Carl F. George > Quotes

“A caregiving coach helps a church to state a goal or a mission statement that is in keeping with the commands of Christ to love God, to love one another, and to make disciples (see Matt. 22:37–40; 28:18–20). Then, having stated that goal, the ministry coach will flesh it out in terms of behaviors and programs that are appropriate to the local situation, offering to be a modeler of ministry rather than the person who does the ministry single-handedly.”
― Carl F. George, How to Break Growth Barriers: Revise Your Role, Release Your People, and Capture Overlooked Opportunities for Your Church

“Ultimately, all church mission statements have certain common threads. They contain a vertical dimension such as loving and obeying God. And they emphasize a horizontal dimension: how Christians treat those both inside and outside the church. They answer the question of why God left the church here on earth. The secret of success is not the wording but the fact that the people of the board have dug the mission statement out of the Bible for themselves, have decided to commit their church to it, and have made it theirs.”
― Carl F. George, How to Break Growth Barriers: Capturing Overlooked Opportunities for Church Growth

“Predictably, most churches run out of money long before they run out of needs. In fact, churches below one hundred in attendance will mostly wind up, over the next decade, being led by self-supporting, bivocational clergy. Economics will force it.”
― Carl F. George, How to Break Growth Barriers: Capturing Overlooked Opportunities for Church Growth

“I challenge pastors to be minister developers, and then to measure every other effect in the church by that standard—not by how impressive is the sermon but by how many ministers are made.”
― Carl F. George, How to Break Growth Barriers: Capturing Overlooked Opportunities for Church Growth

“for you to compare yourself with the “average” church, whether it leads to your grumbling or gloating, is unproductive.”
― Carl F. George, How to Break Growth Barriers: Capturing Overlooked Opportunities for Church Growth

“The most formidable obstacle to growth that I know of is a pastor who thinks negatively and who is pessimistic about growth opportunities in the community.”
― Carl F. George, How to Break Growth Barriers: Capturing Overlooked Opportunities for Church Growth

“better future out there than the one they have experienced.”
― Carl F. George, How to Break Growth Barriers: Revise Your Role, Release Your People, and Capture Overlooked Opportunities for Your Church