What Is a Healthy Church?

by Mark Dever

Overview

Guides both pastors and members to recognize key characteristics of a healthy church and then challenge each person to do his or her part in developing those characteristics in the local church body.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781581349375
Publisher:	Crossway
Publication date:	06/19/2007
Series:	9Marks
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Mark Dever (PhD, Cambridge University) is the senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC, and president of 9Marks (9Marks.org). Dever has authored over a dozen books and speaks at conferences nationwide. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife, Connie, and they have two adult children.

Table of Contents

Preface: A Parable     9
Introduction: What Are You Looking for in a Church?     13
What is a Healthy Church?
Your Christianity and Your Church     21
What a Church Is...and Isn't     33
What Every Church Should Aspire to Be: Healthy     39
The Ultimate How-to Guide: How to Display God's Character     49
Quick Tips: If You're Thinking about Leaving a Church...     57
Essential Marks of a Healthy Church
Expositional Preaching     63
Biblical Theology     69
A Biblical Understanding of the Good News     75
Quick Tips: How to Find a Good Church     79
Important Marks of a Healthy Church
A Biblical Understanding of Conversion     85
A Biblical Understanding of Evangelism     89
A Biblical Understanding of Membership     93
Biblical Church Discipline     101
Biblical Discipleship and Growth     107
Biblical Church Leadership     113
Conclusion: Where the Rubber Meets the Road     121
A Typical Covenant of a Healthy Church     125
Special Thanks     127

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Christ’s institutional plan for the world is the church, and there is no plan B. Every pastor and every Christian should be concerned to know what a healthy church looks like and how to make their church as healthy as possible. This clearheaded and warmhearted book by Mark Dever will help you toward that end. The world desperately needs Jesus Christ and his gospel, which means the world desperately needs healthy churches. And if you aren’t sure how the two halves of that sentence connect, then you desperately need this book.”
—Kevin DeYoung, Senior Pastor, Christ Covenant Church, Matthews, North Carolina; Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte

“In our self-centeredness, we are wont to fashion the church in our image. But Mark Dever challenges us to focus instead on what God intends for his church to be. Every church should aspire to be healthy, as defined by God’s word, and every Christian should seek the health of his or her local church. This book is an immensely helpful resource for equipping believers to build churches that display the character and glory of God.”
—Eugene Low, Lead Teaching Pastor, Grace Baptist Church, Singapore

“Reading this book is like a cold drink of water on a hot day! I love everything about it—the concision, the practicality, the doctrine, and the focus on mission. I gladly and wholeheartedly recommend this for pastors and church members alike.”
—Clint Pressley, Pastor, Hickory Grove Baptist Church, Charlotte, North Carolina

“I’m eternally grateful for this book and its author. Sitting under expositional preaching and becoming a member of a healthy church changed my life. Then I watched the principles in this book transform my church. It doesn’t matter what country or culture you live in—to be a healthy Christian, you need a healthy church. Read this eminently practical book and grow in love for your local church.”
—Keri Folmar, author; cohost, Priscilla Talk

“What Is a Healthy Church? reintroduces Christians to biblical convictions about what the church should be. From expositional preaching to corporate prayer, gospel doctrine to church membership, and much more, this little book provides a faithful guide on the essence and ministry of the church. Get copies for all your church members and align your vision for the church with God’s word.”
—Geoff Chang, Assistant Professor of Historical Theology and Curator of the Spurgeon Library, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; author, Spurgeon the Pastor

“Great truths need to be communicated in simple ways. That is what you are holding in your hand, a simple book on a biblical understanding of the church. Many of our family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues have an inadequate understanding of the church, to the detriment of the faith. Read this book, keep a stack of copies handy, and distribute them generously. Much gospel good for individuals and local churches can come from the truths Mark Dever shares in this book. May the Lord use it to those ends, to the praise of his glory in his church.”
—Kenneth Mbugua, Senior Pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church, Nairobi, Kenya