This is often the time of year that many churches have their Annual Parish Meetings, approve budgets, hold Vestry Retreats, and generally think about and cast vision for the church moving forward. As this is a good time of year to be reflecting on these matters, may I suggest that, as you do, part of your vision and goal setting include focusing on how to get and/or keep your church healthy?

The church is the living body of Christ, and living things (if healthy) naturally grow as God designed them to. How can you focus on being healthy this year? By focusing on simply doing the things Jesus instructed the church to do. And, what did he tell the church to do? Although you can find the answers to that question throughout the Bible, like in the description of the first local church in Acts 2:42-47, Jesus was kind enough to summarize it for us in two key scriptures: The Great Commandment and The Great Commission.