We often ask readers, "What topic could Leadership devote an issue to that would help you in your ministry?" Recently, the overwhelming response has been: "Church health." We liked the idea and searched for answers to two foundational questions:

WHAT IS CHURCH HEALTH?

(Understanding It)
Comprehensive Health Plan (p. 22)
Rick Warren writes in The Purpose-Driven Church that "the key issue for churches in the twenty-first century is church health, not church growth." We asked Warren, pastor of Saddleback Valley Community Church in Southern California, probing questions about the signs of a healthy church and healthy pastor.

What Does a Healthy Church Look Like? (p. 34)
We put this question to a variety of pastors and also scoured published works on the subject. The result: not one answer, but ten.

Is Your Church Fiscally Fit? (p. 57)
We'd never read a practical, simple answer to this question—until this one from Leadership contributing editor Jim Berkley.