How Is My Church Really Doing?

We should periodically take time to assess how our church is really doing, but what do we assess? As I've studied the New Testament I've come to the conclusion that a NT church is simple a community of Christ-followers continuing the mission of Jesus. That's what a church is (and should be) in its simplest form.

With that in mind, here are the three components that we should assess. First, we should assess how we're doing as a community:

• Are there strong relational connections between the members/attenders of our church?
• Is there a high degree of fun and fellowship among our people?
• Are new people being assimilated into our community?

The second component that we should assess is mission:

• Do we have a sense of momentum?
• Are individuals joyfully engaged in missional activity?
• Do we as a Body have a clear, focused missional vision that is shared by all?

The third component that we should assess is disciple-making (Christ-followers):

• Do we have weekly/monthly stories of life-change?
• Do we have an effective system for spiritual formation that produces disciples and leaders?
• Are our people engaged in disciple-making relationships?

Let's not beat ourselves up for the areas where we see deficiencies, but lets work toward continually improving our life together as the Body of Christ. Let's always be working toward being the church that Jesus desires.