If your church mission is to build a thriving church, you need more than good intentions; you need a strategy. Key church engagement principles differentiate between a struggling church and one growing in faith, numbers and impact. Think of the early church in Acts 2:42-47. They didn't just gather; they developed discipleship programs, prioritized community outreach and fostered deep church fellowship and because of those efforts, they thrived. In this guide, you'll discover unmistakable signs of a thriving church and how to apply them to grow stronger, healthier and more impactful.
Table of Contents
- What are the key indicators of a healthy, growing church?
- How can pastors and church leaders foster a thriving congregation?
- What role does the Great Commission play in a thriving church?
- What are the signs of a healthy church leadership structure?
- What role does unity play in a thriving church and how can it be cultivated?
- Final Thoughts + How to Access 400+ Church Growth Resources
What are the Key Indicators of a Healthy, Growing Church
Do you have a growing, healthy congregation? To answer that question, you first need to establish the key indicators of a growing church. Here are some to consider.
- Biblical example of a thriving church: Church leaders should compare their church to Biblical examples. For example, Ephesians 4:11-16 explains how the church helps promote "unity in the faith in the knowledge of the Son of God." Act 2:42 emphasizes "a commitment to prayer," while Matthew 28:19-20 mentions "A passion for spreading the gospel."
- Prayer, teaching, fellowship and evangelism: Prayer demonstrates a deep connection to God and a commitment to faith. Educational programs mentor children, ensuring the church's legacy. Fellowship is the church's sense of community, which builds a strong foundation for the church. Evangelism spreads the word of God to attract new members.
- A healthy church is not about size: Many churches look at size as an indication of a healthy church. However, churches should go beyond the number of members in their congregation. They need to consider how many members are active and involved in church activities.
- Innovation: A Lifeway Research article reveals congregations with innovative worship services are 10 percent more likely to grow than others. Consider how you can make your worship more creative in its delivery and subject matter.
Download our Comprehensive Guide to Grow Your Church to learn more about optimizing your organization.
This video provides other tips on how to grow your church.
Balancing Spiritual Depth and Numerical Increase
As mentioned, churches should go beyond a numerical increase in members to determine how they achieve spiritual maturity and community impact. If they don't focus on growth and involvement, membership will decline and the church will be unable to operate. Here are some churches with balanced spiritual depth and numerical increase.
Lakewood Church: The Lakewood Church of Houston, Tex., has an average weekly attendance of 43,500 and an annual budget of $70 million. Pastor and televangelist Joel Osteen reaches about 7 million viewers by broadcasting sermons. He has also written several inspirational books.
West Angeles Church of God in Christ: This Los Angeles, Calif. church is the spiritual home of Stevie Wonder, Denzel Washington and Angela Basset. The total attendance is 20,000, operating on a budget of $15 million. Pastor Charles Blake took over the Pentecostal church in 1969, when it had just over 50 members. It has since grown to over 80 ministries.
The Potter's House: This Dallas, Tex., church has a weekly church attendance of 17,000. Although church leaders declined to release the operating budget, they have grown the church from 50 families in 1996. Part of their following is due to the Prison Satellite Network Broadcasting, which feeds sermons to over 260 corrections centers across the county.
Measuring Engagement and Lasting Impact
Various metrics can help you determine how engaged your members genuinely are. They include:
- Group participation: How many members are showing up for services and participating in church projects?
- Volunteerism: Is your church attracting volunteers who remain engaged and dedicated to your cause?
- Baptisms: Baptisms are a vibrant part of church life as they inspire others to deepen their faith. People who are baptized in your church are also likely to become dedicated members. If your church sees regular baptisms, that's a good sign.
- Transformed lives: How many people have spoken your leaders about how their spiritual guidance transformed their lives? This response is a sign of a healthy church. You may ask them to make a testimonial for your website to inspire others to join.
- Missionary efforts: Missionary efforts include providing religious education, healthcare, social services, baptisms, humanitarian aid and building projects. Churches that demonstrate this type of growth are headed in the right direction.
Churches can use several tools to measure growth. They may integrate:
- Attendance trackers: Attendance trackers like digital sign-in sheets can help churches count new members and identify joining trends.
- Surveys: Send out surveys to ask members about their church engagement and participation in church activities.
- Church membership software: Software tracks members, groups, pledges and payments to monitor growth.
How Can Pastors and Church Leaders Foster a Thriving Congregation?
A thriving congregation doesn't happen without effort. Church leaders need to do their part to support growth. Here are some ways they can help.
Developing Strong Discipleship Programs to Ensure Spiritual and Numerical Growth
A discipleship program helps people increase their spirituality and become more like Jesus. It’s at the heart of every church. When people become more committed to their faith, they are more committed to their church, leading to increased attendance and engagement.
Discipleship comes in many forms, including the following:
- One-on-one mentoring: Church leaders may mentor members in a one-on-one setting. They may provide advice that helps guide spiritual decisions. A personal approach builds strong bonds within the church.
- Small groups: In a church with a lot of members, church leaders may not have time for one-on-one meetings. However, they should keep groups small to maintain a personal touch and inspire a sense of community. A Lifeway Research article reveals that 70 percent of small churches outpace larger ones, as churches with members of 100 or fewer give more money per capita and are more likely to volunteer. The sense of intimacy could encourage this spirit of giving.
- Leadership training: Some church members may want training focused on helping them advance as church leaders. It’s another way to ensure your church's legacy and develop a strong community.
Small groups and one-on-one interactions can promote discipleship in the church.
However, church leaders should integrate discipleship into all aspects of church life. They should include it in their sermons, encouraging members to follow God's example and making it a culture throughout their organization.
Check out this Discipleship Training Guide to learn how to lead your congregation to heightened spirituality.
You can also watch this video to learn more about creating a disciple-making church.
Encouraging Unity Within the Church Body to Create a Spiritually Strong and Connected Congregation
Unity is another sign of a strong congregation. When members are united, they’re more likely to be loyal to their church and its members. Unity also sends a strong message, which becomes part of the church culture.
The Bible mentions unity several times. For example:
- John 17:21: "That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so the world may believe you have sent me."
- Ephesians 4:3: "Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace."
Church leaders should include these passages in their sermons to express the importance of unity in a church setting.
Unfortunately, some issues may divide your church members. These typically occur when changes occur in a church. Members may have different ideas of how things should be handled.
Church leaders can handle these conflicts by:
- Practicing active listening: Listen to each party's sides and opinions to ensure they feel heard. You may need to have them present their arguments in separate conversations to avoid a shouting match.
- Find a solution that pleases all parties: If possible, find a solution that factors in each party's opinion so both will feel appeased.
- Bring in an unbiased third party: A church leader may be most qualified to deal with conflicts, but an unbiased third party will provide an impartial decision that ensures no favoritism is involved.
- Reunite the parties: The end goal should involve working towards reunification. Suggest bonding activities both parties will enjoy to rekindle the friendship.
Our Complete Guide to Church Change Management provides more guidance on helping your congregation overcome change, ensuring a unified community.
Equipping Believers for Ministry and Evangelism as a Pathway to Individual and Church-Wide Growth
Your church will thrive if believers join the organization's ministry and evangelism efforts. Research reveals the benefits of evangelism as 42 percent of Evangelical churches show growth compared to 34 percent of their counterparts.
Ephesians 4:12 states in the New Living Translation, "Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ." The question is, how do you help members share their faith effectively?
Training is crucial for churches who want members to get involved in ministry and evangelism. Many of them have the desire, but they’re unsure of the execution. That's where training comes in.
In terms of evangelism, members need to know:
- The best ways to approach people
- How to address pain points
- How to demonstrate the benefits of faith
- How to deal with objections
Evangelist members going door to door should also be provided with marketing material they can leave for people who may not be home or need time to digest the information.
Ministry activities vary and members should be trained according to their needs. For example, an event such as gathering supplies for people experiencing homelessness may require packing supplies and ensuring they arrive at a specific shelter, while working at a soup kitchen may involve preparing and distributing food.
Vanco offers several resources that can be useful in the training process, including our Top 20 Church Marketing Strategies for 2025 and our Church Social Media Strategy Guide. Find out how they can help your church improve its ministry and evangelism efforts.
This video provides more tips on how to cultivate evangelism in the church.
Implementing Effective Bible Study and Prayer Programs to Nurture Deep Faith While Supporting Outreach
A church has to do more than offer Sunday services. It needs to provide ongoing Bible study and prayer programs to keep members engaged. This approach ensures the church is there when people need it. It also offers customized services delivered in smaller groups, making members feel closer to the church community.
Here are some best practices for a successful Bible group study:
- Keep group size small: Aim for a small group size of 8-12 people, ensuring everyone can participate.
- Choose meaningful passages: Choose passages that relate to current events that may be specific to your group or the world at large. Allow members to choose passages for increased engagement.
- Use a structured study method: The "observe, interpret, apply" method is often used in Bible studies.
- Ask open-ended questions: Open-ended questions are thought-provoking and promote engagement.
- Practice active listening: Active listening goes beyond hearing what a person says. It requires asking questions and paraphrasing, making members feel heard.
- Use personal sharing: Share personal experiences and allow others to do the same to establish how the Bible relates to real life and to make classes more therapeutic.
- Include prayer and reflection: Allow some time for members to pray and reflect on the study topic to impact the community positively.
Fostering a Culture of Mentorship and Accountability to Sustain Long-Term Engagement and Leadership Development
Mentorship is a practice as old as the Bible. Paul mentored Timothy, calling him his "son in the faith." He chose Timothy based on what others said about him and invested in his spiritual growth and ministry preparation.
Elijah and Elisha are another example of a Biblical mentorship relationship. Elijah prepared Elisha for a significant calling. When he called Elisha for mentorship, he gave up everything he had to pursue the opportunity. He then followed his mentor’s example with his heroic exploits.
Mentorship plays a significant role in the Bible and should also be a key in church activities. Roughly 85 percent of surveyed individuals with two to four adult mentors say mentorship gives them meaning and purpose. You need to create a mentorship structure that ensures a supportive relationship to achieve this goal. Doing so is contingent on the following steps:
- Look for mentors: Mentors are often church leaders, but their position should not be their only qualification. They should have a strong faith, a desire to invest in others and relevant life experience.
- Train mentors: Training may be necessary to ensure mentors are familiar with Biblical passages and have the right communication skills. Mentors should also understand the importance of confidentiality.
- Establish a matching process: Ensure mentors are well-matched with their mentees, considering goals, experience, demographics and shared interests.
- Structure your mentorship program: Consider how you will structure the initial and ongoing meetings. How will you meet and how often? Allow for flexibility to ensure the structure is suited to everyone's schedules.
- Feedback: Gather feedback from mentors and mentees to ensure continuous improvements.
Mentor and mentee relationships do more than teach valuable life lessons. They promote accountability, which strengthens spiritual growth. Mentors and mentees hold each other accountable, ensuring they follow the Bible and don't stray from their faith. They support each other's spiritual development, keeping them faithful to the church.
Balancing Structured Programs with Relational Ministry to Avoid a Transactional Church Culture and Encourage Genuine Growth
Structured programs can encourage growth within the church, but many can feel transactional. For example, when a company tries to attract customers, it produces various products and services, ensuring they have something for anyone. Churches need to avoid this approach to maintain a more human connection.
Here are some helpful church growth strategies.
- Staying after services end: Churches should encourage members not to rush out after services, but to stay and engage with the community.
- Pray for one another: Leaders should pray for community members in need during church and encourage others to pray for them throughout the week, keeping them in their thoughts.
- At-home events: Church leaders may consider hosting dinners and get-togethers at their homes to promote a sense of community.
- Balancing study groups and fellowship gatherings: Church events shouldn’t only focus on Bible study. Church fellowship gatherings should also be integrated to maintain a social connection.
- Regular feasts: Host meal events that celebrate the joys of the community.
- Cultivate friendships: Churches should encourage members to become invested in each other's lives and cultivate meaningful relationships. They should see the church as a family.
Learn more about how to revitalize your congregation with our 400+ Free Resources to Unleash Your Church's Potential.
What Role Does the Great Commission Play in a Thriving Church
The Great Commission passed down from Jesus to his disciples and it should play a vital role in your church's culture. It should be promoted through community outreach, evangelism and discipleship. Here are some tips on how to integrate it into your church.
Prioritizing Outreach and Evangelism
Jesus sends a powerful message of evangelism in Matthew 28:19-20 when he tells his followers, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Let this message guide your church in the right direction.
You can also encourage outreach to strengthen the church and community. Outreach programs allow members to work together to reach a common goal. It helps develop meaningful relationships and establishes the church as an agent of change for the better.
Is your church struggling to come up with outreach ideas? Read our article on The Most Effective Church Outreach Ideas in 2025 for inspiration.
A mission-oriented culture in your church can promote outreach and evangelism. You can encourage this culture with the following steps:
- Establish clear goals and ensure your church activities, events, meetings and budget prioritize these goals
- Actively seek to partner with missionaries and organizations that align with your church goals
- Integrate every generation in your church, ensuring children, seniors and everyone in between remain active
- Preach the Great Commission and other Bible passages that focus on missions
- Train members in personal evangelism and discipleship
- Develop a short-term mission program to allow members to experience the needs, struggles and joys of a cross-cultural ministry
- Keep your church mission visible to your congregation with ongoing updates and opportunities to get involved
Training Disciples to Make Disciples
Jesus commanded his followers to make disciples based on love, service and friendship. A church needs to carry out this spirit by baptizing, teaching and establishing believers in the following capacities:
- Preaching: Share the gospel and teach biblical principles
- Baptizing: Baptisms identify people as Jesus's followers and connect them to the church community
- Teaching: Churches should teach believers to obey Jesus and become disciples
- Counseling: Counseling helps instill faith
- Establishing: The church should guide members to establish themselves in the faith
- Equipping: Leaders need to learn how to equip others and prepare them for discipleship
Churches should also train and mentor new believers to make them disciples by integrating the following process:
- Establish a personal connection: Church leaders can establish a personal connection by learning about the member's background and spiritual goals. They should take an active interest in their lives and understand their doubts.
- Introduce Bible study: The next step involves introducing Bible study through simple narratives and key teachings. Members should also be encouraged to study independently using Bible dictionaries and concordances. They should learn how to apply Biblical principles to everyday life.
- Encourage prayer and fellowship: Leaders should guide members through personal prayer and prayer for others. Invite them to small Bible studies and community events so they can connect with other members.
- Address personal struggles: Pay attention to the member's struggles and provide guidance based on Biblical principles. Help them overcome obstacles and achieve growth.
Empower them to share their faith: Discuss simple ways to share their faith with others. They may be open to recording a testimonial for your church website or inviting others to church events.
Several churches have been successful in the disciple-multiplication efforts. For example, China's T4T (Training for Trainers) movement planted over a million churches in 20 years. Their method involves training believers in small groups who can then train others to share their faith and make disciples.
Another example is the Disciple Making Movement in Africa. The DMM approach trains and equips local believers to reach their communities with the gospel. The goal is to see new churches planted.
Measuring Success Through Kingdom Impact
Churches have to do more than implement programs that promote growth. They should use metrics to determine if their efforts are successful. These measurements will help them decide what's working and what's not.
Attendance numbers will give you some idea of your church's growth. However, there are other metrics to consider, such as:
Conversion stories: The number of people who have accepted your faith or been helped to achieve spiritual transformation.
Personal testimonies: The people who claim the church has positively impacted their lives.
- Spiritual growth: How well people understand the scripture and commit to religious practices.
- Discipleship development: How members are performing in your mentorship and discipleship programs.
- Outreach activities: The number of people that participate and that you have reached through outreach events.
- Social impact: How your church contributed to poverty reduction, literacy rate improvements and community healthcare access.
- Volunteer engagement: The number of volunteers that sign up and remain faithful to your church.
- Leadership training: The Impact of spiritual leadership development on your community.
- Church planting efforts: The number and success of new congregations established by your organization.
What are the Signs of a Healthy Church Leadership Structure?
A thriving church requires a healthy church leadership structure. These sections will explain how to develop an effective servant leadership model.
Developing a Servant Leadership Model
Jesus sets a servant leadership model in Mark 10:45, saying, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." The question is, how can modern leaders bring this spirit into their church?
Here are some examples:
- Accessibility: Church leaders should make themselves accessible to church members, ensuring they always have someone to talk to when needed.
- Active listening: Leaders should practice listening by asking questions and paraphrasing to enhance understanding and ensure members feel heard.
- Empathetic leadership: Empathetic leadership shows compassion and understanding towards members' struggles and challenges.
- Open communication: Foster a transparent environment where members feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and feelings.
- Leadership development: Leaders should mentor members, providing growth opportunities.
- Pastoral care: Pastors should offer support, counseling and guidance when needed.
- Meaningful worship planning: The pastor should develop relevant and engaging sermons.
- Community engagement: Churches need to develop ways to engage with members outside everyday services.
- Personal growth: Leaders should develop leadership skills to serve their congregation better.
- Leaders should also be careful to develop a servant church leadership style rather than an authoritarian one. They need to retain their position as servants to their community and God rather than giving orders to run the church. The system should be based on input throughout the community, not simply the leader's vision.
Churches dominated by an authoritarian leadership style tend to discourage members and eventually fail rather than thrive.
Implementing Biblical Church Governance
Although an authoritarian approach is never preferred, there needs to be some sort of church governance system to ensure forward movement. A typical leadership structure consists of:
Elders: These leaders oversee the spiritual needs of the congregation. They lead the church alongside the deacon, handle administrative functions and shepherd the church.
Deacons: Deacons help with the church's day-to-day operations. They care for members and work closely with the elders.
Pastors: Pastors are the head of the church and are responsible for teaching the word of God. They are seen as the backbone of the church. They may gain support from pastoral teams that offer guidance to the community in various applications.
Preventing Burnout and Promoting Accountability
Leaders are prone to burnout in any organization and may not always make the best decisions despite the best intentions. The following steps will prevent these situations from interfering with church operations.
You can prevent burnout in church leaders by:
Changing up responsibilities: One of a pastor's predominant roles is delivering sermons. However, they may get burned out when creating sermons every week. Consider having a deacon or another ordained clergy member fill in for them occasionally.
Providing breaks: Like anyone, pastors may benefit from breaks, vacations and mental wellness days.
Building a supportive community: Pastors need to be supported by a community that recognizes the signs of burnout and helps them promote a healthy lifestyle.
Church leaders are also not invulnerable to sin. In the event of a misstep, accountability is paramount. It helps maintain trust in a church community.
Leaders can be encouraged to remain accountable through the following practices:
- Establish clear performance standards
- Provide regular reviews and feedback
- Encourage leaders to be open about their challenges
- Offer leadership training with an accountability focus
- Ensure church board oversight
- Use the Bible's principles as a guide for church leader behavior
- Integrate disciplinary procedures for misconduct
A strong church leadership structure is integral and one way leadership can better connect with the faith community they lead is through church events that bring the community together outside of Sunday services. Vanco's Event Platform makes it easy to host events with online registration, customized event pages, data analytics, secure payments and attendee management.
What Role Does Unity Play in a Thriving Church and How Can It Be Cultivated?
Unity is imperative in a thriving church. Community members who feel united with church leaders and one another will support the church long-term. They will help in times of need, ensuring a healthy church environment. Unity doesn’t mean everyone agrees on every issue, but it does mean they support and work with one another through those disagreements and strive to resolve conflicts in a biblical manner.
Here are some ways to cultivate unity in your church.
Fostering a Shared Vision and Purpose
Churches can help the community become united by sharing their mission and vision. These attributes should be clearly stated on the church website, in the church itself and church marketing materials.
Unfortunately, not all churches communicate their vision as clearly as they should. A Barna article reports that 49 percent of Gen Z, 53 percent of millennials, 72 percent of Gen X and 60 percent of Boomers say their church does poorly on vision communication. The church vision can be emphasized through the following activities:
Communicate values regularly through sermons, announcements and group discussions
Ensure your vision comes through in your events and activities
Lead by example by having church should incorporate the church vision in their actions, encouraging others to follow suit
Celebrate positive examples: Recognize members who have integrated church values into their lives and activities
Review values: Review the church's systems and activities and ensure they align with its values. Adjust as needed.
Addressing Conflict in a Biblical Manner
Conflicts arise in every community; if not addressed, they could split the community apart. However, the proper conflict resolution tactics can keep the church united. Leaders should take a biblical approach by following the example of Matthew 18:15-17:
"If your brother or sister sins, point out their fault, just between you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they do not listen, take one or two others along so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector."
Here's how you can apply this philosophy in a practical sense:
Active listening: Listen to each member's side of the story. Use active listening, paraphrasing and asking questions to ensure they feel heard. Separate groups if necessary to avoid a shouting match.
Find a compromise: If possible, find a solution that pleases both parties.
Bring in an unbiased third party: This solution may ensure no one feels favoritism.
Suggest bonding activities: The parties may have hard feelings, even after achieving the resolution. They may need to be kept apart for some time. However, you should eventually encourage them to get together by suggesting bonding activities they’ll both enjoy.
Check out our Conflict Resolution Guide for more suggestions.
Final Thoughts & How to Access 400+ Church Growth Resources
A thriving church will withstand the test of time. You can ensure a growing community by prioritizing spiritual health and outreach. Encourage unity, develop a strong leadership structure and let the Bible guide you in building a strong community.
Pastors can take actionable steps toward implementing these church growth strategies by using Vanco's free resources. We offer tools, guides and platforms to optimize your events and activities and build strong community relations. Vanco also provides guidance with our 192 Free Church Speeches to Elevate Every Service.
We hope these tools are what you need to help your community thrive.
