Characteristics of a Healthy Church
Luke gives us great insights into how a healthy church operates in Acts 9:31. Of course, it was not just Luke writing this, but he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to record these things for our instruction today. It is God's will that every church be a healthy church. Each church is a local body of Christ, so as the members follow the Head of the church, who is Christ Himself, the church will be healthy and have these characteristics. See if your church has all of these.
All healthy churches have peace, not conflict. Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and He always leads us to live in peace with our fellow believers. In fact, John 17 tells us we will have a supernatural unity that shows the world we are really His children.
Healthy churches are edified. That means they grow spiritually and in number of people. Most churches today are either plateaued or they are declining, so very few churches show this characteristic today.
Healthy churches live in the fear of the Lord. The members do not want to sin or even come close to it, because they fear the power and punishment of God if they do not do His will, and they know He can't bless them, if they sin.
Healthy churches live in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. The word comfort means strength. They do not depend on their own abilities, but they trust in the power of the Spirit to direct them and to give them the power to do God's will.
Finally, healthy churches multiply. They do not just start a mission church every so often. They actually have members who go out and plant churches that in turn plant more churches. This is God's will to reach the world. If a church just adds members and adds missions, the world will never come to know Jesus.
Now, how is your church doing? Remember, if you are a believer, you are the church. I am not talking about how is your pastor doing? How are you doing? We all need to be doing our part to make our churches healthy.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Acts 10-13.
All healthy churches have peace, not conflict. Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and He always leads us to live in peace with our fellow believers. In fact, John 17 tells us we will have a supernatural unity that shows the world we are really His children.
Healthy churches are edified. That means they grow spiritually and in number of people. Most churches today are either plateaued or they are declining, so very few churches show this characteristic today.
Healthy churches live in the fear of the Lord. The members do not want to sin or even come close to it, because they fear the power and punishment of God if they do not do His will, and they know He can't bless them, if they sin.
Healthy churches live in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. The word comfort means strength. They do not depend on their own abilities, but they trust in the power of the Spirit to direct them and to give them the power to do God's will.
Finally, healthy churches multiply. They do not just start a mission church every so often. They actually have members who go out and plant churches that in turn plant more churches. This is God's will to reach the world. If a church just adds members and adds missions, the world will never come to know Jesus.
Now, how is your church doing? Remember, if you are a believer, you are the church. I am not talking about how is your pastor doing? How are you doing? We all need to be doing our part to make our churches healthy.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Acts 10-13.