Nine Marks of a Healthy Church

Mark 1: Expositional Preaching

These nine marks are not the only marks of a healthy church, and they are not necessarily the most important nine, but they are indispensable for a healthy church. The first and most important of these marks is expositional preaching. If the pastor preaches expositionally, then the other marks should follow. Expository preaching is not merely a running commentary but is a sermon that takes its main point from the point of a particular biblical text. It is committed to the authority of God’s Word and submitting to it. When we preach topically, we tend to know what we want to say and find a text that talks about our interests. Expository preaching leads the church to the mind of God rather than to the mind of the preacher. The Word is to be central in everything the church does, and it should be the center of the preaching ministry.

There are four important things to observe about the Word and expositional preaching. First, the Word is what brings life. From the very beginning, through OT history, and pervasively in the NT, we see that God creates life and gives instruction through his Word. His people are constituted and created by his Word; they do not make themselves or create the Word. It is through his revelation in speech that we can know God and know what he requires of us. In Christ, the Word of God is fully revealed and comes to us. Without words, we cannot know people well or have a depth of relationship, and this is why it is so essential that God has spoken to us. Many different factors can go into building up groups of people, but only the Word can make and build up a church.

Second, God’s Word is truth, and preachers should demonstrably be getting their messages from the text of Scripture. People in the congregation should see where the truth and authority are located. Third, God uses his Word to sanctify his people. We need the Word in order to be saved, and we also need the Word in order for us to grow. Fourth, the great imperative for preachers is that they are to preach the Word. Preaching is to be the main priority of the pastor. Authority in the church rests on Scripture, and people need the wisdom of God more than the opinions of the preacher. More than any program or strategy, churches need the preaching of the Word of God.

Mark 2: Gospel Doctrine

It is essential that we learn the truth about who God is from the Scriptures. God is not malleable; he is not whatever we want him to be. The most important thing in the world is knowing God, and so we need to be conformed to Scripture’s revelation of him. Getting the gospel right is essential. A holy, just God created human beings in his image, but they rebelled against him. The Son of God came into the world in the incarnation, lived a perfect life, died a substitutionary death, was raised to life, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return to usher in the judgment and age to come. The Old Testament prepares us for the gospel. Biblical theology and context are vital to understanding the good news. Seeing the big picture of Scripture is a tremendous aid for understanding the details of various texts and for being able to grasp the coherence of the gospel.

Knowing basic truths about God—that he is the Creator and a creating, holy, faithful, loving, and sovereign being—allows us to summarize the main storyline of Scripture. At the very beginning of the Bible, we see that God is a creating God, and he continues to call and create his people throughout history. Scripture is filled with history, and in this history, we see that God is creating and electing God. When we proclaim the gospel, we are proclaiming what God has done. To understand the Bible requires understanding that God is holy and cares deeply about morality. He is holy and we are unholy which is why we need a Savior. Without a knowledge of our sin and lostness, we won’t see our need for Jesus. We also won’t see the necessity of a holy sacrifice and atonement for our sins. It is because of our sin that we need to repent. It is essential to understand the holiness of God if we are to make sense of the gospel.

God is faithful. In Christ, he both forgives us and maintains his holiness. We have failed and been faithless, but Jesus was perfectly faithful, and in him, God faithfully fulfilled all of his promises. God is a God of love, and his love is intimately tied to his faithfulness. In his love, God upholds his special covenant faithfulness to his people. When we understand our sin and God’s love, we will repent (i.e., turn from our sins) and put our trust fully in him through Jesus Christ. We can have confidence and hope because God is a sovereign God. The ultimate outcome of history is not in doubt. God will fully triumph over evil and his people will live in a glorious home of righteousness for eternity. Knowing these truths about God is fundamental to our Christian walk, and for the truth that pastors are to preach and teach. A healthy church needs leadership that embraces the sovereignty of God and trusts in him completely.

Mark 3: A Biblical Understanding of Conversion and Evangelism

Our society is skeptical that people can experience deep and lasting change, but people also long for it and are often dissatisfied with who and what they are. Conversion is a turning from sin in repentance and a turning to Christ in faith. What we believe about conversion will greatly affect our practice of evangelism, so we need to make sure that we understand conversion biblically. Some deny that people need to be changed, but the Bible insists that we are dead in sins and need to be transformed into spiritual life. When the Spirit convicts us of sin we see the justness of God’s displeasure and the need of his grace. Conversion is not merely an intellectual change of mind, but a complete change of heart. Christian conversion means that we rely on Christ alone and abandon all hope in our own self-effort and works. Only by the Spirit’s work in the new birth can we see the kingdom of God. True conversion can only be brought about by the Spirit of God.

When we understand that regeneration and conversion is the work of the Spirit, we will understand biblical evangelism. We are to tell people the gospel and trust the Spirit’s work. It is important to guard against misunderstandings and misconceptions about evangelism. Evangelism is not imposing our beliefs on other people. Sharing the good news is not imposing it, and the gospel is objectively true and not merely our personal opinion. In evangelism, we do not simply share our own story and experience, but rather proclaim what God has done in Jesus Christ. True evangelism is vertically focused and must not be confused with social activism. Evangelism is not encouraging positive thinking or defending the faith. We must not confuse the fruit of evangelism (i.e., conversion) with evangelism itself. America is obsessed with quick results, and if we are not careful this can lead us to manipulation and making false converts. Evangelism isn’t converting people, it is telling them the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In evangelism we spread the Word of God, so we need to do so with prayer. We need to pray consistently for people. People need to be told the whole truth about their lost condition and the cost of following Jesus. Impress upon people the urgency to repent and believe now, and tell them with joy that they can be saved. The Bible is to be used in evangelism since God reveals himself through his Word. The individual lives of Christians and the corporate life of the church are central in evangelism. We need to build relationships with non-believers, and even be strategic in our planning to reach them. In America, we need to be clear that evangelism is not marketing.

Mark 4: A Biblical Understanding of Church Membership

“A church is a local collection of people committed to Christ, to regularly assemble, and to have his Word preached and obeyed, including Christ’s commands to baptize and celebrate the Lord’s Supper.” Joining a church is essential for Christians. Church members are to be practicing Christians who walk in fellowship with one another. Believers have responsibilities to fellow members of the church and to pastors. Love is fundamental to healthy relationships, and love brings unity and peace. There are many instructions in the NT about how church members are to care for each other. Likewise, there are many instructions about how church members are to honor and support their leaders.

Joining a church does not save anyone, but it can help us find assurance that we do belong to the Lord. Church membership provides accountability to ensure that our walk matches our talk. Becoming a member of a church is also vital for world evangelism and exposing false gospels since it focuses us on the true gospel of God’s saving grace. One of the main reasons for joining a church is for edification—both our own and so that we can edify others. We all have problems, but the Spirit works in us together to help us grow. In church membership, we take on our God-given responsibilities to other believers in love. Christians should join a church for the glory of God. To be a member of a church, repentance and faith are required. We are to demonstrate these realities in baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Signing a church covenant is also important. Members are to regularly attend services and business meetings, participate in the Lord’s supper, pray for another, and give financially. Allowing people to have their names on a membership list when they are inactive in the church is spiritually perilous.

Mark 5: Biblical Church Discipline

We often think of discipline with negative connotations, but discipline can be positive and formative. None of us are perfect, and we all have room to grow. We are not to be judgmental, but the NT is clear that the church is to exercise its judgment in discipline. Paul makes it clear that the church is to have high standards and is to judge those inside of it rather than judging those in the world. When we look at the relevant biblical passages on church discipline, discipline is seen as a positive thing to help us be holy before God. God disciplines his children, and we help people see their need of repentance when we discipline properly. God cares how we live as Christians, and the sanctions in discipline that we see in the NT can be severe. In church history, ecclesiastical discipline has been commonly practiced. Today, the pendulum has swung away from harsh disciplinary practices to the abandonment of discipline. There is a correlation between a focus on the social gospel and social activism and a diminishing concern with holiness in the church and the discipline of members. In many places, concern for church numbers and solvency trumped discipline, and the latter faded away.

Today, many people are shocked by the thought that their church might start practicing church discipline, but this merely shows how far we have moved away from the standards and practices of the early church. In many cases, local churches have even moved away from their own history. We are to practice church discipline because it is good for the person who is in unrepentant sin. It serves as a corrective and warning to others in the church and helps keep the church healthy as a whole. If a church does not discipline, its gospel witness is negatively affected. Churches are to discipline for God’s glory since churches are to reflect his holiness. Christians are responsible to live lives that bring God honor rather than shame his name. Proper discipline helps maintain a necessary distinction between those who are recognized as genuine believers and those who are not.

Mark 6: A Biblical Concern for Discipleship and Growth

There are many people who have said the sinner’s prayer, and been involved in church for years but do not seem to experience any real spiritual growth. Oftentimes such people become inconsistent in every area of spirituality and church life. Scripture is very clear that God expects his people to grow spiritually and to flourish. Churches may grow numerically and yet not be healthy; it is spiritual growth that God desires. When we produce spiritual fruit the glory goes to God because spiritual fruit can only be produced by his power and work in our lives. This is why we should pray to God for a congregation’s spiritual growth.

Each of the other eight marks contributes to helping us grow spiritually. They show us who God is, who we are, and how we are to live before him. God’s Word faithfully preached and taught will teach us the gospel and our responsibilities in this world. Without a biblical understanding of conversion, people are not saved and therefore will not grow. For those who are converted, church membership and biblical discipline are God-given aids for growth. When we understand how to pray—and we practice it—we are empowered to grow in our sanctification and to be more aligned with God’s purposes. When we engage in missions, we experience transformation and growth ourselves. Pastoral visitation can help people in the church grow, as can prayerfully committing to live out the promises made in the church covenant. The only certain evidence of spiritual growth is an increase in holiness and self-denial. There is no such thing as a carnal Christian. Spiritual growth is a sign of spiritual life since God gives his people a heart that seeks him.

Mark 7: Biblical Church Leadership

Because of the fall, human leadership is flawed and utopia cannot be created. Recently we have seen a tragic number of prominent pastors self-destructing, and one of the things we need to do in response is consider the biblical nature of church structure and the actual role a pastor is supposed to play in a congregation. The NT shows us time and again that the leaders were to lead, but the entire church had the final say in matters of importance. We must not confuse the authority that current leaders have with the authority of the apostles. The congregation itself is to test the teaching it receives and is to pick its leaders. Churches and pastors must trust one another. Scripture is clear that we are to obey our leaders and submit to them under the ultimate authority of the Word of God.

A plurality of elders in every local church is the model that we are given in the NT. There was a main preacher, but that preacher was one of the elders. The role of deacon is also biblical, but deacons are to serve in areas of practical needs and administration. Rather than looking for people with secular qualifications, we should look for people with spiritual gifts and maturity. Women are highly honored in Scripture, but the office of eldership is reserved for qualified men. Egalitarianism is a new idea in the history of the church, and it undermines the authority of Scripture. The gifts God gives to the church and to its leaders are for the good of others. Church is not about what we can get and merely about how we can grow: it is a community where we edify one another. Christ is the only head of the church, and church leaders are to imitate his service in their leadership. Godly leaders will make decisions, lead in front of their people by example, supply what people need, and engage in self-sacrificial service for the church. Godly leadership can help reveal the beauty and glory of God and the gospel.

Mark 8: A Biblical Understanding and Practice of Prayer

Individual Christians have a responsibility to pray, but this chapter will focus on prayer as a corporate experience in the life of the church. Very simply, prayer is talking to God. In covenant, God has promised to hear the prayers of his adopted children. God speaks to us by the Spirit in his Word, and we image God by speaking back to him in relationship. We are taught to persevere in prayer, and the Bible is filled with God’s amazing answers. There are times, however, when God does not answer specific requests the way that we desire. In such times we need to trust his goodness and that he will answer the larger prayer of our lives, helping us know him better and showing us that his grace is greater. The NT is filled with examples of the early church praying together in a variety of ways. This variety should characterize our corporate prayer as well, and corporate prayer grows out of individual prayer. Different types of prayer should be offered, just as there will be particular times and seasons to focus on certain issues in prayer.

The one leading the prayer should use plural pronouns (we, our, us) and those who are being led should own the prayer with “Amen.” Even though one person leads the prayer, every heart and mind should be engaged. Both longer and shorter prayers can be offered in worship services, and some of them can be planned and written out. Many prayers are requests and intercessions, but we should make sure that we also spend time in prayer praising God and thanking him. We should also confess our sins, repenting of them but moving to the gospel for the joy of our salvation in God’s forgiveness. Prayers should be offered for those in the church, but also for the world around us. Meetings of all kinds should be characterized by prayer, and regular meetings for prayer should be conducted. Members should be expected to attend a weekly prayer meeting. Over the years, a church should be able to hear many testimonies of spiritual growth and the work of God through answered prayer.

Mark 9: A Biblical Understanding and Practice of Missions

Evangelism shares the gospel, and missions takes place when evangelism is conducted in an area with either little or no gospel witness (especially in new linguistic contexts). From the very beginning of Scripture God’s focus in mission is for every tribe and nation. The gospel is at the heart of all that we do, and it is only through the gospel that people can be saved. We are not only to support missions from afar, we are to participate in evangelism ourselves. Churches should preach the Word of God and see how it speaks of sharing the gospel with the lost and taking the gospel to the nations. Hearing about various countries and missions is vital for informed prayer and interest. As much as the gospel should be central in our sermons, it should also be central in our prayers. We should look for and pray about opportunities for our church to help other churches and to be involved in critical areas of need. Sometimes planning out how our church can be more useful requires freeing up our members’ time by reducing our programs.

Financial giving and support for missions are crucial; it is a privilege to be able to supply material needs. Give with discernment, generosity, and joy. Not only should we prayerfully send money, but we should also send pastors and other workers. Church-planting is central to how God spreads his Word, so we should work hard to train pastors who can go to the neediest areas of the world. Churches need to ensure that the ones they send feel cared for. They should be communicated with regularly, updates should be given to the church, and the church-supported missionaries should be visited in their own field sometimes if possible. It can take time for a faithful witness to take root, so we need to be patient and we need to help the workers endure and persevere. We do not want our overseas workers to feel pressure to produce rapid fruit. It is easy to produce false converts, but we want to see fruit that lasts. “So what should churches do to be faithful in missions? Learn and pray, plan and pay. Send pastors and care for them. And wait.” Conversion is exciting and glorious, but people around the world cannot be converted unless the gospel is brought to them. Making our own churches healthy is absolutely necessary for the sending out and equipping of missionaries from our midst.