The Bottom Line The Quality of Church Health Church Health Board Michigan District
Dec 15, 2015
TheBottom Line
The Quality of Church Health
Church Health Board
Michigan District
Are we doing the right thing?
How do we know?
Are we doing it the right way?
Every organization should ask these three questions (Peter Drucker)
“Some church growth concepts are so focused on
the fruit..
that they fail to remember
the roots that produce the fruit.”
Mark 4:26
"Jesus also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on
the ground.”
Mark 4:27
“Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though
he does not know how.”
Mark 4:28
“All by itself the soil produces grain--first the
stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.”
Jesus Explained What We Can And Cannot Do
•We can prepare the soil
•We can sow the seed
•We can sleep & can get up
•We can harvest the crop
•We CANNOT
bring forth the fruitNCS © 2000
Growing and declining churches vary
significantly in some church health “quality”
areas
Research Reveals…
Empowering Leadership
Leaders “equip, support, motivate, and mentor individuals
to become all that God wants them to be. . . They know that God has an unique calling for
every individual.”
Gift-Oriented Ministry
Church leaders help members “identify their gifts and integrate them into ministries that match
their gifts.”
Passionate Spirituality
The faith of the people is “actually lived out with
commitment and enthusiasm, which impacts their giving.”
Empowering Leadership
Passionate
Inspiring
Gift-oriented Ministry
Spirituality
Worship Service
Note
the
adje
ctiv
e
s
Inspiring Worship
Worship is an “inspiring experience” that is well planned and regularly evaluated, where people sense God’s presence and lives are being impacted.
Empowering Leadership
Holistic
Passionate
Inspiring
Gift-oriented Ministry
Spirituality
Worship Service
Small Groups
Note
the
adje
ctiv
e
s
Holistic Small Groups
The church has developed a system of small groups where “individual Christians can find intimate community, practical
help, and spiritual interaction.”
Empowering Leadership
Holistic
Passionate
Inspiring
Gift-oriented Ministry
Spirituality
Worship Service
Small Groups
Note
the
adje
ctiv
e
s
Need-Oriented Evangelism
Need-Oriented Evangelism
The church shares the gospel “in a way that meets the
questions and needs of non-Christians.”
Empowering Leadership
Holistic
Passionate
Inspiring
Gift-oriented Ministry
Spirituality
Worship Service
Small Groups
Note
the
adje
ctiv
e
s
Need-Oriented Evangelism
Loving Relationships/Assimilation
Loving Relationships / Assimilation
The relationships in the church are loving, warm and accepting
of new people. The church intentionally follows up on
guests and guides them into relationships and involvement.
Empowering Leadership
Holistic
Passionate
Inspiring
Gift-oriented Ministry
Spirituality
Worship Service
Small Groups
Note
the
adje
ctiv
e
s
Need-Oriented Evangelism
Loving Relationships/Assimilation
Strategic Structures
Strategic Structures
The church operates with an annual Ministry Action Plan,
evaluates its ministries faithfully, experiments regularly and acts to remove barriers to
church growth and health.
What Jesus Taught That We Can & Can Not Do
•We can prepare the soil
•We can sow the seed
•We can sleep & can get up
•We can harvest the crop
•We CANNOT
bring forth the fruitNCS © 2000
Mark 4:28
“All by itself the soil produces grain--first the
stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.”
“The key is quality.
Jesus taught, if the root is quality, it
will produce the right
fruit.” Matt 7:17
Strategic Steps To Consider
Make a commitment to annually evaluate the church’s health as a foundational component
of church life
Strategic Steps To Consider
Consider requiring a church health assessment every year to the district,
to assist the church in continuing to remove
its health barriers.
As a Church Health Board, we
desire healthy churches across
our district.
What would that look like?
These are churches
in which members practice spiritual
disciplines like praying, growing, giving and
serving with contagious enthusiasm;
These are churches
in which worship services are a high
point of the week for the majority of the
congregation;
These are churches
in which the loving and healing power of
Jesus’ life can be experienced in small
groups;
These are churches
in which attendees invite others to
attend and members use their gifts to
help fulfill the Great Commission;
These are churches
that intentionally follow-up on guests
and where the love of Christ permeates all
church activities
These are churches
that annually plan, evaluate church
structures regularly and act to remove barriers to growth
and health.
TheBottom Line
The Quality of Church Health
Church Health Board
Michigan District