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1 " pergunte a si mesmo se seu ministério é reativo ou proativo” (pp. 29) "
― Colin Marshall , The Trellis and the Vine: The Ministry Mind-Shift that Changes Everything
2 " Devemos ser exportadores de pessoas treinadas, em vez de acumuladores de pessoas treinadas.” (pp. 33) "
3 " Se treinarmos e enviarmos obreiros a novos campos... nosso ministério local pode não crescer em números, mas o evangelho avançará por meio destes novos ministros da Palavra.” (pp. 33) – Comentário: prova que crescimento não é medido pelo número de membros. "
4 " a ênfase não está no crescimento da congregação como estrutura – em números, finanças e sucesso – e sim no crescimento do evangelho, à medida que ele é pregado e pregado de novo sob o poder do Espírito” (pp. 45-46) "
5 " Isso é obra da videira [pregar e orar]. Tudo mais é treliça.” (pp. 47) "
6 " Search as we may, we don’t find in the Bible any example or concept of an inner call to ministry. "
7 " We are all captive to our traditions and influenced by them more than we realize. And the effect of tradition and long practice is not always that some terrible error becomes entrenched; more often it is that our focus shifts away from our main task and agenda, which is disciple-making. We become so used to doing things one way (often for good reason at first) that important elements are neglected and forgotten, to our cost. We become imbalanced, and then wonder why we go in circles. "
8 " The Great Commission, in other words, is not just for the Eleven. It’s the basic agenda for all disciples. To be a disciple is to be a disciple-maker. "
9 " But it’s interesting how little the New Testament talks about church growth, and how often it talks about ‘gospel growth’ or the increase of the ‘word’. The focus is on the progress of the Spirit-backed word of God as it makes its way in the world, according to God’s plan. Returning to our vine metaphor, the vine is the Spirit-empowered word, spreading and growing throughout the world, drawing people out of the kingdom of darkness into the light-filled kingdom of God’s beloved Son, and then bearing fruit in their lives as they grow in the knowledge and love of God. The vine is Jesus, and as we are grafted into him, we bear fruit (John 15:1-11). "
10 " 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. "
11 " His task is to teach and train his congregation, by his word and his life, to become disciple-making disciples of Jesus. "
12 " the only growth that has any significance in God’s plans is the growth of believers. This is what the growing vine really is: it is individual, born-again believers, grafted into Christ by his word and Spirit, and drawn into mutually edifying fellowship with one another. "
13 " We are training people to be contributors and servants, not spectators and consumers. "
14 " The third momentous implication is that this people-growth happens only through the power of God’s Spirit as he applies his word to people’s hearts. That’s the way people are converted, and that’s the way people grow in maturity in Christ. We plant and water, but God gives the growth. We speak God’s word to someone, and the Spirit enables a response. This can happen individually, in small groups, and in large groups. It can happen over the back fence, over dinner, or over morning tea at church. It can happen in a pulpit or on a patio. It can be the formal exposition or study of a Bible passage, or someone speaking some Scripture-based truth without even referring to the Bible. "
15 " A commitment to the growth of the gospel will mean that we train people towards maturity not for the benefit of our own churches or fellowships but for the benefit of Christ’s kingdom. "
16 " There are not two sorts of disciples—the inner core who really serve Jesus and his gospel, and the rest. To be a disciple is to be a slave of Christ and to confess his name openly before others: “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Matt 10: "
17 " The Christian without a missionary heart is an anomaly. "
18 " We have to conclude that a Christian with no passion for the lost is in serious need of self-examination and repentance. "
19 " The idea of personal ministry alongside preaching ministry is admirable and hard to disagree with. "
20 " far the best way to build a congregation full of disciple-making disciples is to assemble and train a band of co-workers to labour alongside you. "
