Quotes & Sayings About Changing Churches

When God transforms the life of just one leader, that leader can transform a church. When one church is transformed, you can transform a community. And when enough churches are thriving, you can affect a region, a country, and eventually the entire world with the positive, life-changing power of Jesus Christ and the redeeming and restoring work of his people. — Bill Hybels

But the country is changing." "It's going to the dogs, I think; - about as fast as it can go." "We build churches much faster than we used to do." "Do we say our prayers in them when we have built them?" asked the Squire. — Anthony Trollope

My work with churches has led me to the conclusion that the single most important element in having an effective and life-changing ministry is to capture God's vision for your ministry. — Phil Pringle

Without a clear purpose, you will keep changing directions, jobs, relationships, churches, or other externals - hoping each change will settle the confusion or fill the emptiness in your heart. — Rick Warren

How one views Scripture will determine the rest of one's theology. There is no more basic issue: Every system of thought that takes seriously the claims of the Bible to be the inspired, authoritative Word of God will share a commitment to particular central truths, and that without compromise. Those systems that do not begin with this belief in Scripture will exhibit a wide range of beliefs that will shift over time in light of the ever-changing whims and views of culture. Almost every single collapse involving denominations and churches in regard to historic Christian beliefs can be traced back to a degradation in that group's view of the Bible as the inspired and inerrant revelation of God's truth. Once this foundation is lost, the house that was built upon it cannot long stand — James R. White

While attendance at traditional churches has been declining for decades ... the evangelical movement is growing, and it is changing the way America worships. — Tom Brokaw

We must admit that simply knowing the contents of the Bible is not a sure route to spiritual growth. There is an aweful assumption in evangelical churches that if we can just get the Word of God into people's heads, then the Spirit of God will apply it to their hearts. That assumption is aweful, not because the Spirit never does what the assumption supposes, but because it excused pastors and leaders from the responsibility to tangle with people's lives. Many remain safely hidden behind pulpits, hopelessly out of touch with the struggles of their congregations, proclaiming the Scriptures with a pompous accuracy that touches no one. Pulpits should provide bridges, not barriers, to life-changing relationships. — Larry Crabb

As followers, we do not claim to have arrived at the destination, nor need we distinguish ourselves from others who are at different stages of the journey. Belonging, believing, and behaving can all be interpreted as aspects of following. Churches that are committed to following Jesus can then welcome fellow travelers unreservedly and unconditionally. But their ethos is one of following, learning, changing, growing, and moving forward. — Stuart Murray