Movement of Healthy Churches: Kingdom Expansion Through Healthy Churches

Creating an Atmosphere of Growth
Growth is a natural process. Plants, animals, and humans all grow and develop over time. If growth is not happening, it is often due to factors that hinder this natural progression, such as insufficient nourishment, an unfavorable environment, or external influences.

Healthy things grow; it’s God’s design for His creation. Growth is an essential aspect of life and creation, much like the church. Healthy churches have the capacity to grow and flourish. When members experience genuine spiritual transformation, they naturally share their faith experiences with others, strengthening the faith of fellow believers and introducing God to others as well.

Kingdom expansion is the natural outgrowth of a healthy church. Healthy churches have an atmosphere that propagates growth and expansion – both spiritually and numerically. This atmosphere should not be taken for granted. Just as a greenhouse creates conditions for plants to thrive, this atmosphere needs to be created, protected, monitored, and maintained! A church that prioritizes discipleship, leadership development, and reaching out will naturally expand as people encounter God’s love and invite others to experience it.

Healthy churches have an atmosphere that propagates growth and expansion – both spiritually and numerically.

How do we create the right atmosphere for growth and expansion?

Creating the right atmosphere begins with faith. Faith activates spiritual gifts and releases supernatural power. Whether you lead a church, a ministry or a small group, you can create an atmosphere of faith through the way you live out your Christian walk. You cannot create that which you do not walk and live in. Is your faith contagious enough to inspire others to greater faith? Consider if faith to believe for the supernatural to happen is being preached and encouraged in your congregation.

Faith is not being anti-negative. It is a posture of life. Faith is believing that God can do what He says He can do regardless of how impossible the situation appears to be (Hebrews 11:1).

Do you have faith to believe for the salvation of your entire household?
Do you have faith to pray for the sick to be well?
Do you have faith to plant a small group in your schools, campuses, and offices?
Do you have faith to plant a church to reach new communities?

Faith is believing that God can do what He says He can do regardless of how impossible the situation appears to be (Hebrews 11:1).

Creating the right atmosphere requires opportunities for engagement. Engagement demands the activation of faith for the manifestation of gifts. Engagement enables the anointing to flow. Are there opportunities for people to engage and serve? Are there platforms for the deployment of gifts? Without the opportunity to serve, there is no opportunity for development. However, with opportunity comes maturity. Together with guidance and affirmation, gifts are developed and expressed in alignment with the church’s mission and vision, fostering an atmosphere of growth.

Engagement in ministry does not require perfect people. When Jesus sent out the twelve in Matthew 10, they were far from graduating from Bible College. They did not have the full picture of what was to come. They only had the opportunity to observe what the Master has had done before. And Jesus sent them out to “heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely as you have received; freely give.” (Matthew 10:8) It was the full baptism of ministry!

There is no doubt that people need to be equipped and empowered, but let’s not wait for perfection before releasing people to engage in ministry. Otherwise, not only will we hinder the growth and health of the church, but we may also be tempted to strive and do everything in our own strength, void of the Spirit.

Engagement enables the anointing to flow.

Creating the right atmosphere requires training and development. Just as the branches of fruit trees are pruned to bear more fruit, the time and effort dedicated to enable enabling learning, engagement, and corrections cannot be compromised.

Leadership development ensures that the mission of the church continues through the generations. MM33 is our collective goal as the Assemblies of God churches, where we endeavor to present to the Lord one million churches by the year 2033. That goal will not be possible without the training and development of missionaries, church planters, next- generation leadership, evangelists, and so forth.

Develop spiritually mature believers who serve in ministry and can impact their spheres of influence,- whether in education, government, media, or business-, with biblical kingdom values and principles.

Train your church to hear God’s voice and follow the Holy Spirit’s leading. Guide them in cultivating a deep and meaningful walk with God so they can carry His heartbeat in everything they do. Raise a people dependent on the Spirit of God.

Leadership development ensures that the mission of the church continues through the generations.

Creating the right atmosphere requires the Holy Spirit. Growth is God-ordained. The health of the Church lives on the breath of the Holy Spirit. The manifestations of the Spiritual Gifts are the work of the Holy Spirit. Not ours. We are simply conduits.

In the Lord’s prayer, we are instructed to invoke on earth that which is in heaven. We are standing in the gap by faith and allowing the Spirit to release the atmosphere of heaven in our midst here on earth.

There needs to be a yielding to the Spirit to allow Him to move as He wishes in our ministry. Some of our plans and schedules hold a higher pedestal than the Spirit. If we want the right atmosphere for a healthy church that grows and expands, we must surrender to the Spirit’s leading. It’s okay for it to be messy. The upper room outpouring was a mess. I’d rather God’s mess than our best.

Healthy churches are not just for the privileged few. I believe that as we create an atmosphere of faith, engagement, training and development, and constant yielding to the Spirit, the church will be strengthened and positioned for growth and Kingdom expansion.

The health of the Church lives on the breath of the Holy Spirit.

通过健康的教会扩展神的国度。

营造成长的氛围
成长是一个自然的过程。植物、动物和人类都会随着时间的推移而成长和发展。如果成长没有发生，通常是由于某些因素阻碍了这一自然进程，例如营养不足、不利的环境或外在影响。

健康的事物会成长，这是神对创造物的设计。成长是生命和创造的重要组成部分，教会亦是如此。健康的教会有能力成长和兴旺。当成员经历真实的属灵转化时，他们会自然而然地与他人分享自己的信仰经历，从而加强信徒之间的信心，也向他人介绍神。

神国的扩展是健康教会自然的成长结果。健康的教会拥有促进成长和扩展的氛围——无论是属灵上还是人数上的增长。这种氛围不应被视为理所当然。正如温室为植物提供适宜的生长条件一样，这种氛围也需要被创造、保护、监督和维持！一个优先注重门徒训练、领袖培养和布道的教会将会自然地扩展。人们在当中会经历神的爱并邀请其他人一同经历神的爱。

我们如何营造适合成长和扩展的氛围？

营造正确的氛围始于信心。信心启动属灵的恩赐，信心释放超自然的能力。无论你带领的是教会、事工，还是小组，你都可以通过你的基督徒生命来创造信心的氛围。如果不曾经历，你就无法创造出这种氛围。你的信心是否足够有感染力，能激励他人拥有更大的信心？想一想，你的教会是否传讲并鼓励会众相信超自然的能力？

信心不是不消极，而是一种生活的态度。信心意味着相信神能够成就祂所应许的一切，无论环境看起来多么不可能。（希伯来书 11:1）

你有信心相信你的全家都会得救吗？
你有信心为病人祷告得医治吗？
你有信心在学校、校园和职场中建立小组吗？
你有信心植堂去接触新的社群吗？

营造正确的氛围需要提供参与的机会。这种参与需要人们以信心的行动来彰显属灵的恩赐。这种参与促使恩膏流动。你的教会是否提供人们参与和服事的机会？是否有平台让人们发挥他们的恩赐？如果没有服事的机会，就没有成长的机会。然而，机会带来成熟。在指导和肯定的过程中，恩赐被发展，并与教会的使命和异象保持一致，从而营造出成长的氛围。

服事的参与并不需要完美的人。当耶稣在马太福音10章差派十二门徒时，他们并未从神学院毕业，也不了解未来将要发生的一切。他们唯一的经验就是观察主耶稣的所行的一切。但耶稣仍然差遣他们“医治病人，叫死人复活，叫长大麻疯的洁净，把鬼赶出去。你们白白地得来，也要白白地舍去。”（马太福音 10:8）这是一场彻底的服事洗礼！

毫无疑问，人们需要被装备和授权，但我们不能等到他们完全成熟才让他们参与服事。否则，我们不仅会阻碍教会的成长和健康，还可能陷入依靠自己能力去做一切事的困境，而忽略了圣灵的工作。

营造正确的氛围需要培训和发展。就像果树的枝条需要修剪才能结出更多果实一样，我们也必须献上时间和精力以促进学习、参与和纠正。这是不可忽视的。

领袖发展能确保教会的使命代代相传。MM33 是我们神召会的集体目标，即在 2033 年前向神献上一百万间教会。这个目标的实现，离不开对宣教士、植堂者、下一代领袖和布道家等人的培训和发展。

让我们培养属灵成熟，投入服事的信徒，使他们发挥影响力，无论是在教育、政府、媒体，还是商业领域，都能以神国的价值观和原则去影响自己的生活圈子。

教导你的教会聆听神的声音，并跟随圣灵的引导。帮助他们建立与神深厚且真实的关系，使他们在生活的每个方面都能承载神的心意。塑造一群依靠圣灵的人。

营造正确的氛围需要圣灵。成长是神所命定的。教会的健康依赖于圣灵的运行。属灵恩赐的彰显是圣灵的工作，而非我们自己的作为。我们只是器皿。

在主祷文中，耶稣教导我们求神的旨意行在地上，如同行在天上。我们要站在破口中，凭信心祈求，邀请圣灵在我们当中释放天国的氛围。

我们需要顺服圣灵，让祂按照祂的方式运行在我们的事工中。有时，我们重视自己的计划和安排胜于圣灵。但如果我们希望教会拥有健康成长和扩展的氛围，就必须降服于圣灵的引导。混乱并不可怕。五旬节的圣灵降临看起来混乱，但我宁愿要神所带来的混乱，也不要人所能做到的最好。

健康的教会不只是少数人的特权。我相信，当我们营造一个充满信心、积极参与、不断培训和发展的氛围，并持续向圣灵降服，教会将被坚固，并被定位于成长和国度的扩展。