Any church can become vital only by practicing 3 simple and basic things!

These are what I call marks for church vitality. They define who the church should all be about in terms of mission and ministry.

Before delving into the 3 marks for church vitality, let me point out that, even though the Pastor plays a key role in the process, [bctt tweet=”revitalization of a congregation requires every single member’s participation.”] Every person in the pew has a special part to play.

First, a vital church is a church that is God-centered. 

Yes, just as simple as it sounds, vitality requires that we center ourselves on God alone.

[bctt tweet=”It is God who calls a church to be.”] [bctt tweet=”It is God who equips the church”] and [bctt tweet=”it is God who sends us to be the church for the community.”]

What does it then mean to be God-centered?

Paul talks to the Colossians in chapter 1 laying down two things as the foundation of what the church should be about:

1. Jesus is the head of the body, the church; and

2. God’s fullness dwells in the body of Christ, the church.

The questions we have to ask ourselves in order to make this foundation more concrete are as follows:

1. Is Jesus glorified and praised in every single decision we make as a church? Or how do the things we do or plan on doing point someone to Jesus Christ?
2. How do people come to experience God’s presence through our ministry, activities and programs we do as a church?

The second mark for vitality in a church is to be Bible-based. 

The place and level of the use of Scripture in any church determines how vital a church could be. [bctt tweet=”A vital church saturates everything they do with Scripture.”] 

In addition to worship services during which the Bible is significantly used, church members intentionally study Scripture during committee meetings, in small groups and Sunday School. The church makes every single meeting as an opportunity to study Scripture.

Last, but not least, a vital church is a church whose priority are People. 

Being people-oriented does not mean that we condone what people want by trying to please them. [bctt tweet=”The church, as the body of Christ, should always be God-pleasing.”] It is to make every decision using the first 2 marks in a way that space is created to welcome anyone in the building.

The church’s efforts are centered on making the first-time guest feel welcome when he or she comes to attend any event, including worship. This is to be an intentional effort from the members to familiarize with how to be welcoming. It does not take long for a first-time guest to decide whether he or she will come back to your church again.

Part of this has to do with how the people relate to each other, and especially to guests, during the first 10 minutes of church worship. The physical environment also can tell about your hospitality.

The above 3 marks for vitality help church members:

1. to live sacrificially for Jesus Christ and each other. In other words, they offer their best to God with the mission of helping as many people as possible to personally encounter Jesus. A sacrificial life means putting aside one’s desires and wants so that the other’s needs are met first.
2. to apply biblical principles for healthy ways of communicating among ourselves, dealing with conflicts and caring for each other through prayer, love and self care.
3. to align every resource (time, money, talent, relationships, and so forth) in order to create space, a church culture and atmosphere that will help every single member be God-centered, Bible-based and People-oriented.

This post is adapted from the sermon series, “We Are the Church.” Click to Listen to the audio sermons.