Jonathan Sprowl

While influence tends to want to go upwards and grow to the right, I am fighting to go down to the left, and it takes a lot of intentionality.

The point of hospitality is not to entertain; it is to tell a better story and invite people into the story of God. That's what people need. That's what they're longing for. They want to be a part of that story. And that story is transforming. That story is eternal. That story is enduring. That story is faithful.

None of the programs at our church were bad in and of themselves. The volume of it just prevented us from being focused on building relationships with those who are far from God. So, we had to do less ministry to reach more people. It sounds funny, but people had to be trained in how to do life with nonbelievers or people spiritually disinterested.

The inevitability, the inexorable decline of Christianity, is not a done deal. It’s not as though there’s been a complete turnaround and everyone’s a Christian, but there’s a real moment of spiritual openness that is translating now into this resurgence of interest in Jesus. It’s a big deal.

The church is one giant sleeper cell that periodically worships and reviews playbooks on Sundays. How do we begin to activate them Monday through Friday to live and work that out?

"When every Christian leverages what God has given in their time, their talent, their treasures and prayer, we think the greatest challenges of our city can be changed." -Josh Dotzler

“We’re so accustomed to the church being a noun. I want our bias to be action-oriented, and a movement that goes outward.”

We need to know the words and ways of God, but we also have to know the words and ways of the people around us. What are their real questions? God has real answers to people’s real questions.