The Measure of a Healthy Church


Book Description

In a world of competing voices about what church is all about, Gene Getz, with the wisdom God has granted him over decades of ministry, provides a solidly grounded and thoroughly biblical approach to how God assesses the strength, health, and maturity of a local church. Previously titled The Measure of a Church. He addresses... -The definition of the church -The standard of measure by which the church should be defined (Is it centered on Christ? Does it display the fruit of the Spirit? Is it growing in its ability to display faith, hope, and love?) -How does one measure leadership? -How does one measure worship? -What is the one, ultimate standard the church is measured by?




The Measure of a Church


Book Description

Imagine that the apostle Paul were to write a letter to your church -- much like those he wrote to the churches of his time. Would he begin by thanking God for your church's enduring partnership in the gospel, as he wrote to the Philippians? Or would he thank the Lord for your faith in Jesus and your love for the saints, as he thanked the Ephesians? What would he thank God for about your church? Your church-centered activities and events? Your bigger budget or giving campaign? Your emphasis on spiritual gifts? Best-selling author Gene Getz asks the soul-searching questions we should all ask ourselves in this completely revised and updated edition of his classic book The Measure of a Church. Of course, it's squarely up to you to decide how well your church meets the mark. But as Getz reminds us all, God has His own yardstick! Book jacket.




The Unstuck Church


Book Description

Acclaimed church leader, blogger, founder and chief strategic officer of The Unstuck Group, Tony Morgan unpacks the lifecycle of a typical church, identifies characteristics of each phase, and provides practical next steps a church can take to move towards sustained health. Think about your church for a moment. Is it growing? Is it diminishing? Is it somewhere in between? Acclaimed church leader, blogger, and founder and chief strategic officer of The Unstuck Group, Tony Morgan has identified the seven stages of a church's lifecycle that range from the hopeful and optimistic days of launch, to the stagnating last stages of life support. Regardless of the stage in which you find your church, it carries with it the world's greatest mission—to "go and make disciples of all the nations . . ." With eternity at stake the Church should be doing most everything within its power to see lives changed forever. The Church should strive for the pinnacle of the lifecycle, where they are continually making new disciples and experiencing what Morgan refers to as "sustained health." In The Unstuck Church, Morgan unpacks each phase of the church lifecycle, and offers specific and strategic next steps the church leader can take to find it's way to sustained health . . . and finally become unstuck. The Unstuck Church is a call for honest an assessment of where your church sits on the lifecycle, and a challenge to move beyond it.




Natural Church Development 101


Book Description

Revised introductory brochure for Natural Church Development




Transformational Church


Book Description

It is time to take heart and rework the scorecard. --




What Is a Healthy Church?


Book Description

Key Traits of a Healthy Church to Develop within the Local Body What is an ideal church, and how can you tell? How does it look different from other churches? More importantly, how does it act differently, especially in society? Many of us aren't sure how to answer those questions, even though we probably have some preconceived ideas. This book answers those questions and many more. Author Mark Dever seeks to help believers recognize the key characteristics of a healthy church: expositional preaching, biblical theology, and a right understanding of the gospel. Dever then calls us to develop those characteristics in our own churches. By following the example of New Testament authors and addressing all members of the church, pastors and laity alike, Dever challenges all believers to do their part in maintaining the local church. Part of the 9Marks Building Healthy Churches series, What Is a Healthy Church? offers timeless truths and practical principles to help each of us fulfill our God-given roles in the body of Christ. Offers an Ideal Church Model: Encourages pastors and members to implement healthy church qualities within their local body Written by Mark Dever: Pastor, bestselling author, and president of 9Marks From 9Marks: Other titles in the Building Healthy Churches series include Church Discipline; Deacons; and Church Membership Replaces ISBN 978-1-58134-937-5




Nine Marks of a Healthy Church (3rd Edition)


Book Description

Now in its third edition and featuring a new foreword by New York Times best-selling author David Platt, pastor Mark Dever’s classic book is not an instruction manual for church growth. Rather, it is a wise pastor’s recommendation for how to assess the health of a church using nine crucial qualities often neglected by many of today’s congregations. Church leaders and church members alike will resonate with the principles outlined here, breathing new life and health into the church at large. In this newly revised edition, fresh arguments have been added (for example on expositional preaching, about the nature of the gospel, on complementarianism), illustrations have been updated, appendices have been changed, and cover has been improved.




Becoming a Healthy Church


Book Description

"A wonderful tool that I recommend to every church that is serious about being purpose-driven." -Rick Warren, author of The Purpose-Driven Church Now available in trade paper, Becoming a Healthy Church illustrates the ten most important characteristics of church health. Based on extensive surveys, this helpful volume is designed to encourage the creation of a healthy climate for your church and its ministry.




Taking Your Church to the Next Level


Book Description

All local churches experience a predictable life cycle of growth and decline. But if a church is on a downward trend, how can it turn around? Taking Your Church to the Next Level explains the impact of age and size on churches and outlines the improvements that must be made at each point for a church to remain fruitful and faithful to its mission. McIntosh deftly describes the cycles of fruitfulness and the importance of continual improvement to diminish destructive forces that keep a congregation from its mission. Church leaders, pastors, and all who care about the church and desire to see it experience biblical growth will benefit from the sage wisdom offered in these pages.




Committing to One Another


Book Description

This study answers the question: Why join a church? By seeing the scriptural reasoning for becoming a church member, participants will also learn what it looks like to be a healthy member and how to serve well within their local congregation. A series of ten 6–7 week studies covering the nine distinctives of a healthy church as originally laid out in Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever. This series explores the biblical foundations of key aspects of the church, helping Christians to live out those realities as members of a local body. Conveniently packaged and accessibly written, the format of this series is guided, inductive discussion of Scripture passages and is ideal for use in Sunday school, church-wide studies, or small group contexts.