesus—help entire congregations cultivate the spiritual habits, of prayer, Scripture reading, journaling and missional engagement in a focused, unified way.

Each campaign includes:

• A 21-day devotional guide

• A 4-week sermon series

• Small group reflection prompts

• Daily prayer focus

They are low-barrier, high-impact tools that meet people where they are—and move them toward a disciple-making mission.

Here are five helpful steps to guide your church as you transition towards a disciple-making mentality.

Step 1: Cast Vision with Your Leaders

Start by gathering your key leaders—elders, staff, ministry heads—and invite them into the vision. Share this idea:

“What if we became a church that consistently made disciples who make disciples?”

Present the campaign as a first step, not the final destination. You’re laying the foundation for long-term spiritual culture change.

Remember the old saying, “Speed of the leader. Speed of the team.”  Will your leaders set the example for others to follow.

Step 2: Launch the First Campaign

Choose the right season—New Year, Lent, or Fall kickoff—and launch your campaign with energy:

• Preach the aligned sermon series.

• Distribute devotional guides to every person.

• Form one on one relationships, prayer triads or small groups.

• Celebrate what God is doing weekly.

Remember it’s not about just finishing a book—it’s about beginning a journey with Jesus that leads to the transformation of your soul and relationships.

Step 3: Reinforce Disciple-Making Rhythms

After the 21 days, resist the urge to “move on.” Instead, deepen the momentum:

• Use group settings to ask: “What is Jesus saying to you? What will you do about it?”

• Encourage individuals and groups to continue meeting.

• Provide a deeper pathway such as a yearlong discipleship curriculum that is reproducible. 

• Teach and reinforce simple disciple-making practices like, daily prayer, study and journaling, meeting weekly to reproduce yourself in others, gathering corporately for worship, prayer and service.

• Encourage mature believes to invest themselves into the lives of others.

Transformation happens when obedience becomes a lifestyle.  Remember God’s love language is obedience.

Step 4: Develop New Leaders

Keep your eyes and ears open to hear and see God’s work in your people and the potential leaders you need to see you mission move forward. Look for participants who are spiritually hungry, eager to lead and who are taking responsibility for the own spiritual growth. Invite them into new roles—facilitating prayer groups, mentoring others, or starting disciple-making triads.

The fruit of disciple-making is not just spiritual growth, but spiritual reproduction.

Step 5: Stack Campaigns for Lasting Change

One campaign is good. Two or three? That’s movement.

By doing 2–3 campaigns per year, you create a rhythm of renewal and focus:

• Cherish deepens love for God’s Word.

• Spiritual Conversations activates evangelism.

• Encounter creates space for the Holy Spirit to move.

• Prayer & Fasting creates a fresh spiritual dependency.  

• Generous refocuses our hearts from the temporal to the eternal. 

Stacking campaigns shapes language, expectations, and priorities—all key to shifting culture.

Final Word: Be Focused, Start Small, Stay Consistent

Robby Gallaty wrote, “When the church becomes an end in itself, it ends. When Sunday school, as great as it is, becomes an end in itself, it ends. When small groups ministry becomes an end in itself, it ends. When the worship service becomes an end in itself, it ends. What we need is for discipleship to become the goal, and then the process never ends. The process is fluid. It is moving. It is active. It is a living thing. It must continue to go on. Every disciple must make disciples.”

Culture doesn’t change overnight—but it does change with small intentional steps. 21-Day Campaigns provide can provide the key entry point to inviting your church to be become an army of reproductible disciple makers. Consistency with a long range focus will help you introduce your people to the amazing journey of the life of discipleship. Jesus said, “Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people” (Matthew 4:19).

Start with prayer. Lead with vision. Celebrate the small wins. And trust God to do what only He can—form Christ in the hearts of His people.