The Start of Christchurch Baldock A Healthy Church
Winston Churchill said that a country that fails to uphold Christian teaching cannot expect its members to adhere to Christian ethics. The difficulty our country has is how should the church communicate the truths of the Christian message. In some countries this is not a problem. In many African, South American and Asian countries churches are growing so fast that they are outgrowing the available leaders and teachers. What makes an effective church?
There are five fundamental aspects of a vibrant church.
Friendship - Without warm relationships a voluntary group will not stand together for long.
Learning - We need to be taught, persuaded about and keep being reminded about what God has taught us. A church that does not make teaching God’s word a priority soon ceases to be a vibrant church.
Service – A caring community is clearly the will of God and practical caring is a vital aspect of a vibrant church.
Evangelism – A vibrant church must persuade more people to follow Christ than the number who leave for whatever cause.
Praise – A corporate expression of our appreciation of the Lord who loves us, has forgiven us and shown us how to live is essential. It helps bind people together.
If these are not a churches priorities, it will just become another social club. Clearly these priorities cannot all be central all the time. Yet a church which fails in any one will suffer. Each person coming to the church will need to have these needs satisfied. This will be true whether they are children, students, young families or retired people. This is why multiple activities will be essential in a vibrant church. If the church only caters for older people’s needs, the youngsters will not feel wanted and visa versa. It may well mean that different formats and different services are needed for the different groups needs, yet a way must still be there for the different subgroups to feel part of the whole. This again produces problems because more capable leaders must be trained up to take on these various responsibilities. Where are they to come from?
Surely good Christian leadership comes from a people who are being moulded by Christ to achieve his goals. The work of God’s Spirit is to help people want to fulfil Christ’s ambitions. He came to establish the kingdom of God. He wants all Christians to be involved in this work by influencing those around them. This is why a major part of learning and evangelism is seeing God’s teaching being lived out by others.
Would you like to be more involved in helping to establish a vibrant church for Christ that reaches out into North Herts society?
BVP
Sept 2001
