Traits of a healthy church

Earlier this year I re-posted 7 things that will drive future church growth, which was the third in a series of posts I wrote looking at the future of the church and the need to Reimagine our Methodology (check out the links to Part 1 and Part 2 also).

In the third post I shared a link to Doug Paul’s free ebook: 10 Church Predictions for the Next 10 Years that may shed some light on what the future could hold as we navigate the coming days post Covid lockdowns.

In May 2021 Sermon Central posted ten traits that they see in the healthiest churches ten years from now which you may also find interesting:

1. They have the same pastor they did ten years ago.
2. The pastor, staff, and church members have a decade of calling to the local community.
3. The church will be as diverse as the community.
4. The church will have responded to its international mission field in its own backyard for ten years.
5. The church will have had a consistent and strategic outward focus for a decade.
6. All new members the past ten years will have attended a new members’ class.
7. The church will have seen the cultural changes of the decade as opportunities rather than threats.
8. At least 80 percent of the worship attendance will have moved to a small group over the decade.
9. At least 50 percent of the attendance will have invited at least four people to church each year.
10. Every year for ten years these churches will have become more joyous and fun.

Now all of these are great traits to have in the local church and I’m sure that we can each add to the above list others that resonate with us.

In fact many books and articles have been written about what constitutes a healthy church and how we too can get them. I’ve been a student of church growth for over 25 yrs and have a small number on my own bookshelf 🙂

And this does not include the many e-books, articles and posts that I have stored both on my computer and in my filing cabinet. I’ve come to appreciate the likes of Carey Nieuwhof, Thom S. Rainer, Wayne Cordeiro, Doug Paul, Andy Stanley, Rick Warren, Frank Damazio, Bill Hybels, Craig Groeschel, Ron Martoia, Dave Mann amongst many others, that have each in one way or another contributed to my learning and development in this space.

Also, as noted in a recent post entitled “Can we learn from another time” I’m about to embark on a Church Mobilisation Journey through North.South Aotearoa with some Corps (churches) within The Salvation Army, in which we will explore ways that they can look to effectively reach out to their local communities and engage with our ever-changing society.

Over the years however, I have also come to acknowledge and appreciate the enormous amount of work being done by Natural Church Development and in particular the eight essential qualities (characteristics) of healthy churches.

The following qualities have been found, when developed within churches, to have a positive affect not only in numerical growth, but also spiritual health, over subsequent years regardless of denominational affiliations.

1. Empowering leadership
2. Gift-orientated ministry
3. Passionate spirituality
4. Functional structures
5. Inspiring worship services
6. Holistic small groups
7. Need-oriented evangelism
8. Loving relationships

The thing is, there is no single factor which leads to overall growth in churches;
it is the interplay of all the above eight characteristics. We need to look to develop and increase our effectiveness in each of these areas so that we can better reach the people in our communities that need what only the church can offer – True Hope!

If you’d like to know more about Church Mobilisation, Natural Church Development, or even Natural Character Development (which I’ve recently been trained in the area of inspiration) drop me a line via email or leave a comment below 🙂

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7 Things That Will Drive Future Church Growth

The third in a series of posts I wrote about 18 months ago looking at the future of the church.

Jürgen Kocka writes that Coivd-19 is as an accelerator of social change, and others have noted that the church is not impervious to this.

Hope you find this beneficial 🙂

The life and times of Perry...

Sociologists C. Kirk Hadaway and Penny Long Marler reported in their 2005 Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion that “over the past 30 to 40 years, denominations had increasingly reported a decline in their numbers“.

In the past 9 months there’s been a lot of talk about the accelerated decline of church attendance.

A large part of this in these days is due to the Covid-19 pandemic that has affected churches worldwide. We are living in a world of uncertainty and with the threat of further lockdowns being imposed on us at the drop of a hat if community transmission of the virus is picked up, some churches are actually growing.

Now this may all sound paradoxical – How is the church growing, or going to grow when it looks like it is in decline? Another way to look at it – Is God at work pruning…

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Embrace the change

This year as we continue to live in a world that doesn’t know from one moment to the next if we are going to be going back to some form of normality, I am reminded of the need to embrace the change, and accept that we are going to be living in a very fluid time.

If last year has taught us anything many of us have come to accept that some of the things that we hold on to as “normal” may never return, or at least not in the way that we have become so accustomed to.

Case and point international travel – even this week our Prime Minister here in New Zealand has admitted that ‘normal’ international travel to just about anywhere in the world may be a long way off as countries continue to grapple with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Even limited travel bubbles are on hold as we experience the first community case in approximately 2 months.

Many more countries have or are now in the process of closing their borders and are not anticipating reopening them as per “normal” any time soon – even if the vaccine has been successfully distributed in a particular country.

Expect managed isolation stays and limited travel unless you have been vaccinated as a ‘new normal’.

So how does this affect us in the church? We too need to embrace the change!

I say this because things are not going to necessarily be the same as we strive to comprehend what ‘new thing‘ God is doing in our communities and as we move to impact them with Christ’s message of life and hope – How church will look will very different to what they were just a few short years ago.

Some propose that many churches will not return to pre-covid attendance numbers and that if they do, it will be in a variety of different ways.

i.e. multiple services over multiple days and different times, or even in different locations / settings / buildings etc. and the list could go on…

One of the main examples of change that we need to embrace is the digital world – many churches and Corps around the world have pivoted (the latest buzz word) to use facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram to not only keep congregational members connected, but also enabling them to continue worshipping in the comfort of their homes. Which for some didn’t happen previously as when they were unable to attend the Sunday morning service for whatever reason they simply missed out.

In the latest edition of The Officer (A quarterly magazine for Officers of The Salvation Army) the General (Brian Peddle) asks; “‘Who knew’ what opportunities the digital world would offer?”

He goes on to write; “I note, with deep admiration, the courage of those who have literally ‘moved the Army online’. Who knew…

that worship around the world was possible without leaving my couch? (Thank you!)

that an iPad passed through a letter box to a senior who is shielding (protecting people who are at high risk from coronavirus) allowed for the best pastoral visit ever?

that our online prayer meeting at IHQ could grow from 10 in attendance to 60, overnight?

that you can still kneel in your home and respond to the message, accept Christ and give your testimony (online) two weeks later?

The General goes on to say; “In celebrating our digital engagement and our online presence, I joked with a colleague, ‘Wouldn’t it be a good day if the headline could read: “Christians crash the Internet”?’ The Church is not closed! The Church is alive, living and breathing in each missional heart of those who follow and call Him Lord. We will find a way…

So, what does the ‘next normal’ look like? I see…

an Army that has recaptured its creative and adaptive spirit – we can do this!

an Army that is not held back by anything that prevents it in furthering the cause of Christ – Lord, set us free!

an Army that takes its stand, not one that is stuck on immovables, but an Army that pivots and is always turning toward the needs of people, and finally,

an Army that is outward facing, responding to its call to mission – ready, engaged and taking responsibility.

My challenge to The Salvation Army, to us as its leaders, is, ‘don’t re-embrace our “old normal” as if it is the best that God can do’.

‘See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland’ (Isaiah 43:19)

I propose to you that there is no evidence, biblically or in God’s narrative with his people, that the ‘old model’ is the only thing we must do… He is doing a new thing! Don’t miss it!           

Major Martin Gossauer, editor of The Officer adds: “In this time of great need and adversity, there are also positive outcomes: more people are hearing and sharing the gospel online; more people are praying; more people are taking care of and talking to their neighbours. Some church doors may be closed, but we are reminded: we don’t go to church we are the church; The Salvation Army is not a building, the Army is us – you and me, God working through us!”

So, as we approach this new year may we all be reminded that God is doing a “new thing“, and we need to reimagine how we do church in this fluid time that we find ourselves in. We need to embrace the change, even if we don’t fully understand it or even want to, as God is in the business of moving people forward in their journey of faith – just look at the lessons learnt by the Israelites in Exodus as they spent time being led by God in search of the promised land (I’m pretty sure He knew where he was leading them to).

This is something that we will be looking at as Annette starts a new sermon series this coming weekend as we explore ‘the land between’.

And yes this journey may be daunting and scary, a number of us might not be entirely happy with where we are heading – but with God on our side nothing is impossible and we will get through this into a much better place.

Blessings ’til next time 🙂

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Five Things Churches Should Do Differently in 2021

The following article was written by Thom S. Rainer on the Church Answers blog.

Thom is the author of more than two dozen books including; I Am a Church Member, Breakout Churches, Autopsy of a Deceased Church, Who Moved My Pulpit?, and Anatomy of a Revived Church.

As I am writing this article, I was notified that my grandson, Joshua, had broken his ankle. My granddaughter, Collins, broke her arm this year. My son, Sam, broke his leg a month ago. And my wife, Nellie Jo, broke her wrist earlier this year. That’s four different Rainer families with broken bones in the same year. 

2020. Ugh. Come quickly 2021!

For certain, there are many of us looking forward to leaving 2020 behind and entering a new year. We anticipate that 2021 will be much better. Indeed, we have every reason to believe it will be a better year. 

As our team works with church leaders, we are often asked what changes or pivots their churches should make as their congregations move to a new year. Though this list is not exhaustive, we find ourselves making these five recommendations consistently. 

1. Triple the amount of time your church dedicates to outreach to the community. It’s all about the Great Commission. For years, many of our churches have gradually reduced their commitment to reaching their communities. We are incredibly excited that thousands of churches have adopted Pray and Go (see www.PrayAndGoChurch.com) with a new commitment to make a difference where they live.

2. Have a backup budget. The economic outlook for 2021 is murky, but we do see some troubling signs. Indeed, we are already beginning to hear from church leaders whose churches are showing signs of deteriorating finances. We are encouraging many leaders to have a backup plan if giving does not meet expectations. 

3. Move from incremental change to substantive change. In the past, I advocated an “eating an elephant” posture toward change in established churches. You eat an elephant one bite at a time, and thus you lead change in a church one small step at a time. I can no longer advocate incremental change. We simply do not have the time to wait on people like we once did. If we wait on some of the more resistant people in our church to change, we may have closed the doors long before they are ready. 

4. Cut back on the clutter and activities. Many of our churches are simply too busy. We are sacrificing our families and opportunities to develop relationships in the community because of church calendars. COVID has given us a new opportunity to focus on doing a few things well in our churches. The simple church will become the effective church. 

5. Approach ministry with a church planter mindset. I have called this new opportunity “the blank slate.” Instead of doing things the way we’ve always done them, ruthlessly evaluate everything your church is doing. If your church were starting anew, what would it start doing? What would it stop doing? COVID has given us a new opportunity to rethink church. Don’t let the opportunity pass. 

I am watching the calendar closely. For sure, 2020 has not been a stellar year for many of us. But it has been a season where we can re-evaluate our lives and our ministries. Indeed, it can lead us to 2021 with a new enthusiasm for our churches and the people we lead and love.

So, come quickly 2021. There are incredible opportunities just around the corner.

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7 Things That Will Drive Future Church Growth

Sociologists C. Kirk Hadaway and Penny Long Marler reported in their 2005 Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion that “over the past 30 to 40 years, denominations had increasingly reported a decline in their numbers“.

In the past 9 months there’s been a lot of talk about the accelerated decline of church attendance.

A large part of this in these days is due to the Covid-19 pandemic that has affected churches worldwide. We are living in a world of uncertainty and with the threat of further lockdowns being imposed on us at the drop of a hat if community transmission of the virus is picked up, some churches are actually growing.

Now this may all sound paradoxical – How is the church growing, or going to grow when it looks like it is in decline? Another way to look at it – Is God at work pruning the vine? Is God calling us to disturb the present so that we can have a more effective future?

The thing is hope is not lost, Jesus has already advised us that “He will build His church and the church will reign triumphant” refer to Matthew 16:18 (The Voice).

Carey Nieuwhof has identified 7 Things That Will Drive Future Church Growth:

1. Personal Invitation
2. Refusing to Settle for the Mediocre
3. An Open Door Online and a Great In-House Experience
4. Genuine Relationship
5. Deep Engagement
6. Clarity
7. Risk and Experimentation

In another post he identifies that “most Christians who are not returning to church are not leaving Christianity. They’re not even leaving your church. They’re just not coming back to the building, and perhaps they won’t even after there’s a vaccine and the pandemic is a distant memory.”

The Covid-19 pandemic has been an accelerator and now that the effects of the pandemic have stretched on for a number of months, with no real resolution in sight as far as a vaccine – regular attenders will more than likely become less regular and irregular attenders may well become even less frequent attenders.

The reality is this is just a sign of a shifting culture and it will necessitate a paradigm shift for the church as it grapples with its methodology. (I touched on this a couple of months ago when posting two articles about Reimagining the Methodology – Part 1 and Part 2).

Another person I have been following online of late is Doug Paul, who has spent more than 6 months working with a cultural anthropologist to put together something that he thinks will not only be interesting, but wonderfully useful as we enter into the third decade of the millennium. (And only proved more true by the COVID-19 pandemic.)

He has written a free ebook: 10 Church Predictions for the Next 10 Years that may shed some light on what the future could hold for us as we navigate the impending days ahead.

You can also read the article 6 Predictions that Didn’t Make the Cut.

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Monthly Recap cancelled…

This coming Wednesday nights ‘Monthly Recap’ has been cancelled…

This is due to the need to have an additional leadership meeting to discuss the Integrated Community Ministries model which is in its final stages and how that fits in with the Corps plans and direction going forward…

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