When Terrie and I came to Lancaster in the summer of 1986, our goal was not to build a large church but to reach people for Christ. Over the past thirty-two years, the Lord has done more than we ever could have dreamed, and we praise Him for that.

But our goal has not changed. We still want to reach people for Christ and to invest ourselves in Christ’s church.

After all, the church doesn’t belong to us; it is the Lord’s. He is the owner (Acts 20:28), corner stone (Ephesians 2:20), and foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11).

I often remind our church family that the Lord is more concerned with the health of our church than its size.

A healthy church is not simply a church wrapped up in continual introspection and self-purification. It is a church wholly in love with Christ and fully committed to His Great Commission (Matthew 28:19–20). It isn’t a church where members are consumed with their own feelings and preferences, but a church where members are growing individually and as a church family.

A healthy church is one where members are wholly in love with Christ and fully committed to His Great Commission. 

1. Obedience

Obedience to the Lord is more important than the exercise of religious ceremony. It doesn’t matter how we feel about our church or our worship if we are not obeying the Lord.

And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? — Luke 6:46

But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: herby know we that we are in him. — 1 John 2:5

2. Humility

A healthy church isn’t wrapped up in preoccupation over its merit or worthiness. It is filled with members who willingly serve the Lord and one another.

Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. — Philippians 2:3–4

3. Love

Biblical love is not an emotion; it is an act of sacrifice. Love is meeting needs of others.

Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. — 1 John 3:16–18 

4. A Servant’s Heart

From the earliest days of the local church, there have been opportunities to serve others. (See Acts 6.) Sometimes people new to a church look at all that is already taking place and think that they are not needed. The truth is that every church has needs and that when God adds someone to the church, He is fitting them into a body that He knows needs them. When each member cultivates their spiritual gifts and grows in service, they add to the health of the church body.

For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. — Romans 12:4–5  

Cultivating a servant’s heart is more than holding a conviction that God has given you a place in the body and a spiritual gift. It is being sensitive to the needs around you and serving others.

5. Joy

Joy is our response to God’s work in our heart, soul, and mind. We all deal with heartache and suffering, but God desires to give us His ongoing, continual joy.

Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.—Philippians 4:4

For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. — Romans 14:17  

6. Gratitude

Talk about a sign of health—giving thanks is a powerful and healing decision. A church full of people who give thanks to God for who He is, what He has given, and how He is working, is a healthy church.

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. — 1 Thessalonians 5:18 

7. Accountability

In a healthy church, members are concerned for one another. They recognize that the church is a body and that God designed us to be accountable, not only to Him, but also to one another for spiritual growth, health, and help in times of struggle.

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. — Galatians 6:1–2  

8. Forgiveness

The church cannot survive without forgiveness. Why? Because we are not perfect people, and relationships are messy. There are no real relationships without both the need for and the giving of forgiveness.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.—Matthew 6:12

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. — Ephesians 4:32 

9. Vision

A healthy church maintains an attitude of hope for the future. Indeed, death comes when memories of the past supersede vision for the future. We need a sense of vision for our own growth in grace and for the growth of our church outreach.

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and for ever. Amen — 2 Peter 3:18  

For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing. — 1 Thessalonians 1:8  

10. Sacrifice

When it comes to fulfilling the mission of the church, the question is not, “How much does it cost?” but, “Who can we reach with the gospel?” A godly vision is worthy of sacrifice.

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. — Matthew 6:19–21  

A healthy church isn’t a perfect church; it is a growing church. It is a church where members are submitted to the Lord and functioning as a church body in the ways He designed the church to function. And it is a church whose spiritual health enables it to continue reaching the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ.   

8 Signs of a Healthy Church … by Scott Pauley

Tammy and I sat in a service recently and listened to believers in a local church give spontaneous testimonies. It was evident from what the people said that they had been shepherded.  Their pastor had taught them to love Christ and the Word of God.  My heart was so refreshed! When we got in the car, my wife immediately commented on the substance of their testimonies. It was a beautiful indicator of a healthy church.

But, what makes a church “healthy?”  Is it size?  Absolutely not.  Just because something is bigger does not mean that it is healthier.  (Our own physical bodies remind us of this truth!)  Health starts beneath the surface and comes out in so many ways.  Only the Great Physician knows who is truly whole and who is sick (Matthew 9:12; Revelation 3:17).

What if we visited the office of the One who knows everything?  What would His diagnosis be?

I would encourage you to spend some time in 1 and 2 Thessalonians.  The church at Thessalonica has been called the “model church.”  This does not mean that they were a perfect church – there is no such thing!  My grandpa used to say that if you find a perfect church you should not go there because you would mess it up.  Local churches are made up of sinners who all need the constant grace of God.  But there are signs of health that can be observed.

It is my conviction that so much the Creator built into the natural world is an object lesson for spiritual truth.  The church is a “body” (1 Corinthians 12:12-27), and, as such, can be healthy or sick in varying degrees.

Permit me to suggest 8 signs of spiritual health in a church:

1. Attention is given to the heart. Remember that the heart is the key to everything else (Proverbs 4:23; Matthew 12:34). Healthy churches place the priority on addressing heart issues and not just peripheral ones.
2. The body is being fed good food. We know that the Word is nutrition for the soul (Jeremiah 15:16; 1 Timothy 4:6). Preachers must feed the flock, but the people must themselves learn to feed on the Scriptures every day!
3. The church is exercising faith. Diet and exercise always go together (1 Timothy 4:7-8). In feeding on God’s Word we are taking in what is necessary for good health; in application, we are working out that truth in everyday life. Faith is not something we hold – it is something that we must use. Like a muscle, if it is not used it will atrophy. Godly churches are churches where the members are seeking to live out the truth of God’s Word between Sundays (James 1:22-25)!
4. Sin is being purged. Living organisms must eliminate. Purging is necessary for good health, and only as we deal with the cancer of sin can health be maintained (2 Timothy 2:21).
5. Each member is growing and functioning. Churches only grow collectively as each member is growing personally!
6. The life of Christ is being formed in believers. Healthy churches look like Jesus. In the words of Vance Havner, they should reflect the Christ within them and not the culture around them. This is the great goal of the church (Galatians 4:19).
7. They are reproducing. Healthy things reproduce. Individual believers should be reproducing themselves in the lives of other disciples of Christ (Proverbs 11:30). The church body should desire to reproduce other local churches in other places. Healthy churches must multiply.
8. There is strength to endure adversity. Health does not ensure that hardship will not come, but it prepares us for the difficulty. The Lord’s strength sustains church bodies through the most challenging circumstances. If you want a good example, read the book of Acts!

You cannot decide for others, but you must decide for yourself. Ask the Lord to make you a healthy Christian, and He will use you to make your church a more healthy church.