Sermon quotes on church growth
John Calvin
The excellence of the church does not consist in multitude but in purity.
Erwin W. Lutzer
Church growth experts tell us that most people seeking a new church care little about its doctrines. They’re mostly interested in the facilities of the church, its nursery, and opportunities for friendship. . . .The experts tell us that today’s church members will switch churches at a moment’s notice if they think that their personal and relational needs will be better met elsewhere–even if the doctrine taught is at best, suspect. Thus some will opt for better facilities and architecture even at the expense of jeopardizing their own soul.”
Rescuing the Gospel: The Story and Significance of the Reformation
Gary Rohrmayer
As the church get older and older it becomes harder to keep evangelism on the front burner because of all the competing issues that keeps pushing it back.
Nelson Searcy
Three first-time guests for every 100 attenders is the minimum number of guests that FCC, or any church, needs just to maintain consistency as people move away, join other churches or die. Five guests per 100 regular attenders usually signals a growing church, while 7 to 10 guests per 100 regular attenders would indicate rapid growth.
Carnegie Samuel Calia
Every congregation looking for revitalization must declare its mission succinctly, and then outline the essential tenets that encompass its theological outlook and emphases. The congregation then should declare periodically its commitments through its liturgy. To strangers in our midst, this practice will clarify the basic character and beliefs that motivate the congregation to make a difference in the immediate neighborhood and surrounding society.
Survival or Revival (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1998), p.60
Joshua Choonmin Kang
Seeing crowds of people coming together to seek Jesus gives me great joy. . . . But does this business, this busyness, mean I’m a successful pastor? Maybe it does, but maybe it doesn’t. It may indicate that I have a problem.
Deep-Rooted in Christ (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2007), p. 101.
Alan Fadling
It makes little sense to attract people on the basis of their own self-interest and then expect them to embrace an invitation to self-denial.
Taken from An Unhurried Life: Following Jesus’ Rhythms of Work and Rest by Alan Fadling Copyright (c) 2013 by Alan Fadling. Published by InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL. www.ivpress.com
Mark A. Noll
More than half of all Christian adherents in the whole history of the church have been alive in the last one hundred years. Close to half of Christian believers who have ever lived are alive right now.
Taken from The New Shape of World Christianity: How American Experience Reflects Global Faith by Mark A. Noll Copyright (c) 2009 by Mark A. Noll. Published by InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL. www.ivpress.com
Michael Slaughter and Warren Bird
God’s kingdom is not best represented by franchises of McChurch. If you focus your energies on copying someone else’s methodologies or programs, you will miss something crucially important . . . The Holy Spirit is empowering transformational leaders who demonstrate the kingdom of God in unique ways in each different community.
John Mark Terry
We have the best materials, media, and methods, but we lack spiritual power. Christians of the apostolic era had none of our advantages; they didn’t even have the New Testament. Still, they turned the Roman Empire upside down. What impact does your church have in your community?
Church Evangelism (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1997), p.16.
Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson
Comeback leaders know that our Lord considers commitment to Him and His desires an indispensable ingredient to growing spiritually and numerically.
Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can, Too, B&H Books, 2007.
Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson
Many churches never experience a comeback because they want the community to change while they remain the same. But comeback churches are different. They realize that no one remains the same when they’ve experienced a fresh touch from God.
Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can, Too, B&H Books, 2007.
Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson
The data here shows that churches of all sizes can turn around and reach the unchurched.
Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can, Too, B&H Books, 2007.
Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson
Comeback churches care about the things God cares about. They display that “lost people matter to God” by the way they live, pray, and witness.
Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can, Too, B&H Books, 2007.
Kevin G. Ford
Among healthy churches, 93 percent of members considered themselves to be involved in some form of ministry (though not necessarily at their church), compared to only 11 percent of members in the less healthy churches.
Transforming Church: Bringing Out the Good to Get to Great, David C. Cook.
Kevin G. Ford
Unhealthy churches disengage from the world around them, while healthy churches are focused on their mission and have an outward orientation that starts with their own locale.
Transforming Church: Bringing Out the Good to Get to Great, David C. Cook.
Kevin G. Ford
A person’s decision to attend your church is usually made in a moment.
Transforming Church: Bringing Out the Good to Get to Great, David C. Cook.
Kevin G. Ford
If someone is looking for a church, she will drive by the facility and decide within three seconds if it might be a fit. If she actually shows up, she determines whether to return in another three seconds-even before meeting another person, singing
Transforming Church: Bringing Out the Good to Get to Great, David C. Cook.
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