(Second of two parts; click here to read Part 1)
Eight Qualities of Healthy Churches
Christian A. Schwarz, head of the Institute for Church Development in Germany, conducted reportedly the most comprehensive church-growth study ever, drawn from more than one thousand churches in thirty-two countries. His study revealed eight qualities in healthy churches.
1. Empowering leadership
Leaders of growing churches. … do not use lay workers as “helpers” in attaining their goals and fullfilling their visions. Rather, leaders invert the pyramid of authority so they assist Christians to attain the spiritual potential God has for them.
2. Gift-oriented ministry
When Christians serve in their area of giftedness, they generally function less in their own strength and more in the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus, ordinary people can accomplish the extraordinary!
3. Passionate spirituality
The concept of spiritual passion and the widespread notion of the walk of faith as “performing one’s duty” seem to be mutually exclusive.
4. Functional structures
Anyone who accepts this perspective will continually evaluate to what extent church structures improve the self-organization of the church. Elements not meeting this standard (such as discouraging leadership structures, inconvenient worship-service times, demotivating financial concepts) will be changed or eliminated.
5. Inspiring worship service
Services may target Christians or non-Christians, the style may be liturgical or free, the language may be “churchy” or secular—it makes no difference. . … Whenever the Holy Spirit is truly at work (and his presence is not merely presumed), he will have a concrete effect upon the way a worship service is conducted.
6. Holistic small groups
[These groups] go beyond just discussing Bible passages to applying its message to daily life. In these groups, members are able to bring up issues and questions that are immediate personal concerns.
7. Need-oriented evangelism
The key. … is for the local congregation to focus its evangelistic efforts on the questions and needs of non-Christians. This “need-oriented” approach is different from “manipulative programs.”
8. Loving relationships
Unfeigned, practical love has a divinely generated magnetic power far more effective than evangelistic programs, which depend almost entirely on verbal communication. People do not want to hear us talk about love, they want to experience how Christian love really works.
-Natural Church Development (ChurchSmart, 1996) (To order: 800-253-4276)
Growing a Healthy Church
Six foundational aspects of ministry are crucial to creating an environment for (healthy) growth.
1. Create an atmosphere of love.
Jesus’ insight, “By this will all men know that [we] love one another,” (John 13:35) has never been more true.
2. Build a relational ministry.
Building relationships with people was an intentional, aggressive agenda for Christ. “He spent time with his disciples” (John 3:22). He lived by the principle that people respond when we reach out to them.
3. Communicate Christ clearly.
In a world that knows only caricatures of Christ, people need to know him as he really is. We must present him and his message of life and grace as he gave it, so that people might build a real relationship with the living Savior.
4. Build a healthy ministry image.
What kind of vision do the people in your ministry have for the work to which God has called them? How confident are they in his ability to accomplish the task he has entrusted to them? Cohesiveness, commitment to the cause, receptivity to change, and teachability are all related to a healthy group image.
5. Mobilize a prayer base.
Our task is to effect spiritual life change. This kind of spiritual work is not accomplished by human means. As we move into the arena of prayer, God moves into the arena of our lives.
6. Communicate the Word.
Research has shown that even our most regular churchgoers have some biblical illiteracy. We continually need to evaluate our teaching to insure God’s Word is being taught accurately.
—Dann Spader and Gary Mayes Growing a Healthy Church (Moody Press, 1991)
Nine Church Diseases
Healthy churches build an immune system to resist disease. It is much more advisable to prevent an illness than to contract one and then have to cure it. Here are the most common diseases that infect churches.
Ethnikitis
Ethnikitis is caused by contextual factors, usually revolving around a static church in an ethnically transitioning neighborhood.
Ghost-Town Disease
Another contextual illness, found in communities where old residents are moving out, and no one is moving in.
People-Blindness
This malady is directly related to a lack of understanding of the significant differences between diverse people groups within the community, and how those differences impede evangelism.
Hyper-Cooperativism
When everyone is responsible for evangelism, no one is responsible for evangelism. Local-church evangelism is much more effective than city-wide cooperative efforts.
Koinonitis
When interpersonal relationships within the church become so deep and mutually absorbing that we ignore the world around us, church programs tend to become centripetal rather than centrifugal.
Sociological Strangulation
This is a slowdown in the rate of church growth caused when the flow of people into a church begins to exceed the capacity of the facilities to accommodate it.
Arrested Spiritual Development
When people in the church are not growing in the things of God or in their relationships with one another, the total health of the church deteriorates, and the church cannot grow.
St. John’s Syndrome
When Christians become Christians in name only; feel that their faith is only routine; when church involvement is largely going through the motions, and belonging to church is nothing more than a family tradition or social nicety, St. John’s Syndrome is likely at work.
Hypopneumia
Hypopneumia is a church disease caused by a subnormal level of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the life and ministry of the church.
—C. Peter Wagner The Healthy Church (Regal, 1996)
20 Questions to Determine Your Church’s Health
Here’s a tool to help you think about your church’s health. For each question, circle the number that best applies to your church—with 1 meaning, “We haven’t thought about it yet,” and 5 meaning, “We are in excellent shape in this area.”
1. Do we have a clear and common vision?
Biblical, widely known, and owned by our people, articulated with clarity and redundancy by leadership. 1 2 3 4 5
2. Is there purposeful direction in our activities?
Our leadership concentrates on focused and purposeful programming rather than “We’ve always done it this way.” 1 2 3 4 5
3. Is the Word of God seen as the basis of authority?
There is an attempt to get beyond our local prejudices and traditions to biblical truth. Our classes and groups have the Bible as the center of our curriculum. 1 2 3 4 5
4. Do our public celebrations inspire true worship?
The music and sermons glorify Christ. The emphasis is more on content than style. The cross and life in Christ are emphasized. There is a sense of reverence for God in his holiness. 1 2 3 4 5
5. Does our church present a positive gospel message?
Sin is faced squarely, but there is an emphasis on grace and forgiveness. Our corporate times leave people with something to help them face the week ahead. 1 2 3 4 5
6. Is there a balance between evangelism and edification?
Spiritual maturation is as important as numerical growth. People are being added to the church by conversion growth, then discipled in doctrine, spiritual formation, and ministry skills. 1 2 3 4 5
7. Does corporate prayer saturate the life of our church?
Prayers that include adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and intercession are modeled in public services by the leadership. Special corporate prayer services are called for during the year. 1 2 3 4 5
8. Is there concerted effort to bring individuals to maturity?
The overall thrust of the public services, classes, and groups is to help people become mature in Christ. 1 2 3 4 5
9. Do we really reach out to people who visit?
Our people work to make guests feel at home. There are systems whereby people are led into a group or class. 1 2 3 4 5
10. Is our church aware of the world at its door?
We are having a positive impact on our neighborhood and city. 1 2 3 4 5
11. Are we actively pursuing fulfillment of the Great Commission?
Our services reflect concern for the unreached peoples of the world. Missions has a high public profile. 1 2 3 4 5
12. Do we develop leaders?
We involve people in training, both formal and informal. There are structures for discipling existing leaders. 1 2 3 4 5
13. Do our leaders take their responsibilities seriously?
Our leaders hold themselves responsible when asked about current or past wrongs. Leaders are elected on the basis of character first and giftedness second. 1 2 3 4 5
14. Does our church have appropriate structures and exercise wise administration?
There is a clear understanding of the role of the pastor, the board, the staff, the congregation, and the denomination. We think strategically. 1 2 3 4 5
15. Do our congregants have a sense of community?
Despite personal differences there is an undergirding sense of unity. We are family. Many linger after a service in order to visit. 1 2 3 4 5
16. Do we practice accountability and exercise integrity?
Believers understand that commitment to membership demands accountability. The practice of discipline is spelled out in writing. 1 2 3 4 5
17. Do we practice redemptive love?
We follow Jesus’ teaching in Matt. 18:15-18 in attempting to free people who are ensnared in sin, with the goal of restoration. 1 2 3 4 5
18. Is confession openly practiced?
Most people seem willing to confess wrongs to God and to one another in an appropriate way. This is a safe place to confess our sins. 1 2 3 4 5
19. Do we network with other congregations?
We work in harmony and participate with our denomination on a district and national basis. We share our resources with local congregations. 1 2 3 4 5
20. Do we live as people of hope and expectation?
We are convinced we are making a difference in our community. We communicate to people their ultimate hope is not in the now but in the return of Christ. 1 2 3 4 5
Scoring
Total your circled numbers following the twenty categories.
85-100 You are a healthy church.
70-84 You are well on the road to health.
55-69 Don’t stop now; you have things working for you.
40-54 You need some work, but you’ve begun—what will be your next step?
Below 40 Yours is not a very healthy church. Don’t give in to despair. It’s time for the leaders to humble themselves before God and seek renewed direction for this church.
—Donald Bubna is pastor-at-large for the Christian & Missionary Alliance.Keith Walker is an associate professor at the University of Saskatchewan.Jim VanYperen is president of Metanoia Ministries in East Washington, New Hampshire.
1997 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or contact us.
