A CHURCH ON THE ROAD FROM UNHEALTHY TO HEALTHY!

To all my Church goers,

Over these 7 years of my Ministry, I have seen that some of us, (or should I say many, I don’t know) like to find, see and experience the flavor of a “Perfect Church”. In all my humility, let me say, there is no such thing as “Perfect Church, but there are healthy and unhealthy Churches. There would never be a Perfect church because the people in it, are imperfect.

By saying this, I know that, I might raise some eyebrows, but that least bothers me, when the pure word of God is being spoken off. The only Perfect things are those that are related to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But yes, we can really give a endeavor to reach somewhere close to the Perfect or rather healthy Church. Some of my gentle ideas are:

1. PERFECT CHURCH SHOULD HAVE A CLEAR VISION: In Proverbs 29:18 it states, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” All Church function and exist because of the vision. Jesus was a vital vision-maker. In His vision, He has not only stated how the Church should look like, but also, the role and purpose of a Church. Unfortunately, there are so many Churches that have no mission and vision.  Here the Scripture is 100 percent accurate; THE PEOPLE WILL PERISH. Now suppose, if our Church has a mission and vision statement but if we don’t see the mission and vision being implemented we are probably an unhealthy Church.

2. PERFECT CHURCH SHOULD HAVE A CHALLENGE AND ALSO BE CHALLENGED: If you are part of a Church where you have no challenge or where the leadership can never be challenged, then it is to be restored or mended. The leaders are there to guide the Church in the direction to which God is leading. We, the leaders should appreciate the ideas given by our members. The key to success is the love and concern and not provoking while we receive and give challenges.

 3. PERFECT CHURCH SHOULD MAKE US THINK ABOUT OUR SINS AND ITS CLEANSING: If you hear the sermon and if you were never convicted or never been offended in your sin then that Priest should rewrite his sermon, for Christ hates sin. It is very unsafe when a church’s preaching and teaching team only go around  always being  “happy and joy”.  Church is not there to make you feel cozy and warm on the inside, but it is there to pierce our heart with the biblical messages that will challenge people. For only when we get trimmed and pruned, we will grow.

4. PERFECT CHURCH DOESN’T HAVE BENCH WARMERS: A Bench warmer is a Church member who does not get involved in the Church but only attend the Church on Sundays and are content in doing so. If you want a healthy Church, then the members should be excited about lending their support to their Church and the Body of Christ as a whole. If the Church’s atmosphere is a supportive one and when we have a heart to serve, we are moving towards perfection.

5. PERFECT CHURCH SHOULD HAVE AN OUTREACH PLAN: As we do the “Inreach Ministry” a Church should also preach about “Outreach Ministry”. When a Church feels no desire to help those outside of the four walls then it is not doing what Christ said in the Gospel of Matthew "Go to the ends of the world”. The work that is done in the community to show God’s love is Church. It is one thing to utter Church, but it’s exclusively another thing to actually BE the church. Real church takes place by rendering service, by and large outside the four walls of a building.

Please ask this question when ever you get time, “Why do we come to Church?”.  If you get an answer to it, we are close to a perfect and healthy Church.

Please Note: When I say Church, it includes, Priest, Pastorate Committee and Members of all age groups!.

May He bless each one of you with His Grace for Jesus’ sake until we meet again. Amen.