As a Pastor and someone who is passionate about the Church, I’m always thinking about what success means in ministry. We all love to see concrete results, things we can hold on to—i.e. growth in numbers, excess budgets, etc. Let me just confess, I get it. And to some degree, there’s obviously nothing inherently evil about using tangible results in ministry to measure success and fruitfulness. BUT, if these are the only measurements we use to determine the success of a ministry or church, I’m afraid we will fall short. So with this in mind, here are three things I’ve been thinking about with regards to success/fruitfulness in Church.

1. Exaltation-Is Christ being exalted above and beyond everything else? Is God receiving all the praise and glory due Him in every sphere of ministry at the church? Are people encountering life change through the presence of God? Or are people worshipping methods and tools over the Risen Christ? Is the Spirit of God evident and free to move and empower people for love and good works? Does this exaltation carry over to holiness and personal application? In short, are people being drawn to the glory of God or the glory of men? (Romans 11:33-12:2)

2. Equipping-Is the Church raising up leaders from within its midst? Are people growing in faith, hope and love? Is there a clear process for how disciples are made and matured? Do people understand this process? Are leaders in the church investing in other Believers? Is the Word of God the center for this process? In short, are the Saints being equipped for the work of ministry, for the building of the Body of Christ? (Eph. 4:12)

3. Evangelizing-Are people regularly coming to Christ through the church’s mission and ministry? Is the Gospel in both word and deed being spread to the lost and broken, both locally and globally? Is each believer telling the story of reconciliation? Is there urgency in the church for the lost? Are people actively praying for those who need Jesus? Does each Believer know how to share their faith in truth and love? (Matthew 28:18-20)

I would like to submit to you, that IF these three characteristics are prevalent in a church then that church is successful and fruitful in mission and ministry regardless of more concrete indicators. The reason being, that church is being faithful to the principles of a being/doing church set forth in the Scripture. My prayer for Grace Church is that we would be an exalting, equipping and evangelizing church into every sphere of ministry and mission. In fact, this is why our core values at Grace Church are: worship (exalting) community (equipping) and outreach (evangelizing/serving).

So, let’s get to it! Let’s build a gathering of people who love GOD, love OTHERS, and serve the CITY for the glory of God and the good of the City.