Practical, relational prayer is essential to biblically healthy churches. Such prayer extends beyond lists. It is part of an intimate relationship with God and often blurs into worship (another characteristic). A great way to understand prayer is a three-sentence description: be with God, agree with God, obey God.

Ordinances and worship are characteristics of a biblically healthy church. Baptist churches practice believers’ baptism by immersion. The event is a wonderful, monumental day in a Christian’s life and in the church. Likewise, the Lord’s Supper has become more creative, but retains its distinct weightiness. Churches want people to engage in both. They also want people involve in biblical worship, both corporate worship gatherings and daily acts of worship through Christian obedience.

Believers are joiners. That looks different in every church. Church membership is more than formal joining; it is belonging, connectedness, purpose, and much more. Leadership also looks different in every church. But, having leaders means building leaders. Preaching and teaching, too, differs in every Baptist church. However, all the content comes from the same Bible. Biblically healthy churches nurture membership, leadership development, and preaching and teaching.

From the beginning of Southern Baptist life, evangelism has been at the core of what SB churches do. If a church wants a future, it has to do evangelism. In a similar way, the next step is helping people to have a life that looks like the life Jesus lived. Ultimately, the church is both reproductive and action oriented, something that has no end. Even Paul never stopped growing spiritually.

Churches try to do church well and get things right. Healthy churches connect with Jesus’ mission to reach as many people as possible and to reproduce the church. How can they do that? They build a culture based on markers of biblical church health. This episode introduces the Baptist Convention of New Mexico’s Church Health Team and the twelve habits of a biblically healthy church.

Thriving Church Podcast hosts Kevin Parker and Rick Brittan introduce the podcast, its recipients, its purpose, and its resources. They talks about things churches do inside walls, out in their community, and around the world. Using the Bible’s analogy of the vine and the branches, they talk about Jesus’ central role in church fruitfulness.