What Is a Healthy Church?

By Mark Dever

Key Traits of a Healthy Church to Develop within the Local Body
What is an ideal church, and how can you tell? How does it look different from other churches? More importantly, how does it act differently, especially in society? Many of us aren't sure how to answer those questions, even though we probably have some preconceived ideas. This book answers those questions and many more.
Author Mark Dever seeks to help believers recognize the key characteristics of a healthy church: expositional preaching, biblical theology, and a right understanding of the gospel. Dever then calls us to develop those characteristics in our own churches. By following the example of New Testament authors and addressing all members of the church, pastors and laity alike, Dever challenges all believers to do their part in maintaining the local church. Part of the 9Marks Building Healthy Churches series, What Is a Healthy Church? offers timeless truths and practical principles to help each of us fulfill our God-given roles in the body of Christ.

- Offers an Ideal Church Model: Encourages pastors and members to implement healthy church qualities within their local body
- Written by Mark Dever: Pastor, bestselling author, and president of 9Marks
- From 9Marks: Other titles in the Building Healthy Churches series include Church Discipline; Deacons; and Church Membership 
- Replaces ISBN 978-1-58134-937-5

• Language: English
• Publisher: Crossway Books
• Release date: Sep 26, 2024
• ISBN: 9781433596636

Mark Dever

Mark Dever (PhD, Cambridge University) is the senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC, and president of 9Marks (9Marks.org). Dever has authored over a dozen books and speaks at conferences nationwide. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife, Connie, and they have two adult children.

Book preview

Thank you for downloading this Crossway book.

Sign up for the Crossway Newsletter for updates on special offers, new resources, and exciting global ministry initiatives:

Crossway Newsletter

Or, if you prefer, we would love to connect with you online:

Crossway on FacebookCrossway on InstagramCrossway on Twitter

Christ’s institutional plan for the world is the church, and there is no plan B. Every pastor and every Christian should be concerned to know what a healthy church looks like and how to make their church as healthy as possible. This clearheaded and warmhearted book by Mark Dever will help you toward that end. The world desperately needs Jesus Christ and his gospel, which means the world desperately needs healthy churches. And if you aren’t sure how the two halves of that sentence connect, then you desperately need this book.

Kevin DeYoung, Senior Pastor, Christ Covenant Church, Matthews, North Carolina; Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte

In our self-centeredness, we are wont to fashion the church in our image. But Mark Dever challenges us to focus instead on what God intends for his church to be. Every church should aspire to be healthy, as defined by God’s word, and every Christian should seek the health of his or her local church. This book is an immensely helpful resource for equipping believers to build churches that display the character and glory of God.

Eugene Low, Lead Teaching Pastor, Grace Baptist Church, Singapore

Reading this book is like a cold drink of water on a hot day! I love everything about it—the concision, the practicality, the doctrine, and the focus on mission. I gladly and wholeheartedly recommend this for pastors and church members alike.

Clint Pressley, Pastor, Hickory Grove Baptist Church, Charlotte, North Carolina

I’m eternally grateful for this book and its author. Sitting under expositional preaching and becoming a member of a healthy church changed my life. Then I watched the principles in this book transform my church. It doesn’t matter what country or culture you live in—to be a healthy Christian, you need a healthy church. Read this eminently practical book and grow in love for your local church.

Keri Folmar, author; cohost, Priscilla Talk

"What Is a Healthy Church? reintroduces Christians to biblical convictions about what the church should be. From expositional preaching to corporate prayer, gospel doctrine to church membership, and much more, this little book provides a faithful guide on the essence and ministry of the church. Get copies for all your church members and align your vision for the church with God’s word."

Geoff Chang, Assistant Professor of Historical Theology and Curator of the Spurgeon Library, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; author, Spurgeon the Pastor

Great truths need to be communicated in simple ways. That is what you are holding in your hands, a simple book on a biblical understanding of the church. Many of our family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues have an inadequate understanding of the church, to the detriment of the faith. Read this book, keep a stack of copies handy, and distribute them generously. Much gospel good for individuals and local churches can come from the truths Mark Dever shares in this book. May the Lord use it to those ends, to the praise of his glory in his church.

Kenneth Mbugua, Senior Pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church, Nairobi, Kenya

"What Is a Healthy Church? is a short introduction to the biblical nature, characteristics, and purpose of the church in God’s design. It is a conversation starter and will help church leaders and members alike in thinking about their local churches and their roles in them. I am grateful for Mark Dever’s clarity and consistency in teaching these biblical truths."

Chopo Mwanza, Pastor, Faith Baptist Church Riverside, Kitwe, Zambia

What Is a Healthy Church?

9Marks: Building Healthy Churches

Edited by Mark Dever and Jonathan Leeman

Biblical Theology: How the Church Faithfully Teaches the Gospel, Nick Roark and Robert Cline

Church Discipline: How the Church Protects the Name of Jesus, Jonathan Leeman

Church Elders: How to Shepherd God’s People Like Jesus, Jeramie Rinne

Church Membership: How the World Knows Who Represents Jesus, Jonathan Leeman

Conversion: How God Creates a People, Michael Lawrence

Corporate Worship: How the Church Gathers as God’s People, Matt Merker

Deacons: How They Serve and Strengthen the Church, Matt Smethurst

Discipling: How to Help Others Follow Jesus, Mark Dever

Evangelism: How the Whole Church Speaks of Jesus, J. Mack Stiles

Expositional Preaching: How We Speak God’s Word Today, David R. Helm

The Gospel: How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ, Ray Ortlund

Missions: How the Local Church Goes Global, Andy Johnson

Prayer: How Praying Together Shapes the Church, John Onwuchekwa

Sound Doctrine: How a Church Grows in the Love and Holiness of God, Bobby Jamieson

What Is a Healthy Church?, Mark Dever

What Is a Healthy Church Member?, Thabiti Anyabwile

Building Healthy Churches

What Is a Healthy Church?

Mark Dever

What Is a Healthy Church?

© 2005, 2007, 2024 by Mark E. Dever and 9Marks

Published by Crossway

1300 Crescent Street

Wheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. Crossway® is a registered trademark in the United States of America.

Cover Illustration and Design: Jordan Singer

First printing of revised edition, 2024

Printed in the United States of America

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.

All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the author.

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4335-8832-7

ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-9663-6

PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-9662-9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Dever, Mark, author.

Title: What is a healthy church? / Mark Dever.

Description: Revised edition. | Wheaton, Illinois : Crossway, 2024. | Series: 9:Marks : building healthy churches series | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2024005055 (print) | LCCN 2024005056 (ebook) | ISBN 9781433588327 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781433596629 (pdf) | ISBN 9781433596636 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Church—Marks. | Church—Biblical teaching. | Choice of church.

Classification: LCC BV601 .D49 2024 (print) | LCC BV601 (ebook) | DDC 250—dc23/eng/20240331

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024005055

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024005056

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

2025-05-06 09:50:35 AM

In thanks to God

for faithful pastors I have known:

Harold Purdy

Wally Thomas

Ed Henegar

Contents

Series Preface

Preface: A Parable

Introduction: What Are You Looking for in a Church?

Part 1: What Is a Healthy Church?

1 Your Christianity and Your Church

2 What a Church Is . . . and Isn’t

3 What Every Church Should Aspire to Be: Healthy

4 The Ultimate How-To Guide: How to Display God’s Character

Quick Tips: If You’re Thinking about Leaving a Church . . .

Part 2: Essential Marks of a Healthy Church

5 Expositional Preaching

6 Gospel Doctrine

Quick Tips: How to Find a Good Church

Part 3: Important Marks of a Healthy Church

7 A Biblical Understanding of Conversion and Evangelism

8 A Biblical Understanding of Membership

9 Biblical Church Discipline

10 Biblical Discipleship and Growth

11 Biblical Church Leadership

12 A Biblical Understanding and Practice of Prayer

13 A Biblical Understanding and Practice of Missions

Conclusion: Where the Rubber Meets the Road

Appendix: A Typical Covenant of a Healthy Church

Special Thanks

General Index

Scripture Index

Series Preface

Do you believe it’s your responsibility to help build a healthy church? If you are a Christian, we believe that it is.

Jesus commands you to make disciples (Matt. 28:18–20). Jude says to build yourselves up in the faith (Jude 20–21). Peter calls you to use your gifts to serve others (1 Pet. 4:10). Paul tells you to speak the truth in love so that your church will become mature (Eph. 4:13, 15). Do you see where we are getting this?

Whether you are a church member or leader, the Building Healthy Churches series of books aims to help you fulfill such biblical commands and so play your part in building a healthy church. Another way to say it might be, we hope these books will help you grow in loving your church like Jesus loves your church.

9Marks has produced short, readable books on each of what Mark has called nine marks of a healthy church, plus a few more. Watch for books on expositional preaching, biblical theology, sound doctrine, the gospel, conversion, evangelism, church membership, church discipline, discipleship and growth, church