Nine Marks of a Church that Evangelizes

In the American Civil War, what was the most lethal cause of death among soldiers? It wasn’t the rifle, the pistol, or artillery—it was disease. Before modern germ theory, sickness prowled battlefields and base camps to weaken and kill hundreds of thousands. What critical need does every army face in wartime? Not merely more soldiers, but more healthy soldiers. 

And so it is with churches. 

The critical need to fulfill the Great Commission is not merely more churches, but more healthy churches. Consider: how many times have you seen or heard of an unhealthy congregation turn people off to Jesus? How many church splits blemish the reputation of Christ in a city? How many churchgoers have little desire for the lost? Unhealthy churches tend to beget unhealthy disciples—and unhealthy disciples are unhelpful disciple-making evangelists.

It’s no surprise that God’s word is both guide and balm here. In the pages of the Bible is a picture of local church life that is both vigorous and healthy. Recently Indianapolis Theological Seminary, the Central Indiana Presbytery, and the Crossroads Baptist Association co-sponsored a 9Marks conference at Geist Community Church. (Note the peculiar beauty of Baptists and Presbyterians co-sponsoring an ecclesiology conference!) Nine church leaders taught on—you guessed it—nine marks that produce this kind of evangelistically potent church. This kind of church is characterized by 1) expositional preaching, 2) biblical theology, 3) clarity on the gospel, 4) understanding of conversion, 5) evangelism, 6) membership, 7) church discipline, 8) discipleship, and 9) biblical leadership. There are certainly more aspects of health than these, but not less! And strewn together these marks create an evangelistically potent church, which is far more fruitful than the loner-evangelist.

Of the nine sessions, therefore, I’m thrilled to highlight the talk on evangelism by pastor Dan Herron. A spiritual grandchild of Francis Schaeffer, pastor Dan taught a relational evangelism that is not gimmicky, that recognizes the image of God in non-believers, and that tends toward making disciples over mere converts. If you want your church to grow in evangelism, you can watch the video or download the audio.

The bottom line is this: if we are to fulfill the Great Commission, we don’t merely need more churches; we need more healthy churches. Too many churches walk with a limp or waste away from diseases, and God has shown us that it doesn’t have to be this way. The God who established the church knows what is best for it, and our prescription is penned in holy writ. When we listen and learn from His word, our churches become healthier, more disciples are made, and God is most glorified.

• Kevin McClure is the Associate Pastor of Discipleship at Geist Community Church, as well as the ITS Board Secretary.