After reading Dever's 9 Marks of a Healthy Church, what 3 do you/your
church need to work on the most? Why? What steps could you/your church
take to implement those areas?
a a a a a a a a a a Two marks that I need to work on are evangelism (mark 5) and a
concern for church growth (mark 8). In many ways evangelism is the path and
church growth is the result. Unfortunately, I do not prioritize evangelism and
therefore, I do not contribute to the growth of my church. Dever himself makes this
clear in the eight chapter of his book by emphasizing that God alone causes a
church to grow, but there is an important human component which requires God’s
people to evangelize and share the Gospel message.[1]
a a a a a a a a a a Evangelism is extremely difficult for me because I work as a healthcare
chaplain so it is strictly prohibited to evangelize, witness, share my faith, or
reference the Bible. My work is extremely important to me and it is a major part of
my life, which has caused my work restrictions to transfer into my personal life.
Since it is against the rules to evangelize at work, it has begun to feel “wrong” to
evangelize in my personal life as well. This is something I really need to work on
and get more comfortable with because it is extremely important to God and His
kingdom.
a a a a a a a a a a In his book, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, Dever emphasizes the
universal responsibility which is shared by all of God’s people. Dever writes that,
“The Great Commission is a commission for all of Jesus’s disciples—those who
heard his words directly, and we who read his words today… All Christians, not
just the professional clergy, are to spread the good news… Christians should tell
everyone the good news. And we should all evangelize.”[2] As Dever highlights, all
Christians are expected to evangelize, not only because God commanded us to,
but also because it is essential for church growth. God uses His people to
evangelize and share the gospel message so that they can enter into a
relationship with Him, receive salvation, and grow His kingdom.
a a a a a a a a a a Dever emphasizes the direct relationship between personal evangelism
and church growth by writing, “The New Testament idea of growth involves telling
people a serious message about their condition before God, and about the
tremendous news of the new life God is offering them in Christ. And we’re inviting
them to enter into that life by dire and desperate means—repentance and faith…
Working to promote growth is working to bring glory not to ourselves but to God.
This is how God will make himself known in the world.”[3] This means that church
growth is from God, but there is a very important human component which
requires God’s people to evangelize and increase God’s kingdom through
converting others, sharing the biblical message, and inviting new members to
attend church.
a a a a a a a a a a Reading Dever’s book, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, provided me a
wake up call, reminded me the importance of evangelism, and revealed my failure
to uphold the Great Commission. I now realize that I desperately need to become
a better disciple of God by evangelizing and growing God’s kingdom. I plan to
begin improving immediately by regularly seeking God’s strength through prayer
and through creating an evangelism plan which will remind me to share the gospel
message, and hold me accountable if I backslide again. Evangelism and church
growth are extremely important to God and I need to make them a priority to me
as well.
Word Count: 629
References
a a a a a a a a a a Dever, Mark. Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. 3rd ed. S.l.: Crossway
Books, 2013.
[1] Dever, Mark. Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. 3rd ed. S.l.: Crossway Books,
2013.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
