Church Growth vs. Church Health

Many churches today invest time, talent and energy in church growth related issues (programs, personnel and policies) when their real problem is church health (how well your ministry functions as a relational and spiritual system). And as long as a church thinks it has a church growth problem when it really has a church health problem, it will be plagued by ministry frustration.

If you have been in ministry for any length of time, church growth related issues will be familiar to you. They have been the bread and butter of church growth teaching in North America for the past forty years.

In short, church growth teaching covers areas such as a church’s vision. Vision is what a church aspires to be. What has God laid on the hearts of the leaders for their church to become in their community? Church growth also concerns a church’s mission. A church’s mission describes what they feel uniquely called to do in their community. Another category of church growth relates to a church’s values – what is important to a given body of believers? Will they be a missions minded church, a seeker oriented church, an urban or rural outreach? An additional aspect of church growth covers a church’s ministry model. A church’s ministry model defines how they will put all this into play.

What are the markers of church health issues?

Church health, on the other hand, addresses factors that determine how a congregation has functioned historically as a relational and spiritual system. Has your church suffered a pattern of unhealed painful crises? Unaddressed or superficially treated corporate trauma can cause your church body to malfunction and become unhealthy. And most of the time these kind of events get buried under the proverbial rug. The effects are devastating.

Unhealed congregational trauma locks up a congregation’s willingness to change no matter how hard leaders work to move forward.   When untreated crises have occurred in the life of a church, that body will likely behave in ways to protect itself (control) from further pain.   Unless the wounds are treated, such a church isn’t going anywhere anytime soon – regardless of church growth teaching!

Unhealthy churches also struggle with a lack of trust for leaders, lay and or pastoral.  Unhealed wounds such as church splits, shameful events, high pastoral turnover and abuse by leadership figures predispose a flock to be wary of their shepherds.  Anxiety among the sheep makes it hard for the shepherd to get close.  Without trust, the distance between leaders and followers grows and a church’s progress stalls.

Intrinsic to church health problems is a failure to resolve conflict in a way that God can bless.   In many churches a failure of courage keeps leaders from acting on the church discipline they know they need to implement.  As a result, communication wanes, confusion lingers and a church’s culture becomes increasingly reactive.  No one knows where the boundaries are anymore.  The Lord wonders too and He refuses to release much blessing until things are made right.

The effects of poor church health lead to a weak congregational pulse.  There is not much joy in the atmosphere.  Love and unity are not as prevalent as they should be.  Few conversions mark the church’s experience.  Visitors don’t stay.  Pseudo fellowship replaces meaningful friendships.  Leaders don’t feel respected and absorb high levels of stress.

Church Growth – Church Health Comparison

Addressing church health sets a church up to realize church growth.

It takes longer to repair spiritual and relational functioning in a church. But having done so you begin to release the brakes on your congregation’s ministry.  Do you know if your church has a church growth or a church health problem?  Consider our free church healing starter kit. It may put your church on a path of improved congregational health and lay a foundation for greater church growth.

Mark Barnard serves with Blessing Point Ministries which works to heal ministries with painful histories. Barnard is the author of Diagnosing the Heart of Your Church among other works. Learn more at blessingpoint.org.