The Measure of a Healthy Church: How God Defines Greatness in a Church

Institute

INTRODUCTION

SUCCESS IN

MINISTRY:

QUANTITY

OR QUALITY?

HOW DO WE MEASURE SUCCESS in ministry—particularly in our local churches? Today we seem to have a variety of criteria. Some churches measure effectiveness by the number of decisions for Christ. Some take this a step further and add the number of baptisms in any given year.

There’s a related criteria that is more subtle—yet its message is loud and clear. Church size often becomes the measure of success—particularly in our culture. This should not surprise us since we think big. Many of us live in big cities. We attend large universities, work in huge organizations—both secular and Christian—and live in suburbs that stretch for miles.

Having been a megachurch pastor in the Dallas, Texas, metroplex, and having helped launch a number of Fellowship Bible Churches that have become mega-churches in several regions of the United States, I have felt the natural tendency and faced the temptation to send this quantitative signal—that church size is indeed the measure of success.

Indeed, this tendency has become an intricate part of the evangelical subcultural thinking. Without question, most church growth seminars are conducted and most books are written by leaders who serve large churches—not by pastors who shepherd the average local church that numbers fifty to one hundred fifty members in size. Unfortunately, it has often become incongruous in our thinking for leaders of these small churches to talk about growing a church.

A NEW TESTAMENT PERSPECTIVE

Against this cultural background, we need to look carefully at the story of local churches in the New Testament. It’s true that numbers are mentioned in the opening section of the book of Acts. In fact, as a result of Peter’s first message, three thousand people responded to the gospel and joined the original one hundred twenty believers (Acts 1:15; 2:41). Later, Luke recorded that the number of men grew to about five thousand—which probably represented five thousand households (4:4). However, beyond these relatively few statistics, what happened spiritually in believers’ lives—or did not happen—stands out on the pages of Scripture as the ultimate standard for measuring success. The criteria were definitely qualitative rather than quantitative.

When it comes to numbers, we would no doubt be surprised at the relative smallness of many of the New Testament churches, even though they represented the only church in town. We’re told that the typical city in the Roman Empire averaged about 20,000 permanent residents, with only a small number having populations that exceeded 75,000.¹ But even in some cities that were larger, the churches were relatively small. For example, when Paul, Silas, and Timothy planted a church in Philippi and when Paul wrote his letter to these believers, some estimate the city population at 46,000 and a church that numbered fifty to one hundred people.² The same was probably true of the church at Corinth, although this city was probably much larger. Thessalonica may have numbered 85,000, and when Paul wrote his two epistles, the number of believers was no doubt about the same as the churches in Philippi and Corinth.

Rome itself was one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire during the New Testament era.³ However, when Paul wrote his letter, it appears there were only several house churches that existed in this evil city (Romans 16:3–5, 10–11). True, some of these home churches could have been very large since excavators have discovered houses owned by wealthy Christians that could have seated hundreds of people in the garden room alone. Perhaps this was true of the church that met in the home of Aquila and Priscilla (16:3–5).

On the other hand, there were indeed some rather large centers of populations that gave birth to at least three large believing communities. Unable to purchase property to build buildings, Christians met in house churches all over various cities. This was certainly true in Jerusalem, Antioch in Syria, and Ephesus in Asia. Furthermore, there are some unique reasons why large churches were birthed in these cities.

The Church in Jerusalem

Why did the Jerusalem church grow so rapidly? First, thousands of God-fearing Grecian Jews became believers during their annual visit to the Holy City to celebrate the fifty days of Passover (Acts 2:5). Jeremias observed that on three occasions during these months the number of visitors increased by leaps and bounds to a prodigious height, at the three great festivals when pilgrims came from all over the world: Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles (Deuteronomy 16:1–16). The annual peak was reached at Passover.⁴ Furthermore, he estimated that the permanent inhabitants of Jerusalem totaled about 55,000 and that there were approximately 125,000 visitors, the God-fearing Jews, which Luke referred to in Acts 2:5.⁵

The second reason why this church dramatically increased in size is that Jerusalem became the home base for the apostles—men who had been specifically equipped by the Lord Jesus Christ to help build His church (Acts 8:1). They were also endowed with special power by the Holy Spirit to perform many wonders and signs (2:43; 3:6; 4:30, 33; 5:12–16). Unquestionably, church growth in Jerusalem was directly related to these miraculous manifestations (5:14).

There’s another very significant factor. Those who responded to this message were God-fearing Jews—both those who lived in Jerusalem and Judea as well as those who came from all over the Roman world. The Hellenistic Jews had traveled to Jerusalem because they had not succumbed totally to pagan influences and still believed in the prophetic promises that the Messiah would someday set up His rule in this holy city. In other words, they were not pagans who were, as Paul wrote to the Ephesians, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12). These Jews were prepared for Peter’s message because of their biblical heritage. In some respects, many were like Timothy who from infancy had known the holy Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:15).

Last but not least, there was a very foundational and divine reason for the church growth in Jerusalem. This is where the Holy Spirit first revealed Himself in a dynamic way—with a sound like the blowing of a violent wind and a manifestation of tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of the apostles, enabling these Galileans to speak the various native languages and dialects represented that day in Jerusalem (Acts 2:1–11). This incredible dynamic and supernatural means of communication set the stage for the other spiritual and cultural reasons the church grew so rapidly in Jerusalem.

The Church in Antioch

The church in Antioch of Syria also became a large and growing church—for similar reasons. It was in a huge Gentile community numbering about half a million people—the third largest city in the Roman Empire.⁶ Numerically, there was great potential for growth (Acts 11:19–21). Furthermore, it became a home missionary base, first for Barnabas, a dynamic and Spirit-filled prophet and teacher (11:22–24; 13:1). Later, Paul—who by then had become a dynamic spiritual leader and an apostle—joined Barnabas. Together they carried out the Great Commission in this strategic pagan city. Though we’re not given specifics, the Holy Spirit invaded this Gentile community and the Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord (11:21).

Though Barnabas and Paul ministered in this church for a period of time, enabling this community of believers to grow spiritually and numerically, it never ceased to be a missionary base for launching a ministry into the Gentile world. Following their first and second missionary journeys, Paul’s team returned to this church to report to these believers what God was doing and to continue ministering among them (Acts 14:26–28; 18:22).

The Church in Ephesus

The church in Ephesus was one of the largest churches in the New Testament world. Again there were significant reasons for this growth. First, Ephesus was another large city in the Roman Empire, estimated at three hundred thousand people.⁷ Furthermore, Paul made this his base of operations for three years—speaking two full years on a daily basis in the lecture hall of Tyrannus (Acts 19:9–10). Many of the Gentiles who came to Ephesus to worship in the temple of Diana stopped by to hear Paul teach this new doctrine about a crucified and resurrected Christ. Furthermore, many Grecian Jews who no doubt still worshiped the one True God came to Ephesus from surrounding countries to buy and sell and to engage in some worldly activities themselves. They too stopped by to hear this former Jewish persecutor of Christians who now taught the message he once rejected. Consequently, many Jews and Gentiles came to faith in Jesus Christ and no doubt helped plant churches in the other cities in Asia, some that are mentioned by John in the book of Revelation (chapters 2-3).

Once again there was also a very important divine factor blended with these human factors that caused the church to grow in Ephesus. Luke has recorded that about twelve men experienced the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in a very similar way as the eleven apostles on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem (compare Acts 19:6–7 with 2:1–4).

In summary, the point is this. The majority of churches in the New Testament world paled in size when compared with the churches in Jerusalem, Antioch, and Ephesus. Most of them were not located in large population centers, and those that were, remained small communities of faith simply because of some very specific cultural reasons.

It’s clear from the New Testament story that numbers and quantitative growth never became a means for measuring success for New Testament churches, even in those that were relatively large. Though numerical growth and spiritual growth were certainly not mutually exclusive, there was a major foundational criteria for discerning spiritual growth in these churches that clearly emerges from the biblical record. This is what this study is all about. From these measurements, we’ll look at supracultural principles that can guide us today in both evaluating our churches spiritually—regardless of size—and helping us produce communities of faith that reflect the life of the Lord Jesus Christ.

NOTES

1. These statistics come from a variety of sources and are often difficult to verify. However, for our purpose in this book, they seem relatively reliable.

2. Peter Oakes, Philippians. From People to Letter (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2001), 46, 62.

3. Estimates of the population of ancient Rome range from below half a million to as high as one million (The New Bible Dictionary, 3rd ed., 1027).

4. Jeremias Joachim, Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus, trans. F. H. and C. H. Kay (London: SCM, 1969), 58.

5. Ibid., 83.

6. Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia, vol. 1 (Chicago: Moody, 1975), 107.

7. Ibid., 534.

1

GOD’S

MYSTERY

REVEALED

I WILL NEVER FORGET THAT MOMENT, though it happened almost forty years ago. In 1968, during the middle of the Vietnam War and the height of an anti-institutional movement that was complete with hippies, free love, and free speech, I was teaching at Dallas Theological Seminary on the subject of the church.

As normally happens, the larger cultural trend had begun to spill over into the subcultures of our society. To my surprise, what had captured the minds and hearts of many young Americans was now reaching into evangelical Christianity. One seminary student raised the question: Who needs the church?

The student then proceeded to answer his own question—at least in part—by saying, Perhaps God is going to bypass the church in order to carry out the Great Commission. A few of his classmates agreed, especially the relatively new Christians who had become believers on the college campus.

Frankly, I was not only suprised, but rather stunned—though I was able to maintain my composure. I quickly realized that I could not assume a clear understanding of biblical ecclesiology, even in a theological seminary. Consequently I made a decision to do something I had never done before nor since. In the middle of the semester, I informed the students that I wanted them to disregard my syllabus that I had prepared for the course—the goals, the basic outline, and the assignments. "We’re going back to the syllabus," I said, meaning the New Testament. Beginning with the Great Commission, we began exploring how the disciples of Jesus Christ carried out this command as recorded in the book of Acts and the New Testament letters. More specifically, our goal was to take a fresh look at God’s plan for the church—then and now.

This was a life-changing experience for all of us—including the professor. In fact, the decision I made that day eventually led me out of the seminary classroom as a full-time professor to become a church planting pastor.

THE GREAT MYSTERY: THE CHURCH

After nearly four decades starting and pastoring churches, I remain very excited about this great mystery God has revealed: His church. Though the church is under fire and is often called irrelevant, just as it was during the anti-institutional era in our culture, it is still the essence of the New Testament story. Though what the New Testament identifies as the church has often been distorted from the first century until today, the Scriptures declare that this mystery and glorious reality was even in the mind of God before He created the world (see Ephesians 1:4).

To carry out this divine plan within the framework of time, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem us with His blood and to forgive our sins (see Ephesians 1:7). As a result, someday—perhaps soon—believers throughout time will be presented to Christ as His perfect bride. What a glorious moment that will be as we celebrate that great event, the wedding of the Lamb (see Revelation 19:7). On that wonderful day we’ll be like Christ—a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish (Ephesians 5:27).

In the meantime, we live in the here and now. All over the world God has called His sons and daughters to be His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works (Ephesians 2:10). We are to reflect His character, which is His righteousness and holiness.

The Scriptures give us very specific criteria for evaluating the extent that we as His people are growing into the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). This measurement is what our study in this book is all about! Thankfully, the Word of God makes very clear what the image of Christ is, and with God’s help we can reflect that image in wonderful ways. The more we understand God’s glorious plan for the church and the more we are involved in this process of spiritual growth, the more excited we’ll become about the church of Jesus Christ! I know that I am, and I hope that you will be, too!

Defining the Church

Before we unfold God’s plan for evaluating the maturity level in a local church, we need to define the term church. In other words, what are we measuring?

It’s my deep personal conviction that the primary sources for gaining this understanding are the books of the New Testament. Therefore, let’s take a careful look at this amazing set of historical documents and what they declare about the unique revelation from God that Paul called the mystery of Christ (Ephesians 3:4). When Paul wrote to the saints in Ephesus (Ephesians 1:1) and the other churches in Asia,¹ he reminded them that this "mystery … was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets" (Ephesians 3:4–5).

What is this mystery? Paul went on to answer this question, especially since some believing Jewish people had difficulty understanding God’s divine plan. Perhaps they had trouble comprehending this mystery since the Gentiles were excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12). But now, Paul insisted that both Jews and Gentiles were members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:6; see also 2:13–22).

While describing this amazing revelation—that is, this mystery—Paul maintained a spirit of great humility. He truly considered himself less than the least of all God’s people (Ephesians 3:8)—because of the way he had persecuted followers of Jesus Christ