Are you committed to church growth or to gospel growth? Do you want more numbers in the pew now, or more labourers for the harvest over the next 50 y… - Colin Marshall

But the emphasis is not on the growth of the congregation as a structure — in numbers, finances and success — but on the growth of the gospel, as it is spoken and re-spoken under the power of the Spirit. In fact, New Testament congregations, as far as we can tell, were usually small gatherings meeting in houses. They were outwardly unimpressive, and had minimal infrastructure. But God kept drawing people into them by the gospel. Or to put it another way, Christ kept doing what he said he would do in Matthew 16. He kept building his church.

Mas alguém que nos observa de fora poderia dizer: ‘Veja, ali está alguém que renunciou sua vida para seguir Jesus Cristo e sua missão’?” (pp. 51)

This is our aim in people work. It involves not just ministry skills and competencies, but growth in convictions (understanding) and character (godliness).