Rick Warren's Saddleback Church to hit London

Saddleback Church, led by celebrity pastor and author of Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren is to plant a church in London.

The initiative is part of Mr Warren's PEACE Plan, which describes itself as "a church to church strategy mobilizing ordinary church members to do normal tasks that make a difference in the world".

12 "gateway" cities have been targeted for church plants by the PEACE Plan, including Berlin, Moscow and Tokyo.

The movement hopes to help churches respond aggressively to what are seen as "the worlds five giant problems" by planting churches, equipping leaders, assisting the poor, caring for the sick and educating the next generation."

The initiative hopes to target 3,800 people groups termed "unreached" because of the lack of churches near them. Saddleback Church have previously stated they are aiming to plant 100 new churches a year by the end of 2020.

Rick Warren is due to speak at Holy Trinity Brompton's international leadership course this May.

The pastor is one of America's most well known Christians having said prayers at the inauguration of President Barack Obama and appeared on the front cover of Time magazine.

It is not known when the church will launch and Mr Warren is not expected to move from his position as Senior Pastor at Saddleback Church California.