Is your church healthy? Really?

How do you begin your checklist of a healthy Church? How do you measure church health? What are the qualifications?

Some might say to "Glorify God" should be on the top of every church's list.

Among the listing, "a strong leadership" is imperative of a healthy church. To ensure that you have a loving and caring church, strong leadership credentials are essential.

Below is a listing of several well-known leaders in the ministry and their view of a healthy church.

Bill Easum: Marks of church health:

1. Clear sense of mission
2. Authentic community
3. Indigenous worship
4. Lay mobilization
5. Organic structure
6. Kingdom oriented
7. Experientially focused on Jesus Christ

Leith Anderson - What Healthy Churches Do:

1. Glorify God
2. Produce disciples
3. Exercise spiritual gifts
4. Relate positively to their environment
5. Reproduce
6. Incorporate newcomers
7. Open to change
8. Trust God and prayer

George Barna - The Nine Habits of Highly Effective Churches:

1. They rely upon strategic leadership.
2. They are organized to facilitate highly effective ministry.
3. They emphasize developing significant relationships within the congregation.
4. They invest themselves in genuine worship.
5. They engage in strategic evangelism.
6. They get their people involved in systematic theological growth.
7. They utilize holistic stewardship practices.
8. They serve the needy people in their community.
9. They equip families to minister to themselves.

Willow Creek - Characteristics of a Healthy Church:

1. Active spiritual formation
2. Authentic community (not public)
3. Contagious evangelism
4. Mobilized spiritual gifts
5. Good stewardship
6. Strong leadership
7. Cultural relevance
8. Effective, generation-focused ministry
9. Collaboration and partnership

Natural Church Development - Eight Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches:

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

C. Peter Wagner - Vital Signs of Healthy Churches:

1. A positive pastor
2. A well-mobilized laity
3. Meeting members' needs
4. Proper balance of the dynamic relationship between celebration, congregation and cell
5. A common homogeneous denominator
6. Effective evangelistic methods
7. Biblical priorities

Leadership Network - Windows into the 21st Century Church:

1. Effective leadership
2. Lay mobilization
3. Cultural connectedness
4. Authentic community
5. Kingdom collaboration

[Composed by Ophelia Livingston]