Church Wellness: An introduction

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I am delighted to be joining you for a weekly look at “Church Wellness.”

In this column, we will consider the best practices for doing the basics of nurturing healthy churches. I have no axes to grind, no denominational or doctrinal “shoulds” to pursue. My only aim is to help your congregations be as healthy as they can be. That means fo­cusing on the key factors affecting church health:

·         Membership development

·         Leadership development

·         Communications strategy

·         Spiritual development

·         Young Adults ministry

·         Listening church

·         Metrics

I bring to this a varied career — staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal, pastor of five different churches, busi­ness consultant, publisher, writer and newspaper columnist, and founder of the Church Wellness Project.

Even more, I bring a passion for healthy churches. I believe our people, and our nation, need healthy congrega­tions where people can deepen their faith, address the issues of their lives, and join with others to make a differ­ence in the world.

Each week, I will offer fresh insights on some of the basics. The Why and the How. Why make a special effort of serving young adults, for example, and specific ways to do so. Why train lead­ers, and what training do they need.

What do I mean by Wellness? Noth­ing as simple as 98.6 degrees on a ther­mometer, of course. But we can discern some signs of wellness in a faith com­munity. They include:

·         Growth in membership

·         Vibrant mission work that makes a discernible difference in the larger community

·         Members’ lives being transformed

·         Congregation capable of taking risks, failing without recrimination, and learning from failure

·         Transparency and confidence in dealing with conflict

·         Open communications

·         Members bringing their yearnings and questions to church

·         Willing to be guided by outcomes

Wellness is dynamic, not a steady state a congregation reaches and then main­tains.

Wellness lies in how a faith commu­nity responds to change, stress, oppor­tunity, people’s needs.

 

Church Wellness Project

As we proceed, I will be offering you pieces of the Church Wellness Project. This is a “best practices” guide to nur­turing healthy congregations. Deliv­ered via our Web site, www.churchwellness.com , it offers in­depth materials on the basics, as well as articles and col­laboration tools such as on­line coach­ing, Q & A, and discussion. Across the country, individuals and congregations are joining the Church Wellness Pro­ject. I invite you to join, too.

Why this? Why now? I think many congregations are ready to “get on with it.” They are weary of arguing over right opinion. They look at a challeng­ing world and want to respond. Some are motivated by unresolved problems, such as rising average age or declining attendance or a sense of malaise in mis­sion. Some see unmet opportunities and constituencies, such as young adults, whom they are eager to reach. Many are on the cusp of new life and want to move forward.

From many starting points, people are trying Church Wellness. They want their churches to succeed.

I welcome dialog with you. Each week’s column will have links to www.churchwellness.com and to my e­mail address, tom@churchwellness.com . My other writings are available at www.onajourney.org , and my weekly column on faith and ethics is syndicat­ed to 100+ newspapers by Religion News Service. They often appear in the OUT­LOOK.

Enough about me. Let’s talk about your churches and how they can nur­ture wellness.

Tom Ehrich
Durham, N.C.