Pretty amazing mobilization of volunteers this weekend at Saddleback. The OC Register had an article on it today, here’s a clip:

When Paul Pankhurst first came to Saddleback Church, he hid out in the parking lot.

He would drive his family to church and then sit in the car, reading the paper, so he could avoid the “syrupy sweet” worship music. Once the songs ended, he went inside to mull over sermons given by Pastor Rick Warren.

Eventually, Pankhurst, a high school math teacher, became a Christian and started volunteering for none other than the parking ministry.

On Easter Sunday, Pankhurst, 60, will help direct cars to eight lots for all six services at the Lake Forest campus. That will amount to about 13 hours of overseeing volunteers in bright, reflective vests carrying two-way radios to accommodate a surge in churchgoers for Christianity’s most important holiday.

“I think everyone has an area of their life that they turn over to serve others,” he says. “Some choose to do it by reaching out to homeless people. Some choose to go to Mexico to visit orphanages. I choose to do it here, by helping people that are coming to Saddleback come in safely. I see it as my service to God.”

JG