The truth is this: Some churches thrive while some churches die. Why? What are the keys to leading a thriving church rather than watching it die a slow and painful death? How can we begin to see more thriving churches rather than lamenting the death of so many congregations each year? In my analysis, the place to start is understanding what Jesus wants for His church and committing to operating His church, His way.
Merriam-Webster defines the word “thrive” as (1) to grow vigorously: flourish; (2) to gain in wealth or possessions: prosper; and (3) to progress toward or realize a goal despite or because of circumstances. Thriving, then is about growth, gain, progress. In the context of churches, I think of the word “thrive” as meaning health and growth (numerically and in depth of understanding and maturity) and progress in the Gospel. The world thinks of thriving as “success” and we should think of thriving, as churches, as “success in the Gospel”. A thriving church is one that is accomplishing the tasks that God has given it and doing it according to His word and ways.
A thriving church is one that grows: first, in depth and maturity (see Hebrews 5:12-14); and second, in number (see Acts 2:47). I do believe that a healthy church is one that grows due to the concerted and consistent obedience of the church members to the Gospel message. A healthy church is one where people are not sitting on the sidelines as spectators, but one where people are actively involved in the work of the church (see Ephesians 4:11-16) , namely making disciples and making a difference with the Gospel (see Matthew 28:18-20). A thriving church has a culture of learning and growing and going deeper in God’s word, namely, discipleship. But it does not end there. A thriving church is not just about learning. It is about doing as well, living in obedience to Christ and doing the work of ministry. Said simply, a thriving church has a robust and flourishing discipleship ministry and a robust and flourishing evangelistic ministry.
Numerical growth is important, but it is the result of a thriving church, not the cause. I do believe that a thriving church grows because I believe a thriving church has a healthy evangelistic ministry that brings the lost to Christ, disciples new believers, and sees them become an integral part of the community of believers. If there is a focus in a church on true discipleship (not just acquiring knowledge) and on obedience in response to God’s word, there will be, by default some growth. It may be one person getting saved and added to the church each year, but if that is the result of concerted obedience by a church, then that growth is honorable and exactly what the Lord desires.
What allows for robust discipleship and evangelism in a church? It simply is having the right priorities for and within the church. A church that does not have a strong discipleship program is a church that does not value discipleship. That likely means that the leaders of the church (or the power brokers in the church) do not value discipleship. How do you know if there is robust discipleship in the church? Don’t look first to classes and events; that is not true discipleship. Look at whether individuals are gathering with other individuals outside of classes and formal settings and “living life” with others. Are your older men, for example, spending time with the young fathers in the congregation, taking them to lunch, taking them fishing, spending time out at the ball field just getting to know their family and being a support? Do your older women call the younger women and invite them over for coffee? Do they offer to do a load of laundry or fix a meal for a mom who is overwhelmed? Discipleship looks more like a daily interaction with another believer for the purpose of helping them grow that it does sitting in a classroom for an hour fighting sleep and trying to comprehend “information” about God.
Leadership of a church is the first key to thriving churches. In my experience, the leadership structure of a church has everything to do with the priorities of the church. If you have a “congregational leadership” model, the votes of the congregation will determine the priorities. For example, if most people want a church or a pastor that will entertain them rather than challenge them toward obedience, that is what the church will get. I believe the healthy church leadership structure–indeed the Biblical church government structure–is one that embraces pastoral leadership and elder governance. It is one that allows pastors and elders to set a Biblical agenda for the church and to “enforce” the priorities of the church by determining what church resources are used for and how time is spent when the congregation is together.
There are many other keys, but leadership priorities and leadership ability to lead is the key to why churches thrive or why churches die. Of course, if a pastor or elder or other leader does not have the priorities of Jesus as their priorities, then there is no doubt thriving will be impossible. I believe that the foundational need for most churches to being thriving is to build leadership structures that set the right priorities for the church and urge members of a church to engage in discipleship and evangelism. If this does not happen, I am quite sure that a church will not thrive. It may exist, and it may grow according to the world’s standards, but it will not thrive.
Let’s commit to working toward helping the churches we are a part of become thriving centers of discipleship and evangelism. When this happens, I am quite sure that Jesus will be pleased . . . and so will we, as we see people come to salvation and grow in their knowledge of the word.