Quotes from George Barna

God's vision for your ministry, like the one He prepares for a church, will cause you to grow by demanding that you change, sharpen your skills and participate in situations in which your only hope of success is enabling His Spirit to guide you and empower you.

live with power and energy that undeniably transcends their natural capacities and with an intensity of commitment that far exceeds anything they have previously demonstrated in their lives

In the midst of the emotional and spiritual upset that occurs when a church hurts or disappoints us, we tend to lose sight of the fact that the local church is merely a collection of people on a challenging journey - a group of people that are involved in a long-term transformation process.

But a local body of believers is the only place they can meet God together with his people. What a privilege to facilitate encounters with God week after week! When it's humble and sincere, it never gets old.

Our studies consistently show a large majority of people leave their church's service without feeling as though they have connected with God. If those who regularly attend depart with such disappointment and confusion, what must it be like for those who are new to the church adventure?

All this data leads us to a direct examination of the reasons the unchurched avoid Christian churches. The biggest issue is a perceived lack of value.

Notice that the unchurched show little interest in attending a church known for the quality of its worship music or even the quality of its sermons. Millions of churchless adults are very sensitive to the balance between teaching and street-level ministry; they fear getting connected to a congregation that is all talk and no action.

Half of all regular church-going adults admit that they have not experienced God's presence at any time during the past year. The younger the adult, the more likely they are to state that God is a distant, impersonal reality for them. And even among those who say God's presence was evident to them, most of them say that happened only one or two times throughout the course of the year.

Many attenders, lacking any understanding about the content or purposes of worship, assume that the routines and rituals that occur in worship services constitute the substance of worship. Consequently

It is absolutely necessary to be effective in the digital space, though this effort alone will not spell outreach success.

Consequently, if the church is going to leave a permanent mark on the community through a growing body of changed lives, it must constantly expand its leadership capacity, which entails both an increased number of leaders and an enhanced quality of leaders. Also

Despite all the opinions churchless (and churched) people offer about musical styles, architecture, sound systems, creativity, intellectualism, and the menu of programs provided by churches, none of these is the main attraction. These elements are nice sideshows, but people don't come to church for the carnival rides. They come to meet God. People complain about the uncomfortable seats and stale popcorn when center stage is empty of the main event.

You either stand for Jesus or you stand for all that He died to repudiate.

Are you satisfied with the nature of your church today but simply want your church to be bigger?

What would success look like if the church were to be comprised of true followers of Christ?

As Billy Graham has often said regarding early mornings, "No Bread, no bread." In my life, it is my goal to have a daily quiet time, exercise physically every day (even when traveling) and to read something to refresh my mind and help me to grow in knowledge.

A visionary pastor is a successful pastor.

You might define vision as foresight with insight based on hindsight.

Although they are good people and have been called to ministry, most senior pastors do not have an understanding of God's vision for the ministries they are trying to lead—and, consequently, most churches have little impact in their community or in the lives of their congregants.

This problem is pervasive within the community of believers: Christians don't know the content of their faith and show little concern about their ignorance. This

A distinguishing taste of authentic Christians is their distaste for evil.

Whom should you pursue? That question can be answered only after your church has done the hard work of getting to know who the unchurched are in your community. Your approach will vary depending on whether you have a substantial born-again churchless segment in your neighborhood or more people who are purely unchurched—that is, those with no background of church involvement. Your goal in both cases is to connect with the unchurched around you, but the way you approach them will differ.

If you consider how most churches deliver content—appointing one person as the authority and encouraging everyone else to sit (consume) quietly while he or she speaks—it is easy to see how that delivery system may come into conflict with changing cultural expectations.