We all want to belong to a healthy church and I certainly want to lead one, but what are the characteristics and traits that are synonymous with healthy churches? Is there any way to really measure something that seems so abstract? This is not an exhaustive list, but this should at least start some good conversations.
1. A healthy church is led well.
When the early apostles established churches, they looked for men and women with obvious character to lead the fellowships. They appointed elders who were mature, had good reputations in the community, were not greedy for money and managed their own families well. These leaders were accountable for their decisions and had proven themselves faithful.
2. A healthy church values relationships.
Healthy churches have a low tolerance for gossip or divisive behavior. They understand the power of unity and are ok with healthy debate so long as relationships are not splintered. They purposely live in authentic community and look for every opportunity to meet the needs of one another. They see each other as family and are determined to live life together in the good times and bad.
3. A healthy church is outward focused.
Healthy churches are always looking to care for their community and are willing to use any available resource to meet the needs around them. Healthy churches are a blessing to the community in which they live as citizens. They are a generous people who give sacrificially at every opportunity.
New Life is not perfect, but we are determined to be healthy. It is not easy just like a healthy lifestyle is not easy. We must wake up everyday determined to do the right thing for the right reason, even if it hurts. Healthy churches change the world and I am grateful to belong to a church that is doing just that.
October 17, 2010 at 5:54 am
A healthy church (like His in the months and years following Pentecost in the first century and following) is so in tune with the heart and mission and passion of God (that is, inviting as many as possible to the Abundant Life Party that starts before we die – not after we do 🙂 that we’re telling everyone and everything that moves. We’re serving our neighbors into the Kingdom, leading our neighbors into the Kingdom, pointing our neighbors into the Kingdom. We’re beggars telling other beggars where to go to find the Bread. We’re about the mission of God, partners in the greatest mission of love and good news that eternity has ever witnessed.
October 24, 2010 at 6:19 am
My family and i came here simply because this post was tweeted by a lady I had been following and i’m delighted I made it here.
October 28, 2010 at 9:20 am
This article is very helpful to one who is just learning about all this ————– p.s i’ve noticed your wordpress website is missing the dofollow plugin. without this plugin the webtraffic you recieve is reduced by up to 90% being a webmaster i thought id let you know, go to http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/sem-dofollow/ to download, what it does is lets google add a index for each comment on your site so instead of just one google index listing you can get thousands , should make a huge difference to your hits 🙂