Useful testimonies, quotes, statistics and endorsements relating to the Back to Church Campaign for use in sermons or promotional materials.

From Pastors:

• "We participated in this event on September 13, 2009 and saw our congregation grow about 40% that day." -Mount Sterling First United Methodist Church
• “The difference between listening to a radio sermon and going to church...is almost like the difference between calling your girl on the phone and spending an evening with her.” –Dwight L. Moody
• “Church attendance is as vital to a disciple as a transfusion of rich, healthy blood to a sick man.” –Dwight L. Moody
• “Anyone who is to find Christ must first find the church. How could anyone know where Christ is and what faith is in him unless he knew where his believers are?” –Martin Luther
• “Church isn’t where you meet. Church isn’t a building. Church is what you do. Church is who you are. Church is the human outworking of the person of Jesus Christ. Let’s not go to Church, let’s be the Church.”–Bridget Willard
• “What gives me the most hope every day is God’s grace; knowing that his grace is going to give me the strength for whatever I face, knowing that nothing is a surprise to God.”–Rick Warren
• “The church is not a select circle of the immaculate, but a home where the outcast may come in. It is not a palace with gate attendants and challenging sentinels along the entrance-ways holding off at arm's-length the stranger, but rather a hospital where the broken-hearted may be healed, and where all the weary and troubled may find rest and take counsel together.” –James H. Aughey
• “It's never too late. You can't screw up so badly that God can’t find something worth building in the wreckage, that life can’t assert its return when it is time.” –Barbara Crafton
• “You can be committed to Church but not committed to Christ, but you cannot be committed to Christ and not committed to church.” –Joel Osteen 

From Christians/Authors:

• “Going to church does not make you a Christian anymore than going to the garage makes you a car.” –Dr. Laurence J. Peter
• “Of all the needs a child has, the one that must be satisfied, if there is going to be hope and a hope of wholeness, is the unshaking need for an unshakable God.”–Maya Angelou (b. 1928)
• “Seven minutes is all you get to make a positive first impression. In the first seven minutes of contact with your church, your first–time guests will know whether or not they are coming back. That's before a single worship song is sung and before a single word of the message is uttered.”–Nelson Searcy, Fusion
• “Responsibility and ownership go hand in hand. When we are given responsibility in the workplace, within our families or in a social environment, we naturally feel a sense of ownership over what we are responsible for…When your regular attenders begin taking on responsibility, they will quickly start to feel a sense of ownership.” – Nelson Searcy, Fusion
• “There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, ‘All right, then, have it your way.’” –C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, 1943
• “Apart from God, every activity is merely a passing whiff of insignificance.” –Alfred North Whitehead
•  “Some stand on tiptoe trying to reach God to talk to him - you try too hard, friend - drop to your knees and listen to him, he'll hear you better that way.” –Ever Garrison

• “There is a God-shaped vacuum in every heart.” –Blaise Pascal

From Articles and Researchers:

• “The survey included more than 15,000 adults in December of 2008. We found that the effectiveness of the invitation was often tied to its form: the more personal, the more effective.” -Philip Nation, Ministry Development Director, LifeWay Research and National Spokesperson for BTCS
• “Prompting the formerly churched to visit a church with an eye toward attending regularly requires some work. Not surprisingly, the work of the Holy Spirit along with the efforts of church members, friends and family members is needed.” –Brad Waggoner, LifeWay Christian Resources
• “Application of biblical teaching is important to those who return to the Church. Many within the de–churched camp affirmed that if they were to return, they'd seek a church that offered engaging and realistic dialogue about God and life. So the de–churched aren't concerned with ancillary items, but rather sound biblical teaching that applies to their lives.” –Thom Rainer & Sam Rainer – From Outreach magazine, "Features," July/August 2007 
• “The most common motivation of those who would consider returning comes straight from the soul: ‘to bring me closer to God' (46%). Not surprisingly, this desire for an improved relationship with God is expressed primarily by those who still consider themselves Christian.” –Lifeway Research
• “Too often churches wait for people to be spiritually mature to engage them in service when many projects or tasks are ideal entry or reentry points for people on their faith journey.” –Scott McConnell, Lifeway Research
• “Affinity will never happen at a significant level without the church fostering a culture of concern, fellowship and involvement," said Waggoner. "The openness of the majority of the formerly churched to rejoin the flock is reason enough for the church to seek them out. That means having an effective outreach strategy for identifying, praying for and contacting formerly churched adults to shepherd them back to the fold.” –Waggoner

Pastor Endorsements:

• "It’s unfortunate that many people leave the church, but there is a large segment that will return. If you’re interested in learning how to get them back to church, I encourage you to check out this material. It will help you reclaim those who left and retain those who return.”–Sam Rainer
• “Back to Church Sunday has the potential to be a day that changes the future course of someone’s life!  In a world where so many people fall into the definition of “De-churched” this is a doable effort for any church that wants to reach more people For Christ!”–Chad McCallum, Compass Church, MI
• “This resource will help you strategically reach out to those who have come and gone but might come back to your church.  Many de-churched people are a simple re-invitation away.”–Mark Batterson, National Community Church, Washington, DC
• “I enthusiastically support Back to Church Sunday because it is an opportunity to welcome home the prodigals - which delights God.”–JJohn, Philo Trust, UK 
• “When people come to church for the first time, or come back after a long absence, they notice everything. In fact, most of them form innate judgments about the environment within seven seconds of walking through the door. Details matter in creating an atmosphere that makes people feel comfortable and keeps them coming back week after week. In the ‘Back To Church Sunday’ Campaign Guide, Outreach has meticulously outlined a clear, powerful plan for reaching and reconnecting the de-churched. Packed with assimilation tips, this guide will help every willing church leader discover how to prepare the way as God prompts people across the nation to come back to church this fall.”–Nelson Searcy, Lead Pastor, The Journey (New York City) and founder, ChurchLeaderInsights.com
• "What a great tool for reaching those who have become disconnected from the local church. I pray that congregarions all over the country take advantage of this campaign and reach those who know Christ but need a church home!" - Pastor Kevin G. Harney, Author of Organic Outreach for Ordinary People