Why Is a Thriving Church So Important? 10 Christian Leaders Explain

The church has been a central part of the Christian faith since New Testament times. We are even said to be living in the “Church Age.” Today, there is such a wide spectrum of church types, denominations, and ways of conducting a worship service and leading a congregation. The health of the global Church is more important now than ever, and while innovative approaches to church outreach may be helpful, it’s of utmost importance to have God’s Word, prayer, and clear preaching of the Gospel as central to a church’s mission. These 10 Christian leaders, from past and present, offer insight into marks of a healthy church and warning signs that a church is going down the wrong path. Is your church being faithful to the Great Commission and offering Gospel-centered worship each week?

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1. Charles Spurgeon

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“Alas! Much has been done of late to promote the production of dwarfish Christians. Poor, sickly believers turn the church into a hospital, rather than an army. Oh, to have a church built up with the deep godliness of people who know the Lord in their very hearts, and will seek to follow the Lamb wherever he goes!”

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2. Alistair Begg

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“A good church is a Bible-centered church. Nothing is as important as this — not a large congregation, a witty pastor, or tangible experiences of the Holy Spirit.”

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3. Dwight L. Moody

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“We have in our churches a great deal of prayer, but I think it would be a good thing if we had a praise meeting occasionally. If we could only get people to praise God for what He has done, it would be a good deal better than asking Him continually for something.”

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4. A. W. Tozer

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“The church that is not jealously protected by mighty intercession and sacrificial labors will before long become the abode of every evil bird and the hiding place for unsuspected corruption. The creeping wilderness will soon take over that church that trusts in its own strength and forgets to watch and pray.”

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5. John Calvin

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“Wherever we find the Word of God surely preached and heard, and the sacraments administered according to the institution of Christ, there, it is not to be doubted, is a church of God.”

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6. Francis Schaeffer

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“Each generation of the church in each setting has the responsibility of communicating the gospel in understandable terms, considering the language and thought-forms of that setting.”

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7. John Hagee

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“The church today is riddled with fad doctrines and new sounds that distract from the clear message of the Great Commission in the New Testament. Any message that attracts you which does not bring glory to Christ is the message of a seducing spirit and the man giving it is in deception.”

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8. Jonathan Edwards

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“We cannot believe that the church of God is already possessed of all that light which God intends to give it; nor that all Satan’s lurking places have already been found out.”

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9. Albert Mohler

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“I want to assist churches and to assist pastors in training pastors. But, after fourteen years of service in this capacity, I am absolutely certain that the finest theological seminary on earth is absolutely incompetent at replicating the actual life of a Gospel congregation. I want to train a generation of pastors who will train pastors, and I want to help them in that task.”

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10. Duncan Campbell

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“The Kingdom of God is not going to be advanced by our churches becoming filled with men, but by men in our churches becoming filled with God.”

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Publication date: August 10, 2017