The past several Midweek Minutes have addressed the question, “when does a community need another church or another expression of a local church that is already in the community?” We’ve seen that it can be good if done well, which includes standing strong on key Biblical teaching.

We also see 5 components of healthy church modeled in the early church in Acts. Different churches say these things differently. Some churches combine parts of the five into a single category. The exact wording isn’t the most important thing. What matters most is that these five things are present in any church or expression of the church.

Each of these five areas was spoken about in a recent sermon where we referenced Acts 2:42 and the end of verse 47, which say:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Acts 2:42 NIV

And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Acts 2:47b NIV

The early church made decisions to meet regularly to be taught. This is discipleship or mentorship. A local church or an expression of the church needs to be intentional about biblical teaching so people can grow in their walk with Jesus.

The early church also ate together and built relationships. This is building community or fellowship. The goal isn’t simply to be part of a performance but to build meaningful connections. A healthy church or church expression should provide opportunities for community.

The early church sacrificially gave what they had to meet the needs of others. This is Ministry. A local church or expression of church should be intentional about caring for people in need. Unfortunately, no local church can likely meet EVERY need. This might be another argument for the value of additional churches or church expressions. At the same time, the reality a local church can’t meet every need should not keep them from trying to meet some of the needs. There needs to be ministry happening!

The early church praised God. We call that worship. This is not limited to a strong music ministry. When people celebrate something God has brought them through, that is worship. When people thankfully give a tithe, gift or offering, that is worship. When a passage of the Bible is read in honor of the God of the Bible, that is worship. When communion is celebrated remembering what Jesus did for us with the crucifixion, that is worship. Worship should take a variety of forms in the local church.

Lastly, we see that daily people were being saved. We assume the early church must have been telling people about Jesus and the hope of the Gospel. This is what we call evangelism. A healthy local church should be sharing the hope of the Gospel.

I’m tempted to add an important 6th item to this list: praying leaders. After all, the leaders of the church in Acts 6:4 said they needed to be devoted to teaching the Word and to prayer. Maybe this falls under worship or ministry. Regardless, Jesus did quote Isaiah and say his house should be a house of prayer, so it is certainly important.

There is no such thing as a perfect church. You will not find it. There are, however, healthy churches, and healthy churches will practice each of the things we have covered. For The Rescue Church, we believe these are essential, not only in the church as a whole, but in each and every campus or expression both now and into the future.