Journal

Lesslie Newbigin on evaluating a congregation's success

Posted on May 25th, 2005, in the evening

There are so many voices offering advice about what church should be, so many standards people encourage you to measure yourself against. They're probably all helpful in one way or another and in one context or another, but they often feel a forced fit for what I and churches I have been part of are up to in the world.

I'm reading Lesslie Newbigin's book The Good Shepherd at the moment: a series of "Meditations on Christian Ministry in Today's World". Maybe for others this book might feel just as much a forced fit for what they're up to (it's out of print, so you're not in much danger even if so), but Newbigin is really helping me get perspective on the exciting things that seem to be opening up here at Kings, and on my part in that as a church worker.

Here's a paragraph I'm finding really helpful on the important evaluative questions to ask of a church:

The question that has to be asked about the Church and about every congregation is not: How big is it? How fast is it growing? How rich is it? It is: What difference is it making to that bit of the world in which it is placed? Is it actually functioning as a first-fruit, sign and instrument of God's new creation for that bit of the world?

Lesslie Newbigin, The Good Shepherd