Marks of a Healthy Church -- By: Kenneth O. Gangel

Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 158:632 (Oct 2001)
Article: Marks of a Healthy Church
Author: Kenneth O. Gangel


Marks of a Healthy Church

Kenneth O. Gangel

A striking statement from Isaiah leaps off the page of the annual report of a small evangelical denomination: “See, I am doing a new thing!” (Isa. 43:19, NIV). The 459 pages that follow describe how God is dealing with that fellowship of churches to craft a vision for the future. Many of their goals of recent years have been achieved; some have been set aside; others revised for new challenges in the future.

One of those new challenges calls the members to prayer, evangelism, church planting, and “discipling world Christians who view the mission of the church through Christ’s eyes and hearts.” The report rejoices, “What an opportunity God is giving His church.”

In the report denominational leaders then introduce readers to the concept of “healthy Great Commission churches,” which are defined as “communities of Christ-centered people characterized by five balanced passions: winning the lost, building the believer, equipping the worker, multiplying the leader, and sending the called ones.” Who could reject those concerns? However, the statement soon erodes into statistical ashes. Suddenly “healthy churches” seem to be measured not by the five passions, but by where they stand numerically, a picture that comes across with stark reality.

Thinking Christian leaders must accept the challenge to focus on healthy churches while recognizing that church size is never a guarantee of spiritual quality. Churches must face the future with total dependence on the sovereignty of God and the power of His Word, while being careful to avoid marrying the spirit of this age and becoming a widow in the next. If the key word is health, what are the marks of a healthy church?

This article suggests that healthy churches are measured in

spiritual terms, follow biblical patterns of ministry, are based on theological foundations, focus on a ministry model, and adopt scriptural models of leadership.

Healthy Churches Are Measured In Spiritual
Rather Than Numerical Terms

True, the five passions noted earlier go beyond head-counting. But what best measures a church’s spiritual health? Churches must be careful they do not get trapped into thinking they are healthy simply because they are growing numerically. Church leaders must not turn their backs on smaller or plateaued churches. Believers in some small churches may exhibit more spiritual maturity than believers in some large churches. In their book No Little Places, Klassen and Koessler emphasize that God judges ministry by quality, not size.

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