The book titled ‘Nine Marks of a Healthy Church’ by Dever Mark has shed light on
some of the most important characteristics that a church must have so that it can
be considered as a good church that can show the righteous path to the
followers[1]. The nine elements that the author has stressed upon in his book
include Preaching, Biblical Theology, The Gospel, Conversion, Evangelism,
Membership, Discipline, Discipleship and Leadership. Each of these elements
plays a distinctive role in the context of the church to strengthen its foundation and
help people to understand Christianity in a better way.
One of the main characteristics that my church needs to work on the most so that
it can be a healthy church is focusing on the Gospel. The Gospel must be used as
the ultimate blueprint that must be used while engaging with the believers of Jesus
Christ. It would act as the main instrument that could transform the lives of the
believers and understand the sacrifices that Jesus Christ had made for humanity.
For example, Gen 1:26-28 ‘The one and only God who is holy made us in his
image to know him’ would encourage the members of the church to understand
Jesus at an intimate level[2]. In order to integrate the Gospel in the church, the
Pastor would play an integral role. He would be responsible for integrating the
teaching of the Gospel into the daily conversations.
Another important element that my church needs to work on is leadership. In the
church setting, leadership is a very important element that helps to show the right
path to people so that they can move closer to the Almighty. It is very important to
influence people in the proper manner so that they would feel connected to Jesus
Christ as well as the church setting. The Holy Bible teaches that every church
must be led by godly and qualified individuals who are known as the elders. They
would be responsible to show the light to the members of the church. These
individuals play a key role in the church to feed God’s sheep God’s word (Jn. 21:
15-17), and guide the sheep (1 Tim. 4:16). In the church, the elders would be
appointed by taking into consideration their personal belief in Jesus Christ, their
dedication towards the righteous path and their selflessness[3].
The other most important element that my church must work on is discipline.
Discipline fundamentally revolves around everything that a church does in order to
help the members so that they can pursue holiness and fight sin. Some of the
main forms of disciplines that would be laid emphasis upon in my church setting
include prayer, teaching, preaching and accountability relationships. The Church
Fathers would serve as role models and foster discipline in the church setting[4].
These individuals would help the members of the church to understand that
following an honest and sincere life is necessary to get closer to Jesus Christ. By
focusing on these three areas, my church could become a healthy church.
Bibliography
Dever, Mark. Nine marks of a healthy church. Crossway, 2013.
Freeks, Fazel Ebrihiam. "Christian fathers as role models of the church’s fulfilment
of the Missio Dei in a fatherless society." Missionalia: Southern African Journal of
Mission Studies 46, no. 3 (2018): 331-354.
"The Nine Marks". 9Marks, Last modified 2021. https://www.9marks.org/about/the-
nine-marks/ Links to an external site..
"What Is The Scriptural Procedure To Appoint Elders In A Local Church? — The
Gospel Of Christ". The Gospel Of Christ, Last modified 2021.
https://www.thegospelofchrist.com/knowledge-base/tgoc--x8x6f.
[1] Dever, Mark. Nine marks of a healthy church. Crossway, 2013.
[2] "The Nine Marks". 9Marks, Last modified 2021.
https://www.9marks.org/about/the-nine-marks/.
[3] "What Is The Scriptural Procedure To Appoint Elders In A Local Church? —
The Gospel Of Christ". The Gospel Of Christ, Last modified 2021.
https://www.thegospelofchrist.com/knowledge-base/tgoc--x8x6f.
