3 Proven Marks of a Healthy Church
There are so many churches to choose – from how do you know if your church is a healthy church or not? Surprisingly the answer is not by how many people show up on Sunday. That may be evidence of how popular the church is, but it doesn’t speak to how healthy the church is.
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Before Jesus left, this was one of his last words to the church.
Where does the power and wisdom come to preach the gospel and make disciples? It comes from the Holy Spirit. How then do you lock into the power of the Holy Spirit? That only comes through prayer.
If there was one marker of the early church in the book of Acts, it was their commitment to prayer. When they were threatened, they prayed. When Peter was in prison, the church prayed. When they wanted the message of the gospel to advance with boldness, the church prayed. When Paul and Silas were chained in prison, they prayed. In fact, Acts 6:4 tells us the disciples devoted themselves to the teaching of God’s word and to prayer.
It does not matter how wonderful the worship is or how fantastic the preaching is, if the church is not focused on prayer, that church has no real strength. As the old expression goes, seven days without prayer makes one weak. The strength of the church in Acts and the marker of any healthy church is there must be a commitment to prayer. Without the power, strength, and influence of the Holy Spirit, all that is left is a reliance on your own ability.
As gifted and talented as the leaders of the church may be, unless the Spirit of God enables them, there is only so much they can do. What made the early church we see in Acts work and what was the glue that held it all together was their dependence on the Holy Spirit through their commitment to prayer.
So how does your church measure up? Now, if these things are not present in your church that does not mean you need to leave. Maybe it’s time for you to have a conversation with the leadership of the church and see how they can start implementing these things.
One of the things you will also notice in the book of Acts, is that God didn’t just give power to the apostles to work, it was given to all who believed. So if your church is not healthy then it’s possible God may want to use you to help it to become healthy. Whatever is lacking, God may want you to be the one to make the difference. As the expression goes if you see something, say something. Your voice and commitment could be the thing that moves the church from unhealthy to healthy.
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