A healthy church produces healthy individuals and healthy families. Most Christians would agree with that statement if we measure individual and family “health” in spiritual, social, or emotional terms. However, if the prevailing definition of church “health” were replaced with Scripture’s, our contention would be true for physical and mental health as well.
Contemporary church consultants and conferences associate size and growth rates with health, celebrating America’s largest and fastest growing congregations and those who lead them. Multiple billion dollar industries promote software, publications, financing, and strategies to stimulate church growth. Meanwhile, meager markets exist for products and services to help churches perform essential functions like discipleship, evangelism, and compassion. Yet those determine a church’s health – it’s depth and reach, not “butts and bucks” (the most common church metrics). ”Consumers” of church atrophy while churchgoers positioned as Kingdom employees (commissioned to pursue the real “customer”) flourish. The condition of a community is also determined by whether its churches seek to attract and retain members or equip and deploy disciples.
Jesus’ mission statement made clear who He viewed as the target audience for His followers – the ailing, poor, and oppressed. His choice of miracles – healing the sick and feeding the hungry – shows how deeply Jesus cares about health, knowing its power to impede or activate faith. Spiritual health impacts our physical and mental state – and the converse can often be true. Following Jesus’ lead, His Church founded the world’s first public hospital in the 4th century, cared for their Roman captors during the plague, and started most hospitals in America as well. They understood through Jesus we are now the temples of the Holy Spirit, so they invested more in human bodies than church buildings.
Yet our churches have almost entirely abdicated physical and mental health responsibilities to others. Stepping away from the health care field (with the exception of televangelists exchanging “healings” for donations) has contributed substantially to the church’s decline in growth, impact, influence, and perception. While there are certainly limitations on the role churches can play in physical and mental health, outsourcing has unnecessarily missed the best opportunities God gives churches to open the ears and hearts of their (intended) “customer” to the Gospel…
Alleviation
Pain – Nearly 18% of U.S. adults are on antidepressants and 10% of women over 45 take anti-anxiety medications. Jesus is the Great Physician and ultimate Healer of sadness and stress, not Big Pharma. Opioids mask mental and physical pain, but Christians can provide healthier relief by surrounding those suffering in silence with loving support. Meet The Need works with chaplains who serve as first responders in crisis and ministries that perform wellness checks on sailors coming through a major port. Meeting material needs alone puts a band-aid on gaping wounds that can only be treated by compassion in close proximity. Complete healing deals not just with mind and body, but soul. Churches best understand that holistic picture of health.
Poverty – Healthcare networks are discovering that patients often have fewer emergency room visits and hospitalizations when they are connected to a caring (church) community. Our partners at The Open Table address the Social Drivers of Health (SDOH) – like housing, food insecurity, isolation, transportation, and literacy – that can limit access to (or create the need for more) health care services. Open Table leverages the relational and social capital of churchgoers and other volunteers to assist low-income individuals and families facing complex health challenges (e.g. chronic illnesses, rare diseases, and mental health issues). Open Table‘s evidence-driven models are demonstrating a new healthcare equation – caring communities equal better health outcomes and lower healthcare costs.
Abstinence
Sex – Churches should be a source of biblical values like the sanctity of marriage and human life. A healthy church (i.e. more interested in disciple-building than institution-building, and therefore not hesitant to share countercultural truths) will have healthier members and communities. Fewer Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) transmissions and abortions will preserve the mental and physical health of adults and (born or preborn) children. Our partner Care Net equips churches through its 1,200 pregnancy centers to offer Christ-centered help and hope to those considering abortion. The root issue driving most decisions to end the life of a child made in God’s image is concern about how to care for the baby. So Meet The Need helps Care Net mobilize churches to ensure the mother isn’t alone and has the support she needs.
Sin – Healthy churches speak openly about the mental, physical and spiritual toll of living life apart from Christ. The word “sin” has largely left America’s vernacular, even within congregations concerned about conflicts with socially acceptable norms of our Postmodern culture. The fundamental assumption underlying Progressivism is that human nature is inherently good – so there’s no need for restrictions on an individual’s right to choose or pursue whatever makes them happy. Scripture’s promotion of a worldview based on the depravity of mankind (with guardrails guiding human behavior) doesn’t make God a cosmic killjoy but saves us from the natural consequences of sin that destroy our bodies, minds, and souls.
Addiction
Alcohol – One of those sins is substance abuse. Roughly 10% of Americans over the age of 12 are addicted to alcohol; however, only 8% of those seek treatment. Therefore, a healthy church gets involved in reducing stigma, recognizing signs, informing churchgoers, mitigating risk factors, and serving families whose mental and physical health are impacted by alcohol use disorder. Churches are in a unique position to provide them what no secular organization can – an answer to the hopelessness and loneliness behind the escapism that fuels substance abuse. Hope in Jesus Christ and community in a family of believers aids in addiction prevention, intervention, and recovery, as well as reconciliation and redemption.
Opioids – Drugs kill the body and numb the brain. From 2002 to 2022, drug overdose deaths rose 600%. In 2021, 22% of Americans (over 12 years old) used illicit drugs and 94% of addicts received no treatment. There’s a clear connection in the U.S. between growing insecurity about our eternal destination, higher rates of depression and suicide, and dramatic increases in substance abuse. A healthy church realizes its critical role as caretaker for its congregation and community. It understands that health is integrated, knowing only the church can address all four (spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional) interrelated receptors that cause and cure addiction.
Acceptance
Isolated – Approximately 25% of U.S. adults reported feeling lonely in 2024, with highest prevalence among those aged 18-34 (30%). A well-established linkage exists between social isolation, mental health issues (e.g. depression and cognitive decline), and physical problems (e.g. cardiovascular and obesity). Unhealthy churches address isolation by inviting those who may not worship Jesus to a holy worship service, where they’ll likely be uncomfortable or unengaged. “Come” churches don’t reach people where they are. “Go” churches encourage being present and dependable over an extended period, looking for opportunities to share about their Father’s love. Link2Hope was developed by Meet The Need to help “Go” churches build relational circles around the socially distanced, reassuring them they’re not alone.
Impaired – The mentally or physically challenged, and their caregiving families, are exactly who Jesus commanded His Church to serve and defend. They hold a special place in God’s heart. Jesus gave sight to the blind and caused the lame to walk. Healthy churches can’t promise healing to the disabled but can offer what they need most – a sense of purpose, value, dignity, stability, and hope. Healthy churchgoers learn from the “unhealthy”, who possess perspectives and platforms for flourishing in ways the “healthy” often miss. Wellness does not hinge on one’s physical or mental health. Their families are not charity cases needing (transactional) handouts but are blessed by relational support as they navigate the stressful road of medical visits, career sacrifices, emotional rollercoasters, and frequent life disruptions.
It’s Your Turn…
How could your church become healthier by making its members and community healthier – in body, mind, and spirit? To get in better shape, sometimes we need to lose a few pounds. Would your church be a better off if some “consumers” left when attention shifted from their welfare to the mental and physical fitness of the real “customer”?
