Church Health, then Church Growth
As one surveys the New Testament, he finds that it is filled with directives regarding the functions we are to perform, but it is short on specifics regarding the forms necessary to carry them out.1 For instance, the Bible tells us in Hebrews 10:25 that we are “not to give up meeting together … but let us encourage one another.” While it tells us what we are to do (meet regularly, encourage), it does not tell us how we are to do it. So, for instance, we are not told when to meet, or how often, or where, or what the order of service should be, etc. We are given illustrations of these in the New Testament, but it is impossible to derive universal forms to carry out these functions. In fact, regarding forms in the New Testament, we find that:
- Functions are most often given without any form specified
- The forms that are given are often partial and incomplete. For instance, in Acts 5:42 we are told that the apostles “taught” (function) from “house to house” (form). We are not told whether they taught in every house or just some; whether they taught both believers and unbelievers; whether they we inside or outside the house; whether neighbors were invited, etc.
- The forms for the same function often vary from one context to another. For instance, in Acts 5:42 we’re told that the apostles, in addition to teaching from house to house, also taught in the Temple courts.
Given the above observations, one cannot absolutize forms because they are:
(1) Often not described
(2) Often incomplete
(3) Always changing
Yet, changing the forms of ministry is often very difficult. It has been observed that change is so difficult that it only occurs when there is a crisis. That is, we must be forced to change. For the church, the crisis ought to come from confrontation with the objectives given in the Word of God. If we are failing to carry out the objectives Christ gave His Church, it ought to create a crisis that makes us open to change!
While forms cannot be absolutized, the functions that we are to perform are very clear in the Word of God. Jesus gave the two overarching functions of the Church in the Great Commission, evangelism, and edification:
Go and make disciples (evangelism) of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them (edification) to obey everything I have commanded you. (Matt 28:19–20)
The Book of Acts gives us a description of the activities of the early church in edifying and evangelizing:
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer … And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42–47)
This passage succinctly describes functions that are mentioned many times in the New Testament, and thereby gives us a model for the three kinds of experiences a healthy church will be structured to achieve:2
- Learning experiences with the Word of God (“the apostles’ teaching”)
- Relational experiences with other believers (“fellowship,” including the elements of praying, eating, sharing, and praising)
- Witnessing experiences with the world (“enjoying the favor of all the people”)
Health Produces Growth
Our objective ought to be church health, not church growth. A vital or healthy church is marked by spiritual vitality, functional effectiveness, and statistical growth in its life and ministry. Acts 6:1–7 provides a paradigm for this principle. We are told in verse one that “when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.” The apostles demonstrated their spiritual vitality by prioritizing the ministries of prayer and the Word. But they did not leave it at that, they proposed a plan for functional effectiveness – the appointment of seven godly men to oversee the needs of the widows. Luke tells us that this necessary combination of spiritual vitality and functional effectiveness had positive results: “So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith” (v. 7).
Structured for Health
Each church must examine its overall ministry to ensure it is structured for a balance of the three vital experiences of teaching (learning experiences), fellowshipping (relational experiences), and evangelizing (witnessing experiences). To the extent we are imbalanced we are unhealthy. But when we have healthy ministry balance, all things being equal, we can expect to see God’s work advance as it did in the first church in Jerusalem.
Ken Brown is the pastor of Community Bible Church in Trenton, MI. We republish his article by permission.
Photo by Owen Beard on Unsplash