Healthy churches focus more on the content of the songs than the musical style or the instruments on the stage. More on togetherness and singability than perfection or production. More on the richness of biblical truth than the entrancement of melodic lines or the allurement of rhythmic nuances. Melody, rhythm and beauty all come together in exceptional songs of congregational praise and worship. Excellence in musical production should always be a goal for those musically gifted by God. But it should not be idolized in congregational singing. Churches that are healthy create space for the musically gifted to serve without silencing the voices of those whose joyful noises are beautiful in the ears of the One who, with his own hands, created their vocal cords. Healthy churches sing from the overflow of an obedient lifestyle. Healthy churches allow the Word to shape their worship. Healthy churches don’t just sing about God; they sing to God. Healthy churches strive for musical excellence but do not idolize it. Healthy churches understand that no matter who is on stage, the congregation is the choir. Healthy churches sing with gratitude in their hearts instead of fighting over musical style.

The Word of God is of primary importance in the weekly worship gathering of a healthy church. It is read aloud, infused into prayers and songs and received as authoritative and sufficient for Christian faith and practice. The faithful preaching of the Word is essential. The healthy church is led by a healthy pastor who is gifted and anointed to proclaim the Word of God, to the people of God, anointed by the Spirit of God, always testifying to the Son of God. The pastor assumes the sacred desk every week for one reason alone: to faithfully re-present God’s Word to God’s people, giving them the meaning and helping them apply it to their lives. Unhealthy churches care more about the personality of the preacher than the work of the Word. Healthy churches come together, as a gathered body, thirsting for the Word like a deer pants for water. Whether the Word brings conviction or confirmation, repentance or reassurance, judgment or joy, it is life-giving. Healthy churches value God’s Word. They receive it with gratefulness to God.

Before his ascension, the Lord Jesus left two ordinances to the local church for regular participation. Baptism is the initial, symbolic rite of entrance into the Christian family. It is a new believer’s public profession of faith in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through immersion then emersion within the context of covenant Christian community, upon being born again by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, the new believer identifies with the death of Christ and the life of Christ, committing himself or herself to the ongoing work of Christ through the church of Christ. The role of the congregation in the ordinance of baptism is to observe and celebrate. In the Lord’s Supper (“Communion”), the gathered body of Christ partakes of the bread and the cup to remind themselves of the sacrificial death of their Savior and to be encouraged together that he is soon coming again. The role of the congregation in the Lord’s Supper is to partake. Whether these two ordinances are practiced weekly or with some other form of regularity, they are essential to the health of the body of believers. Healthy churches observe the ordinances regularly, and in so doing, are reminded of both the fellowship of suffering and the promise of the second coming.

A praying church is a powerful church. Prayer moves the heart of God and bends the will of man. In weekly worship services, church members join their hearts and their voices together in thanksgiving, petition and praise to God. In unhealthy churches, prayer is often nothing more than a transition between items on the order of worship. In healthy churches, prayer is made an intentional part of the order of worship. Intentional prayer during worship services often takes different forms. Sometimes there is a time of guided, individual prayer led by someone from the stage. Other times, one person prays aloud while others agree in their hearts and with their voices. It is appropriate at times to call for those who wish to be prayed over to present themselves before prayer warriors who lay hands on them, anoint them and pray for their specific needs. Sometimes congregational prayer takes the form of call and response while reading from a screen or from a printed resource. Congregational prayer does not have to take the same form every week. But it is undeniable that when healthy saints gather, they pray.

We are instructed to be “doers of the word, not hearers only” (James 1:22). Every encounter with God’s Word should produce some form of response within the faithful worshipper. The simple gospel should be faithfully presented in every worship gathering so that those who have come but never trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior will hear a clear and compelling presentation and then be given the opportunity to respond. The text of God’s Word for the day should be comprehensibly exposed and applied so that those who are walking with Jesus know what to do with what they have heard. Whether the invitation is to come down front, go to the back, text this number or raise a hand, there should always be a clear next step given at the end of every worship gathering. Every encounter with the Word of God necessitates a response from the one who hears and listens. Healthy churches have well thought out times of response, trained counselors to assist those who respond and a clear and urgent plea for the convicted hearer to take the next step.

A praying church is made up of praying people. When a church is exhibiting a healthy prayer life, individual members of it are engaging the heart of God through prayer on a regular basis. These church members pray not only for their own walk with the Lord and their families and friends, but also for the common prayers of the church in its season. They petition the Lord on behalf of fellow church members, church leadership and church initiatives. They understand that their effectiveness in the Great Commission is dependent on the effectiveness of their church family, and this drives them to regular, fervent prayer on its behalf.

Some churches are full of people who only pray as passive participants of a large group prayer. They have no personal prayer life—only a corporate one. These Christians are not only missing the joy of daily communion with God; they are depriving their church of the power that the Holy Spirit gives in large group gatherings when members come already confessed-up, prayed-up and filled-up. Many churches want to say, “We are a praying church.” But not many are able to say that their church is made up of praying people.

A healthy church is a praying church.
And a praying church is made up of praying people.

The healthy church is made up of healthy small groups. Your church’s small groups may be formally structured into Sunday School, community groups or something similar. Or they may be more informally structured such as short-term Bible studies, weekly prayer breakfasts or neighborhood cell gatherings. I am a proponent of structured, formal small groups for many reasons, but how a church accomplishes its purposes outside of the weekly gathering is entirely up to the leadership God has given them.

Whatever the specifics of their organization, in some ways these groups are individual vertebrae that make up the backbone of church life. They are microcosms of the church’s values, mission and fellowship. And if they are truly healthy, they are regularly bending the ear of God on behalf of the church body.

A healthy church is a praying church.
And a praying church is made up of praying groups.

It is interesting to note that in the Book of Acts, every major breakthrough in the life of the church came as a result of intense, focused corporate prayer. But is that what most churches expect today? Or do we expect that breakthroughs in our churches will come through planning sessions, charismatic communication or technological advances?

Something supernatural happens when a church falls on their knees together in their weekly gathering to engage the heart of God in prayer. An inimitable spiritual power infuses and invigorates the Body when intense, focused corporate prayer is part of their regular gathering. The Holy Spirit fills the hearts of all who know Jesus through repentance and faith. But he fills the space between us as well when we express prayerful dependence on him as a gathered body. The manifest presence of God falls on a church when they prayerfully seek him together.

Sadly, in most weekly worship services today, prayer is more often a transition between elements on the order of service than it is an intentional focus for the gathering. Healthy churches do not use prayer to help their order of service progress rhythmically; rather, prayer has a prominent place on the agenda. Does your church need a breakthrough? Become a praying church.

A healthy church is a praying church.
And a praying church is marked by praying gatherings.

Churches that value meaningful membership have a well-defined and clearly communicated series of next steps for those desiring to join the church. Such processes take on different forms in different local churches. But in the healthiest churches, it usually includes some form of a membership class, a meeting/interview with one of the pastors in which the person’s salvation testimony is heard and celebrated, and an act of official approval by the membership according to the church’s governing documents. In healthy churches, membership meetings sometimes result in the salvation of those who have attended. These processes give church leadership an opportunity to hear the individuals’ stories, help them understand the direction and core values of the church and plug them into the church’s discipleship pathways and ministry opportunities. Healthy churches give potential members a clear picture of the expectations of the church and a well-defined series of next steps toward becoming a member of the local body.

In healthy churches, membership means something. It carries with it a covenantal commitment to the rest of the church members and to the church body as a whole. Peter instructed each person to use his or her spiritual giftedness to be good stewards of those gifts by serving others in the church body (1 Peter 4:10). Utilizing one’s spiritual giftedness for the benefit of the body is non-negotiable in biblical ecclesiology. Members do not have to be given positions or titles to serve the body. Rather, in healthy churches, leadership clarifies on-ramps for involvement in various ministry areas according to the giftedness and passions of church members. In healthy churches, members understand that along with membership comes the expectation of being involved in congregational decision-making, to be active in some area of ministry in the church and to be present in worship gatherings as often as possible. Membership is devalued when it does not come with clear expectation. In healthy churches, membership comes with clearly communicated expectation and responsibility.

In the biblical model, God gifts local churches with called and qualified leadership (Ephesians 4:11-13). The membership of the church is to govern itself congregationally in major decisions that affect the entire church body, but the God-given leadership of the church should set the tone and the direction for the whole. Church members follow their spiritual leaders in submission to the Lord Jesus Christ. They offer advice, share opinions and speak their minds, but always in appropriate contexts displaying a great deal of respect for the spiritual leadership God has put in place. In unhealthy churches, pockets of membership work against the direction of their spiritual leaders. But in healthy churches, spiritual leaders lead with integrity and church members follow in faith.

In order to keep accurate records of who is part of the local covenant community of faith and who is not, healthy churches have appropriate, biblical systems in place to remove from church membership those who have relocated to another geographic area, died, fallen out of fellowship with the church or are living in unrepentant sin. When members relocate to another geographic area, church leadership should help them find a new local church to join in covenant membership. When they are promoted to glory, they should be removed from the membership rolls. When they fall out of fellowship with the church through failure to attend regularly, inactivity in the ministry of the church or active public discourse against the church, their membership should be revoked or not renewed. When a person is living in unrepentant, unconfessed sin, the church leadership should follow the appropriate steps as outlined in Matthew 18:15-17 for correction, reconciliation or removal (with clear guidelines for future reconciliation if desired). In healthy churches, reasons and processes for removal from membership are clearly spelled out for those who choose to join, and they are carefully and lovingly followed through when the need arises.

In unhealthy churches, membership is a commodity. In healthy churches, membership is a privilege and a responsibility.

In an unhealthy church, sometimes the only way to have the appearance of unity is to have the appearance of uniformity. Uniform churches are only welcoming to certain kinds of Christians. Peace in such a fellowship is protected because every person has the same political party affiliation, the same socioeconomic status, the same ethnic background, or the same generational leanings. This is not unity. This is uniformity. The Bible teaches that God delights in diversity. To have a diverse church, comprised of every cross-section of the community’s population, is a beautiful thing. Where else could all kinds of people from all kinds of different backgrounds come together as one under the guiding peace that is only found in Christ Jesus? Only at the foot of the cross. To require uniformity for unity’s sake is to settle for a cheap imitation of the peace that comes through Jesus. Unity is not uniformity.

How often do one hundred percent of the people agree on something? Every church I’ve ever served or visited is full of real people who have real problems like me—and those real people with real problems bring their real opinions to every real issue. Unanimity is a blessing when it happens. But to require unanimity as a demarcation of unity is simply not feasible. Nor is it biblical. When the Holy Spirit gives complete unanimity among his people and when they receive it and communicate it with grace, it is a special thing indeed. But rarely do we all completely agree on something. Rather, unity happens when those who do not agree choose deference instead of division. Unity happens when disagreement is defused because one or more parties choose to prefer one another over their own preferences. Even those of us who agree on almost everything will eventually disagree on something. Unanimity is not the standard for unity. Unity is not unanimity.

“May they all be made completely one, as you are in me and I am in you, may they all be made one in us so that the world will know you have sent me,” prayed the Lord Jesus for his church, in John 17:21. In the church, unity is oneness. It is a oneness of purpose, a oneness of mind, and a oneness of heart, a singular devotion to the mission. The apostle Paul urged the Philippian church to “make my joy complete by thinking the same way, having the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.”

Unhealthy churches allow division to corrupt mission.

Healthy churches allow oneness of purpose to guard and guide their mission together.

Churches with a healthy commitment to the Bible are made up of church members with a healthy commitment to the Bible. Healthy church members do not only have a high view of the Bible but a high value of it as well. The former is a matter of orthodoxy, the latter of orthopraxy. The first can be evidenced in what we say, the second only in how we live.

Those church members who truly value the Word of God immerse themselves in it daily. They pray with the Psalmist, “Give me life through your word” (Psalm 119:25) as they seek its meaning and study its precepts. But they do not stop there. They live their lives according to the Word. They keep it (v.33), obey it (v.34), practice it (v.56) and do not forget it (v.61).

Healthy churches help their members engage in daily reading of and obedience to the Word of God.

Perhaps you have been in small group “Bible studies” where more weekly gathering time was spent making announcements and reminiscing fellowship events than actually studying the Bible. Surely fellowship and communication are important. But small groups that make up the missional backbone of a healthy local church are those who maximize their time together to engage, discuss and live out the written Word of God.

Healthy churches assist their small groups in selecting study aids and/or lesson guides that unveil the magnificent truths of God’s Word. Small group times have elements of connection and collaboration, but their bread and butter is in the systematic study and application of biblical truth. In healthy churches, small groups do not simply have a high view of Scripture. They have a high value of it as well. And there, in the healthy church, church leadership is careful and strategic about the steady diet of God’s Word that is being consumed in small groups.

While engaging music, meaningful fellowship and worshipful giving are all important elements of the weekly worship gathering, both focused prayer and the expositional preaching of the Bible are absolutely essential. The Holy Spirit works in the hearts and minds of those gathered to explain and apply biblical truth that is faithfully exposed from the pulpit. Churches who gather with prayerful expectation to hear from God in his Word are those whose weekly services are marked by the manifest presence of God.

Unhealthy churches often devalue God’s Word in their weekly gatherings by leaving too little time for the sermon, idolizing the man behind the pulpit or censoring the clear message of the Word so as not to upset those who attend. A church that in any way devalues the Word of God in their gatherings is a church that is out of touch with the God who has gathered them.

The pulpit, in the regular weekly gathering, is the primary platform for biblical teaching. The pastor primarily leads the church from the pulpit. He primarily shepherds them from the pulpit. He primarily oversees them from the pulpit. Healthy churches have both a high view and a high value of Scripture as it is faithfully and consistently proclaimed in their weekly gatherings.

For a church to be healthy, it must embrace the inspiration, authority, inerrancy and sufficiency of God’s written Word. Without this unwavering devotion to the Bible, a church will not produce disciples who are “complete, equipped for every good work.” Healthy churches are devoted to the Word of God.

In healthy churches, every member owns the responsibility, and the joy, of evangelizing. God has given every Christian a circle of influence. Your circle of influence is different from mine. And the Lord has graciously given you the opportunity, and the responsibility, to leverage your influence to invite your circle into his kingdom through repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ. Your circle of influence is comprised of your home, your neighborhood, your workplace, and your social circles. When it comes to evangelism, your circle of influence is your responsibility. Healthy churches massage this truth into the blood flow of the congregation. They provide evangelism training opportunities and evangelistic outreach programming. They empower, equip, and release the membership to be the primary evangelizers in their community, especially within their own circles of influence. In the healthy church, the membership knows that evangelism is for every church member.

Your circle of influence begins with those nearest to you. When someone comes to faith in Christ, the primary field of harvest is often in his or her own home. Believing fathers and mothers are to evangelize their children. Believing children are to evangelize their siblings, parents, and grandparents. Sometimes the people we love most do not understand the change that the gospel has affected in our lives. But when that gospel takes root and bears fruit over time, a repentant grandchild, child, sibling, parent, or grandparent can have a greater gospel impact on the life of an unbelieving family member than any preacher could ever hope to affect from behind a pulpit. When Andrew believed in Jesus, he “first found his own brother Simon… and brought him to Jesus,” (John 1:40-42). The Philippian jailer believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, then he immediately evangelized his own home: “Right away he and his family were baptized… and rejoiced because he had come to believe in God with his entire household,” (Acts 16:33-34). In the healthy church, church members understand, in every generation, that evangelism starts in the home.

There has been some pushback, in our current Christian climate, against “canned” gospel presentations. However, in every day, when the eternity-changing message of the gospel can be transported from faith to faith in the simplest, easiest-to-remember vehicle, it is a beautiful and powerful thing. When Paul came to the Corinthians, he “did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom,” but “decided to know nothing among you but Jesus Christ and him crucified,” (1 Corinthians 2:1-2). God does not need our eloquence and the gospel does not need our logical trickery. But the message of Christ does need to be communicated simply and effectively, so that the Holy Spirit can apply the message to the hearts of the hearer, for “how can they believe on him, about whom they have never heard?” In the grocery store, on the street corner, on the ball field, in the hallway, and on the airplane, God often drops an opportunity in the lap of believers who are willing to share the gospel in its purest, simplest form. Other times we go seek those opportunities, with intentionality, by knocking on doors or mingling in the mall. However it may come to them, believers in the healthy church are sensitive to those God-ordained moments when an opportunity is presented to share the gospel. In healthy churches, members capitalize on opportune moments for evangelism.

The joy of the redeemed is to faithfully and compellingly share the truth of the gospel to everyone who will listen. But it is the responsibility of God alone to affect change in the souls of those who listen and produce repentance that leads to salvation. Certainly, no one has ever or will ever come to Jesus unless he is “drawn by the Father,” (John 6:44). It is a mystery to the faithful evangelist why some come to saving faith the first time they hear the gospel while others hear and reject the same gospel for decades before finally receiving the gift of eternal life. Sometimes God chooses to save the hearer upon the first delivery of the gospel. Sometimes it takes time for that gospel to break through the walls of a hardened heart. In healthy churches, members do not give up on those family and community members who have rejected the gospel for many years. Instead, they take every opportunity to embody the truth of the gospel while sharing it relentlessly and inviting him or her to respond in simple faith. In healthy churches, members understand that sometimes evangelism is an opportune presentation, and other times it is an ongoing conversation.

In healthy churches, worship leaders sing the gospel, Bible teachers teach the gospel, faithful men and women pray the gospel, announcement-makers announce the gospel, and pastors preach the gospel. The gospel message should be the central theme of every worship service. After all, it is only because of the gospel that we can gather as a redeemed community of faith and continue to gather as progressively sanctified children of God. The gospel should never lose its wonder! The healthy church never gets over the gospel! Should a lost soul come to a church gathering—whether by a direct invitation or a curious drop in—it should be that he or she is unable to walk back out the door without hearing the simple gospel message and being extended an invitation to respond in some way. In the weekly gatherings of healthy churches, the gospel is not just tacked on to the end of a sermon. It is the central message of the service. It is the joy of every song, the solemnity of every prayer, the power of every sermon, and the invitation of every heart. In the healthy church, evangelism is part of every worship service, on purpose.

Often, communication between church leaders and church members is exacerbated because their language is not codified. In other words, as someone has said, we sometimes use the same vocabulary without using the same dictionary. Allow me to offer three examples:

(1) What is a disciple? Before your church can settle on a discipleship pathway or program, it should possess a clear and biblical definition of what a disciple is. “We want to produce disciples” sounds great. But by that you might mean that you want to produce converts while church member B might mean she wants to produce disciple-making disciples, and church member C might mean he wants to produce faithful attendees at church events. What exactly is a disciple of Jesus?

(2) Additionally, do you have a discipleship program, a discipleship pathway or both? Programs are events—ends in themselves. Pathways are processes—designed for movement and reproduction. If you have both programs and events, how are they working together to make disciples? Is there a clearly communicated difference between discipleship programs and discipleship pathways?

(3) Do you have small groups, life groups, cell groups, Sunday School groups or something different? If you have more than one, what is the difference? If you are using these terms interchangeably, pick one and stick with it. Church members and guests alike need to know clearly what is meant when church leaders encourage their participation in discipleship groups. In unhealthy churches, the language of discipleship is unclear, uncompelling and inconsistent. In healthy churches, leaders say the same things with intentionality, and the membership adopts the language with understanding and conviction.

For years, “discipleship” in churches has been regulated to a program or a series of programs. Your church may have a children’s discipleship program on Wednesday nights, a men’s and women’s discipleship program on Sunday nights, a Sunday School or small group discipleship program on Sunday mornings, or any other number of weekly offerings. These are programs. Events. Programs are not bad in themselves. Organized and managed with intentionality, they can be of great benefit to the discipleship goals of the church. However, in healthy churches, discipleship programs are not the end game.

In healthy churches, discipleship programs either feed or fit into discipleship pathways. Programs are events. Pathways are processes. The goal of a program is to increase numbers of attendees. The goal of a pathway is to reproduce increasing Christlikeness in participants. A discipleship program says, “Come, sit, participate, and learn. Then go home and apply.” A discipleship pathway says, “Here is our church’s plan for helping you strategically walk more and more closely with Jesus.” Pathways get you from Point A to Point B. Programs get you to Point A and keep you there. Discipleship programs without discipleship pathways can easily become stale, self-serving and ineffective. But when discipleship pathways are clear and discipleship programs are part of their processes, there is great potential for a church to reproduce disciple-making disciples.

What is your church’s pathway for a new believer to become a mature believer? How do you move them from an infant disciple to a maturing disciple-maker? Is there a mentoring or 1-on-3 discipling season involved? Where do small groups fit in? At what point and with whom do they learn how to evangelize? How do worship services fit into their personal spiritual growth? Unhealthy churches seek only to amass disciples into their weekly programs. Healthy churches develop and communicate clear pathways for taking a new believer in Christ from a freshly reborn disciple to a reproductive disciple-maker.

Culture is hard to define but easier to feel. As Lance Whitt explained in High Impact Teams, “Culture is the collective personality of an organization, composed of assumptions, beliefs, traditions, values, and attitudes. Ideally, these cultural qualities drive and govern desired behaviors.” A church’s culture is that attitude—that collective personality—which develops over time as church leadership and membership share language, initiatives, common goals and common frustrations.

Unhealthy churches have developed an unhealthy common personality by focusing on the wrong missions, valuing the wrong things, protecting the wrong traditions, perpetuating the wrong beliefs and operating from the wrong assumptions. They have lost the one thing—to make disciples who make disciples. Methods, programs, decorations and styles change over time. But the one thing does not. Unhealthy churches have lost their one thing in the churning ocean of other things. Healthy churches constantly call the congregation’s attention back to the one thing. A discipleship culture is created and facilitated from the pulpit, in classrooms, during committee and deacons’ meetings, and through online communication. It is in the language church leaders choose the attitudes they bring to the table and the values that shape their decision-making. Churches that make disciple-making disciples are intentional about developing and perpetuating a discipleship culture.

Like every other arena of life together, discipleship language, pathways and cultures do not happen by accident. They require intentionality and determination. Unhealthy churches expect to coast through the generations on the backs of various discipleship programs. Healthy churches are intentional about developing and perpetuating a biblical disciple-making culture through shared discipleship language and clear discipleship pathways.

Healthy church leaders walk closely with the Lord Jesus. They are regular in daily devotional rhythms and are sensitive to the Holy Spirit. The healthy church leader leads from the overflow of a healthy walk with God. This kind of overflow leadership is evidenced by the Galatians 5:22-23 fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Because the leader is a real person with real problems living in a fallen world, he or she may not exemplify the fruit at its ripest in every passing moment. However, the fruit will generally be evident and increasing over time. Healthy leaders lead from the overflow of healthy spiritual rhythms.

The apostle Paul admonished those with sexual sin by writing, “Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you . . . You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So, glorify God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Although the instruction comes to us in the immediate context of sexual sin, it is no less applicable with regard to other self-destructive practices. Healthy leaders take care of their temporary tents while awaiting a more permanent dwelling from God. They steward their physical health with wisdom and care. They exercise. They eat right. They see their doctors regularly. They embrace their physical limitations. Healthy leaders pay careful attention to their physical health so they can bring their best to the table of God’s ministry assignment every day.

Ministry often feels like an emotional roller coaster. When church leaders do not pay attention to their own mental and emotional health, they put the whole church body in jeopardy. Solomon wrote, “Patience is better than power, and controlling one’s emotions, than capturing a city” (Proverbs 16:32). Healthy church leaders understand that their emotions are their responsibility. They regularly receive counseling, coaching and/or mentoring to make sure they are dealing with the secret, hidden places of their lives. They take their mental health seriously, being attuned to those indicators that may raise concerns when stress is high or anxiety sets in. Healthy church leaders know they can either control their emotions or be controlled by them—and they put specific, contextual practices in place to intentionally choose the former.

A church leader’s family is his or her first ministry priority. Ministry in and through a local church begins with ministry in and through one’s own home. Church leaders should never sacrifice their families on the altar of Christian ministry. Paul wrote to young Timothy that both pastors and deacons are to manage their households competently (1 Timothy 3:4-5, 11-12). When someone is not leading well in his or her home, he or she cannot be expected to lead well in the church. The family of a church leader will not be picture perfect. But it should be a place where there is consistent evidence of hospitality, grace, self-control, discipleship, evangelism and the superintending peace of God. Unhealthy church leaders often bring unnecessary suffering upon their homes in the name of Christian ministry. Healthy church leaders understand that their home is their first priority in Christian ministry.

The healthy church leader is a student of leadership. He or she pursues academic achievement, ongoing education or independent study to sharpen the leadership skills with which God has entrusted them. A healthy church leader creates and facilitates an environment of humility, mutual respect and team-based ministry. Both ministry volunteers and paid staff enjoy working in the environment this leader maintains. Unhealthy leaders allow insecurity and selfish pride to govern their decisions and drive their conversations. Healthy leaders listen well, receive help and always pull the focus back to the mission. Unhealthy leaders hoard ministry. Healthy leaders equip, resource and release the saints for the work of ministry.

Church leader, are you healthy? Are you leading from overflow?

When a church is healthy, it develops a pipeline for reproducing lay leadership. From an early age, children and youth are encouraged and equipped to be current and future leaders in the church. Young singles and young marrieds are listened to and are involved in decision-making processes. Median adults disciple younger adults. Senior adults mentor, encourage and empower the generations beneath them to pour their lives into the Great Commission work of and through the local church.

Unhealthy churches often find themselves at a sudden impasse—in need of lay leadership but having none. Healthy churches do not wait for positions to open before leaders are trained, mentored, and released. It is a sure sign of congregational immaturity to protect positions of power instead of empowering the next generation for leadership. When a healthy, mature church is firing on all cylinders, the opinion and contribution of every church member is valued. Men and women of faith are being discipled, empowered, and released to take ownership in the life of the church. If a leadership vacuum exists today, it is because the church did not reproduce lay leaders yesterday. And if they do not reproduce lay leaders today, they may have no church at all tomorrow.

Where will the next generation of pastors and church leaders come from? Where are they right now? They are in your pews, your chairs, your classrooms, and your homes. In an unhealthy church it is an awkward and unusual thing to license or ordain someone into the ministry. Unhealthy churches have no clear pathways for pastoral mentorships or vocational ministry internship tracks. They can only hope to trip their way through the reproduction of a vocational church leader.

Conversely, healthy churches are intentional and proactive toward it. They regularly call church members to respond to the call of vocational ministry. They budget and plan for internship pathways. Their ministerial leadership is purposeful in discipling and mentoring potential future ministers. Calling out, equipping, and releasing pastors, ministers, and missionaries is a regular part of their congregational rhythm. Healthy churches reproduce vocational church leadership. God calls men and women to vocational ministry in every generation. Healthy churches invite them to respond to this call, equip them in their calling, and send them out to advance the Great Commission.

Healthy churches start churches. They not only reproduce leaders, but they mobilize their people to reproduce gospel-centered, Great Commission minded churches as well. When churches are empowered by the Holy Spirit, focused on the glory of God, and passionate about reaching their city, their state, their nation, and their world with the gospel of Jesus Christ, they cannot help but plant more churches. It is the most natural, organic thing a Great Commission church can do. Some healthy churches partner with other healthy churches to accomplish this—pooling their resources and relationships to support church planting initiatives. Some healthy churches raise up groups from within, incubate them, and send them out to growing areas of their city or state. Some develop church planting centers or internships for the whole purpose of releasing leaders and starting a new work. Unhealthy churches say they want the gospel advanced, but they are too internally focused to be a part of church planting. Healthy churches look for opportunities to reproduce. Healthy churches plant healthy churches.

It is important to note that successful reproduction does not always result in numerical growth. Successful normative sized churches, especially in small towns, reproduce lay vocational leaders and send them out through the generations. Similarly, sometimes successful Great Commission focused reproduction actually results in numerical decline for a local congregation, as membership and leadership are sent out to plant a new church.

Is your church actively reproducing lay leaders? Are you training, equipping, and releasing vocational ministers? Are you planting new gospel-centered, Great Commission minded churches? Unhealthy things stagnate. Healthy things reproduce.