How to Identify a Healthy Local Church

The word church is a slippery term. There are millions of religious organizations that use that term to describe themselves. But many of them hold beliefs that are incompatible with the Christian faith. For example, they believe that it is possible to enter a reconciled, eternal relationship with God apart from faith in Jesus Christ alone. Or they believe that Jesus was a mere man and no more (not fully God in his very being). Or they believe that Jesus did not rise from the dead.

Though it is not popular to say in today’s culture, such beliefs are false and disqualify a person or a group of people from the Christian faith (John 1:1, 12, 18; 20:28; 1 Cor. 15:14; Gal. 1:6–10). And so groups like these are not Christian churches at all, regardless of what they claim for themselves.

It is therefore necessary to define our terms. The universal church consists of those people united in worship of the true and living God of the Bible—people who have turned from their sins and have trusted in God and his Son, Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38; Rom. 4:5, 23–24; Gal. 2:16). A local church is a gathering of Christians in a specific location under the leadership of pastors-overseers-elders.*

Perhaps you do not attend a Christian church. Or you simply want to learn more about this topic. Either way, what are the characteristics of a healthy local church?

1. A healthy church centers itself on the triune God of the Bible.

God reveals himself to us in the Bible—a supernatural revelation of his thoughts and will in written form. Healthy churches act on this belief by trying to be God-centered and Word-centered in all they do. And that is why these churches continually read, proclaim, explain, and apply the Bible. They do not worship the Bible itself, but they look in and through the Bible to God himself.

2. A healthy church focuses on the gospel.

The gospel is the good news that God the Father intervened into the world in the person and work of Jesus Christ. It is God’s shaft of light into our morally dark world. And Jesus’s death and resurrection is the center and brightest part of that light (1 Cor. 15:1–4). Healthy churches do not merely assume the gospel; instead, they continually preach and teach the gospel, calling non-Christians and Christians alike to respond in a way that glorifies God.

3. A healthy church has a proper understanding of conversion.

The proper response to the gospel for non-Christians is called conversion—the act by which someone turns from his or her sins (fundamentally as an act of the mind and the will) and trusts in Jesus Christ. Healthy churches preach and teach this truth to non-Christians, but they also consistently call Christians to embrace and respond to the gospel; for example, by dying to their selfish ways and living for Jesus Christ in all they do.

4. A healthy church is committed to discipleship.

Discipleship is the process by which Christians help one another to follow Jesus and his teachings. Healthy churches focus on teaching and encouraging people to obey all of God’s will as revealed in the Bible.

5. A healthy church is committed to personal holiness.

While Christians do not want to sin against God, no Christian on this side of eternity is without sin. Healthy churches preach and teach about forgiveness through Jesus Christ, and they call Christians to pursue personal holiness. And when these churches discover that self-professing Christians are living in unrepentant sin (ongoing sin with no desire to turn from it), these churches intervene (Matt. 18:15–20).

See Mark Dever’s What Is a Healthy Church? for more information.

Are You Looking for a Local Church?

If you do not attend a local church or you realize that the religious organization you are attending is not a Christian church, see the links below to help you find a Word-centered church in the US. There are many Christian denominations that are God-centered and Word-centered, but these links will get you started.

For Reflection and Discussion

  1. What is a local church?

  2. When does an organization that labels itself as a Christian church cease to be a church from a biblical perspective?

  3. In light of the five criteria listed above, how would you evaluate the church you currently attend (or have attended in the past)?

  4. How does someone know if he or she should move to a church that is more faithful to the Bible’s teachings?

* While churches and denominations use different labels, these terms refer to the same office in the New Testament (Acts 20:17, 28; Eph. 4:11; 1 Tim. 3:1–7; Titus 1:5–9; 1 Pet. 5:1–4).