Why have a Healthy Church consultation?

1 Peter 2:5 says, “You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy  priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

God’s church is not the building. God’s church is made up of the redeemed people that occupy that building. People come into our churches in various conditions, from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. These have shaped who they are as well as their expectations, and their spiritual maturity. People are coming into our churches wounded and oppressed. These things can and will affect a church.

People go to doctors for check-ups and treatment. These things are both preventative as well as addressing existing conditions. When we look at the question of why have a church health consultation, it is to both address existing situations within the church, as well as place attention in areas that are both preventative as well as preparative.

One of the problems that every church faces is the problem of familiarity. Going to the same place week after week, month after month, year after year can result in a blindness that is experienced by most church goers. This can result in people not noticing the things in their church that need to be addressed. For example, over time people no longer notice the unpainted plaster patch on the repaired wall, or the hole in the ceiling, until someone points it out to them. A church health consultant provides that “fresh set of eyes” to come into an existing situation and point out the things that need attention that have gone unnoticed. Having these things addressed will enhance your church’s condition and help more individuals. A church health consultation will also provide objective research and observation that gauge the abilities of a church to be able to face tasks and challenges that it may be facing. Some churches underestimate their abilities. A church health consultant can offer encouragement along with factual observation in order to encourage a church to go forward in their endeavors. They can also offer wise counsel and caution to a situation a church might be looking at that may be beyond their abilities to face at the present time.

In these times, the church is facing challenges as it never has before given our economy and the climate in our society. This has left well learned and experienced pastors with questions and uncertainties where they have never had them before. A church health consultant can serve as a supportive guide as churches navigate the troubled waters of our world in these turbulent times. And that support does not end once the consultation is over. Your local healthy church group is made up of learned men with a large degree of collective experience. This group, being locally based, is here and available to be that supportive presence to any pastor and church that needs it.                


  Jim Newman