This series of points address the topic of vision and mission. God is an intentional being who has a purpose for every individual and every organization that He has created. Just as individuals have a God-given design and destiny, so do churches and other organizations that are authored by God. The first key to building a thriving church is to identify God’s design or blueprint for the overall organization and all secondary ministries. This cross-section helps to measure and clarify God’s purposes and provide a basis for the development of people and programs to accomplish God’s will.

This series of points focuses on the power of culture. Whenever people gather consistently, a culture is generated that can affect the community for Good or Ill. This applied to a family, a business, a city or a church. Culture is a product of shared values and priorities along with the concepts, symbols and traditions that connect us to our past and guide our steps toward a desired future. This cross-sections helps to identify and clarify the best possible cultural qualities that will help our members and ministries achieve our intended outcomes in ways that are most effective, efficient and excellent.

This area of the assessment focuses on the question of lifestyle as expressed in members personally, professionally and in all areas of life. The specific focus is on how your people behave naturally, without being told or directed. As we establish our purpose and processes clearly, it will manifest in people’s lives in a natural, authentic way that will cause them to pray, witness, give and minister to others, not because they “Should” but because they are compelled from within to adapt their lifestyles and their “practices” to reflect the character and ministry of Jesus.

This series of points recognizes the importance of systems and structures to help communities and organizations fulfill their God-given purposes. Many people see programs as a negative but in fact, when done right, they can be a huge asset to any healthy organization. When programs become the priority, they can choke out the life of an organization. However, when built upon a healthy foundation of Purpose, Process and Practice, programs can make the difference between an inefficient, chaotic community and one that is effectively achieving intended outcomes. We have provided a Church Program Assessment to help you evaluate your systems and bring strength and structure to fulfilling your purpose.

The most important measurement in any church is the quality and commitment of its members. A church is only as healthy as its people and people are only healthy as we fulfill the Great Commission. We are called “make disciples” who make disciples by “equipping the saints for the work of the ministry…”. In other words, the local church exists to develop people in Christ so that they can discover their God-given design and fulfill the destiny that God has ordained for them. All things being equal, a local church will only grow as fast as we grow our leaders and release them into effective ministry in the church and in the marketplace.