Microchurches Quotes

“Only that perhaps behind our cursory reasons for breaking into smaller and smaller units, we are ultimately fulfilling the will of God for us.”
― Brian Sanders, Microchurches: A Smaller Way

“My prayer is that every committed disciple would imagine themselves responsible for the future formation of the church. To dream about starting something small that is very much the church for their lives. To see it as something intimate and precious. To make the fundamental shift from believing the church is something someone else starts and runs that we choose and consume, to believing the church is something like a family that each of us pursues in the course of our life with God. The where of it then is less important than the who. The end result will be as fascinating, diverse, and wonderful as every family. Church then is not a building or set of programs. It is a value we live out, a close relationship with others, and in each sincere expression, in each yearning community, God is there. One of Jesus’ first promises to his people is that whenever two or more are gathered in his name, he will be there in the midst of us”
― Brian Sanders, Microchurches: A Smaller Way

“The microchurch then is not just the smallest expression of the church, it is the most common. And in that sense, it is the most important. If we are not the church in its simplest form, then we cannot be the church in a more complex form. Plenty of people will walk into “churches” this weekend and not be discipled, loved, or even known. They will not experience fellowship and they will not engage in mission. They will not be touched by the bone-chilling authority, nor the heart-stopping love of Jesus.”
― Brian Sanders, Microchurches: A Smaller Way

“When you look at the list of the five stops in the discipleship journey, where is your group already engaged and where do you need to focus in the future? Love of God Way of Jesus Leadership Calling Sending”
― Brian Sanders, Microchurches: A Smaller Way

“The idea that ten thousand hours of practice will lead to excellence, popularized by Malcolm Gladwell, comes from the research of Anders Ericsson. It is not just that mastery comes from thousands of hours of practice, it is that it comes from a certain kind of practice. What he calls “deliberate practice.”16 The difference? Reflection and the application of learning.”
― Brian Sanders, Microchurches: A Smaller Way

“As Prussian field marshal Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke said, “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.”
― Brian Sanders, Microchurches: A Smaller Way

“1.     Where do you see a precedent for what you hope to do? What word are you hearing from God that is inspiring you to take this action?
2. Can you point to something you are hearing in prayer or a passage from the Bible which feels like a direct word for you? 3. What is your kingdom dream? Where and with whom do you dream of seeing Jesus reign and be glorified? Write down the story or stories that have led you to this point. What were key moments and discoveries that you can point to from that story? Think of someone who loves Jesus and loves you, who might want to step out in faith to do something new and brave. Write down their name as a potential team member:”
― Brian Sanders, Microchurches: A Smaller Way

“When there are large sums of money, method, and institutional expectation on our shoulders, we are tempted to cut the corner of mission and simply gather Christians. If we can conceive of the church as something smaller and simpler, we can plant mission with hope and not anxiety.”
― Brian Sanders, Microchurches: A Smaller Way

“IDEATION ITERATION CODIFICATION EXPANSION Dream / Idea Experiment Convictions Welcoming Team​ Learn​ Disciples​ Sending”
― Brian Sanders, Microchurches: A Smaller Way

“Any place where we can go consistently and remain anonymous is not a witnessing church.”
― Brian Sanders, Microchurches: A Smaller Way

“Worship is about the lordship of Jesus, not necessarily about singing or liturgy. It is simply the devotion of the community to Jesus as Lord, like when Paul says we should offer our bodies as living sacrifices, which is our reasonable worship (Rom. 12:1). Community is about true relationship between people who live under the same lordship. A worshipping community, then, is defined and calibrated by Jesus’ teachings and the constant presence of his Spirit. It is life shared between people in genuine love and common purpose. Mission is about engagement with the poor and lost world. It is seeing our lives as surrendered to the mission and purpose of God in the world. The world is not as it should be.”
― Brian Sanders, Microchurches: A Smaller Way

“What makes the church truly unique in the life of the people of God is that we are now meant to hold our place in the wall together, in teams of people who worship like monks, live like family, and engage the world like missionaries. But what happens when the church itself goes astray? When the church becomes more of a club than the hands and feet of Jesus? We are called to examine our hearts and test our ways. It is time also to look at the way we do church.”
― Brian Sanders, Microchurches: A Smaller Way

“This is the mechanics of movements. If we as believers want to see the church grow beyond our control, we must release control. This is done, in part, by a brave redefinition. Microchurches, then, are your answer to the question: What are the irreducible elements of the church? It is precisely this closer look which promises a new, nimble, empowered, indomitable church in our time.”
― Brian Sanders, Microchurches: A Smaller Way