Buiding Church Leaders Home
Search By:
Advanced Search
Church RoleTopicFree Samples
Train LeadersAssess My ChurchConnect With LeadersRespond to CrisisMentor & DiscipleMultimediaStore
Home > Articles > What Does a Healthy Church Look Like? (Part 1)
What Does a Healthy Church Look Like? (Part 1)
Finally, a complete guide to the vibrant, dynamic, empowered, totally awesome, and really, robust church.
Tracy Keenan, Ralph W. Neighbour, Jr., Steve Sjogren, Erwin McManus, Lee Eclov

Topics:Authenticity, Community, Core values, Creativity & innovation, Direction, Focus, Growth, Measuring ministry, Planning, Strategy
Filters:Church board, Church staff, Discipleship, Elder, Evangelism, Outreach, Pastor, Preaching
Purpose:Discipleship
References:Matthew 28:19, Acts 1:8, Acts 2
Date Added:July 11, 2007

Sign up for our free Building Church Leaders newsletter:

Average Rating: Not yet rated


Submit Your Rating and Review:

Choose star rating:
Low High

Name:
Comments: 1000 character limit 
 


Answering Tough Questions
Address the tough questions in life with grace and truth.

Leadership Transitions
Make transition a positive for your church.



Multiplied Sermon Applications
What happens when small groups use Sunday's message as their conversation piece.

Clearing Your Vision
The most compelling reason I have for going away to pray is to find what God is saying to our congregation in the context of the larger church.

 4 of 4

What strikes me is that some of the usual indicators—evangelism, stewardship, church planting, attendance—are not evident. In a quick scan of these two chapters, the indicators that stand out are:

—holiness and dealing with sin.
—endurance—being "overcomers." The Lord praises churches that face corporate challenges with vital faith. That's an idea I hadn't thought much about, but churches do face difficult times—a rash of deaths or unemployment or natural disaster.
—confronting evil and heresy in the church.
—exclusive love for Christ.
—corporate growth in ministry—"you are doing more now than before."
—love for one another. This is evident in the specifics of how the Christians are called to relate to each other—dealing with sin, earnestness of purpose, etc.

More careful study will probably refine this list considerably. Interacting with a text like this would be an important exercise for church leaders seeking to discern the health of their congregations.

Lee Eclov is pastor of Chippewa Evangelical Free Church in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.

Health Checkup
Stephen Macchia, president of the Evangelistic Association of New England, worked with colleagues to develop ten telltale signs of church health:

"A healthy church is prayerful in all of the following aspects of church life and ministry, is reliant upon God's power and the authority of his Word, and values …

1. God-exalting worship.
2. Gempowering presence.
3. An outward focus.
4. Servant-leadership development.
5. Commitment to loving/caring relationships.
6. Learning and growing in community.
7. Personal disciplines.
8. Stewardship and generosity.
9. Wise administration and accountability.
10. Networking with the regional church."

(First of two parts; click here to read Part 2)

Copyright © 1997 by the author or Christianity Today International/Leadership Journal. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or e-mail ljeditor@leadershipjournal.net.
Summer, Vol. XVIII, No. 3, Page 34