Growing Edge
July 1, 1999
"Health" and "development" have replaced "church growth" as the buzz words in discussions of the effectiveness of congregations. Recognizing the fundamental inadequacy (and unfairness) of size as the chief measure of success, pastors have been eager to find other attributes of a "good church."
In Becoming a Healthy Church: Ten Characteristics (Baker, 1999), Stephen Macchia offers a top-ten list of qualities (not programs) that will be found in every healthy church, regardless of size, denomination, region, or constituency. Macchia contends that with his list in hand, pastors and leadership teams will be able to evaluate and revitalize their churches.
The author intentionally avoids offering models. Instead he relates values (another buzzword) through numerous stories and testimonies—Macchia introduces more characters than a Dickensian novel. Anecdotes from real pastors in his region reinforce the qualities he says are inherent in healthy congregations.
The ten characteristics break no new ground. Neither are they controversial. Macchia gives the reader basic concepts with which to focus heart-level appraisal of a congregation.
The research leading to the findings was somewhat limited and circular. Macchia asked about 2,000 highly committed Christians in New England their opinions of how essential certain attributes were for a church to be dubbed "healthy." Macchia had determined intuitively the "ten guiding principles (that) make for vibrant congregations" (p.25). The survey responses merely gave the ten a rank ordering.
On-site visits to 100 churches provided some field testing, but no effort was made to quantify any attributes other than those the author pre-selected. Not surprisingly, Macchia says, "the visits and survey ...
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