How to Measure a Kingdom-centric Church - part 1
We all were created for a specific purpose... relationships. We are in the business of relationships from start to finish. It is what we are designed to do. So, when it comes to the church, we must be Kingdom-centric in our thinking and living in relationships.
A Kingdom-centric church always has Jesus at the center of everything. It is a church that is focused on His Kingdom first and foremost. This type of church will always be reminiscent of a heroic, rescue mission for every loved and lost lamb. It is a church that is full of compassion and love because that is what Jesus modeled for us. He came to seek and save the lost, and that is what we must do as well.
A Kingdom-centric church is focused on making disciples, not just converts. We want to see people transformed by the power of God and living their best life possible. This is only possible when Jesus is at the center. When we are Kingdom-centric in our thinking and living, everything else will fall into place. It is only then that we can truly be the church that God has called us to be. And that is a church that is in the right relationship with Him and living in the right relationship with others.
More often than not, we find ourselves off track from that call of Kingdom business. We get busy with our own lives and we forget about those around us who are lost and in need of a Savior. We allow the drift to begin, and it is hard to stop once it starts. But we must fight against it. We must be intentional about Kingdom living if we want to see the church be all that God has called it to be with Him and with others. If we are going to be Kingdom-centric, we must make sure that Jesus is at the center of everything we do. When He is, everything else will fall into place. It is only after we have demonstrated this understanding that we may legitimately claim to be the church God has called us to be.
But what concerns me more than drifting itself, is when we actively track our drift as a measure of success. What I mean by this is, that we measure unobjective numerical growth (numbers) versus healthy spiritual growth (changed lives). When we look at numbers by themselves, we are emphasizing the wrong things. Like children, we are proud of the number of days when we did not consume a vegetable rather than being grateful for what we have been given, which is spiritually substantial. We take what is good and turn it into a competition. We take the numbers and celebrate those verses celebrating lives being lived for the glory of God. Celebrating numbers is not Kingdom living. This is not what Jesus has called us to do. The church growth relic is difficult to overcome, but the Kingdom-centered mind can see kingdom things.
Rewiring our old ecclesiastical hardwiring may be a time-consuming process. We've spent a lot of time in the past training our spiritual muscle memory for the purpose of growing a worship gathering—and it's not easy to teach new muscles. This is the attractional model of getting people to your church services rather than the relational model which builds real, authentic connections with others. Kingdom-centric living will require us to be intentional and focused on Jesus. It will require us to have compassion for those who are lost and in need of a Savior. It will require us to be selfless and focused on making disciples, along with converts. But it is so worth it. When we are Kingdom-centric in our thinking and our living, everything else will fall into place. We will be the church that God has called us to be right where we are at.
What we measure means everything. Numbers can and will always be useful but how we look at numbers must change. Kingdom-centric living demands that we see things from a Kingdom perspective. And when we do, we will be able to better measure our success. Instead of numerical growth, we will focus on healthy spiritual growth. This is what Jesus has called us to do. And this is what the church should be all about. For those courageous enough to attempt it, changing and reinventing this natural pattern may be a difficult task. But those who have the courage might just find something more potent than the most polished church gathering. The church is transformed into an Ecclesia that more resembles the first century than the twenty-first. It all starts with what we measure.
Physicians instinctively get this idea. They rarely look at a patient’s stature and predict his level of health. ‘Tall,' in the medical sense, does not indicate healthy, and ‘short,' in the medical sense, does not indicate unhealthy. Instead, physicians use a handful of significant metrics known as ‘vital signs' to measure health.
The Kingdom of God is much like this idea of vital signs. There are a few key metrics that we can measure to help us ascertain the health and well-being of the Kingdom-centric church. When we see these things in a positive light, it is a good indicator that the Kingdom is healthy and growing. However, when we see these things in a negative light, it is a good indicator that the Kingdom is sick and in need of attention within that church's context. Vital signs are significant to a physician for quickly ascertaining the general health and well-being of a patient. These are not a comprehensive picture of a person’s health, but if something is awry in any one of them, major health complications usually follow.
These same principles are true of a church. The following six indicators of a Kingdom-centric church do not describe every aspect of health, but they reveal an alarming story on the road ahead if they are present.
1. Do We Have New Believers?
When we see a church that has people coming in from all over and attending the church we want to celebrate. A time of rejoicing is welcomed but we must also look at who are the ones that are coming. Is it possible to be considered healthy if a church is able to develop rapidly, but baptisms are dependent on children of church members and the unchurched returning to rededicate from previous experiences? Is this really considered healthy?
The Kingdom of God is not only about numbers but also about quality. We see in scripture that Jesus didn't go after the masses but He focused on those that were lost. So a church can grow numerically and not be effective if they are not winning the lost. A church must always be looking to expand God's Kingdom by bringing in the lost and not just church members that are relocating.
We must always be looking to improve the Kingdom by introducing the lost to Christ. Any health measurements should be accompanied by an assessment to determine whether the lost are being discovered and added to the family of Christ. As a result, measuring gospel influence in people who were previously quite distant from Christ must have a high priority.
When we look at a church, we want to see if they are living out the Great Commission. We want to see if they are being effective in making disciples and not just gathering a large crowd. Are they impacting their community and winning the lost? These are things that we must consider when looking at the health of a church. It's not just about numbers, but it's about quality as well. We want to see churches that are growing Kingdom-minded and not just self-serving. Are they being obedient to the Great Commission? If not, then we must question the health of the church.
For most churches, this entails a thorough spiritual investigation of an area to detect patterns of resistance. Is there a behavioral, emotional, or cognitive barrier to the gospel message in this neighborhood or people group? When it comes to soil, [have dirt in the hand] knowing what you're working with is critical. Knowledge of the dirt that you're dealing with will return benefits during harvesting time. The ability to successfully advance the following measures are directly dependent on a church's success in engaging the lost. When new believers are continuously discovering faith in Christ, a church is laying the foundation and raw materials for significant Kingdom impact.
2. Are We Building New Disciple-makers?
The term "discipleship" has lost a lot of its punch in the last fifty years. For many people, discipleship is a more profound process that may be created by studying books and Bible studies. The call of Jesus for the church to "go and make disciples," which is so frequently achieved with a godly leader and a handful of eager bible students hidden away in a location that is well insulated from the lost sheep, is seldom authentic. It leans toward another thing to do than a truly heartfelt hunger and thirst for truth and knowledge from a new convert.
The Kingdom of God advances through discipleship. When the church is focused on making disciples, it becomes a community of people who are committed to following Jesus and His teachings. This results in transformed lives and relationships, as well as changes in society as a whole. The church must be intentional about discipleship if it wants to see the Kingdom of God grow. This means going beyond simply providing study courses and bible studies. It means reaching out to those who are lost and don’t know Jesus and helping them find their way back to Him. Billy Graham once said, “The greatest need of our time is the revival and reformation of the church.” The church must return to its roots and focus on making disciples. This is the only way the Kingdom of God will grow. Is it relevant if a church's strategic processes do not include disciple-making, which involves assisting the evangelized in becoming fishers of men? Is that church following Christ's command?
A Kingdom-centered church will help foster this notion in the early stages of discipleship among its followers. Until those evangelized have themselves evangelized, missionary work is unfinished. In other words, a church that is focused on making disciples will have a strategic process in place to ensure that its members are also committed to evangelizing others. This is the only way to see the Kingdom of God grow. Seeing them get to a place where they can't help but tell others about Jesus. A church that is making a significant Kingdom impact will constantly monitor its effectiveness by how the members are going and making disciples. This indicator is closely tracked by church leadership and publicly celebrated with frequency.
Next week part 2 in how to measure a Kingdom-centric church.
