Bill Tenny-Brittian in his on-line blog says "I got an email from a faithful blog reader last week who mentioned I did a good job pointing out the shortcomings of the church, but that there wasn't much there is terms of what a healthy, functional, faithful, effective congregation looks like". The following are his five marks of an effective church:

 

1. A Pletora of Invited Guests - The surprise isn't that there are guests, it's that the congregation is inviting their friends, relatives, acquaintances, neighbors, co-workers, and everyone else they can. The members are excited about what's happening in the congregation. The participants expect great things to happen and they're seldom disappointed.

 

2. Congregational Care - Jesus told us to love our enemies, to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to love ONE ANOTHER as he loved us. Congregations that take the One-Anothers seriously don't need pastoral care staff members. . .nor do they expect the pastor to visit them when they stub their toe. Effective congregations nearly swarm one another with care whenever these's a need. Read Acts 2 - 4 to see what an effective church looks like.

 

3. Regular Influx of Spontaneous Guests - Effective churches get a reputation in the community. The aforementioned excited church members create a buzz virtually everywhere they go. In addition, effective congregations do an excellent job of letting the community know it exists. These churches get a reputation of being a 'safe' place to drop in and test the waters.

 

4. Spontaneous Congregational Ministry - One of te key marks of an effective congregation is the spontaneous launching of congregation ministries in response to the needs of both the congregation and the community. One example of the SCM is the five guy Bible study group at one of the local coffee shops who suggested helping a local family who had lost their home to fire. They all gave some cash and one of the guys suggested calling the church members for furniture donations. Before long the whole congregation was involved. Effective congregations see this kind of thing happening on a near-daily basis.

 

5. Regular Adult Baptisms. THE key mark of an effective congregation. Adult Baptisms. They represent conversion growth. Effective churches are engaged in real evangelism that is touching real lives and that results in adult baptisms.

To read Bill's blog visit Bill Tenny-Brittian's website.