Four Marks of the Church

• Four Marks
• One
– Unity
• Holy
– Divine
• Catholic
– Universal
• Apostolic
– Origin
• One
• The Church is One:
– Her Source
I. The highest exemplar and source of this mystery is the unity, in the Trinity
of Persons, of one God, the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit
– Her Founder
I. “The Word made flesh, the prince of peace, reconciled all men to God by the
cross, … restoring the unity of all in one people and one body (Guadium et
Spes 78).”
– Her “Soul”
I. “It is the Holy Spirit, dwelling in those who believe and pervading and
ruling over the entire Church, who brings about that wonderful communion
of the faithful and joins them together so intimately in Christ that he is the
principle of the church’s unity (Unitatis Redintegratio 2).”
• One
“Charity binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Col 3:14)
• There are other visible bonds of unity in the Church:
1. Unity of Belief
I. The Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed
II. Unity in Code of Morality
I. Natural Law
II. 10 Commandments
2. Unity of Worship and Liturgy
I. One Liturgy
II. Unity in Sacraments
3. Unity of Government
I. Church Hierarchy, Magisterium (Pope and all the bishops in union with
him).
• Holy
1. The Church is holy in her origin
I. Jesus Christ founded the Church and he is the source of all holiness.
2. The Church is holy in her purpose.
I. The Sanctification and Salvation of all her members.
3. The Church is holy in those of her members who open themselves to grace.
I. The Church has been manifested in the holiness of many men and women who
have wholeheartedly accepted Christ and his Church.
II. These saints are living proofs that the Church is holy.
III. This does not mean that all the members of the Church are holy.
• Catholic
• Kat’holon—related to the whole.
– The Church is Catholic because Christ called her to profess the whole faith, to
preserve all the Sacraments, to administer them and proclaim the Good News to
all; and he sent her to all nations—the whole of the human race.
 – Anyone who, in union with the Pope and the bishops, is united to Jesus Christ
through the profession of the Catholic faith and reception of the Sacraments is in
full communion with the Catholic Church.
• God willed one Church for all.
– As Christ is the head of the Church, so the Church possesses the fullness of the
means of salvation:
• Correct and complete confession of faith, full sacramental life, and ordained
ministry in apostolic succession
• Apostolic
• The Church was and remains built on the “foundation of the Apostles,” the witnesses
chosen and sent on a mission by Christ himself.
• With the help of the Holy Spirit dwelling in her, the Church keeps and hands on the
teaching, the “good deposit,” the salutary words she has heard from the apostles – a.k.a.
Sacred Tradition
• She continues to be taught, sanctified, and guided by the apostles until Christ’s return,
through their successors in pastoral office: the college of bishops, “assisted by priests, in
union with the successor of Peter, the Church’s supreme pastor.”
– The college of bishops has supreme and full authority over the universal Church;
but this power cannot be exercised without agreement of the Roman Pontiff (the
Pope) – this is called Magisterium
• Apostolicity refers to the fact that the Church is still ruled by the legitimate successors to
Peter and the apostles—the Pope and the bishops.
– Christ’s apostles (apostoloi) are entrusted with the task of continuing his mission—
as ministers of the new covenant.
• How is the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church structured?
• There are two basic groups (laity and clerics) and both are equal in dignity insofar as they
are children of God. They have equally important, yet different tasks.
– The mission of the laity is to direct the whole world toward the kingdom of
God.
– The ordained ministers (clerics) have the duties of ecclesiastical governance,
teaching and sanctification.
• Every Christian has the duty to bear witness to the Gospel by his own life.

12 Apostles
• Peter (leader) • Thomas
• Andrew • Matthew
• James • James, the son of Alpheus
• John • Thaddaeus
• Philip • Simon
• Bartholomew • Judas (who betrayed Jesus)

Passion, Vision, Mission

What Is “Integral Church Growth”?
-Church growth is healthy when it promotes improvement in all dimensions of a church’s
life rather than just an increase in the number of members or attendees.
- The congregation sees itself in the broad framework of the purposes of God for the
world, humanity and the cosmos—renewal in all dimensions.
- Seeks to be a witness of God’s Kingdom in all areas of life through the impact of the
Good News of Jesus Christ.
A Framework For Integral Church Growth:
-Having vision is looking toward the FUTURE and seeing what God wants to do through
you in order to achieve His redemptive purposes.
 1. Relationship between the Church and God
2. Relationship between God and the community
3. Relationship between a congregation and its community

GOD

PASSION VISION

BLESSING
TESTIMONY

PURPOSE

CHURCH COMMUNITY

MISSION

The Five Elements of a Healthy Church

1. Clear Vision
2. Empowering Leadership
3. Members involves in ministry
4. Stewardship of resources: Time, talent, Treasure, Temple of God (physical bodies)
5. Connection between the text and the context
I. A healthy church takes into account its context (geographic location, social and economic
factors, cultures, etc.). While the message of the good news in Jesus Christ does not
change, the methods for sharing it do.
Clear Vision Empowering Leadership
1. It presents a clear picture of a preferred Characteristic of leaders in scriptures
future. 1. The leader is sent by God
2. It enables one to think of possibilities 2. The leader is a servant
with God’s “eyeglasses.” 3. The leader seeks God’s guidance
3. It’s based on the redemptive purposes 4. The leader motivates and equips God’s
of God. people
4. It’s not satisfied with the status quo
(the way things are at present).
5. It takes faith.
6. It’s communicated in a simple form.
7. It moves one toward prayer and
action/it gives a sense of urgency.
8. It’s shared among leaders and
members.
 Authoritarian Leader Servant Leader
Says, “Follow me!” Says, “Let’s follow Jesus!”
Decides what his vision and goals are Works with leaders to discern the vision and
for the church. goals God has for the church.
Doesn’t delegate, just gives orders. Involves others.
Makes decisions on his own. Invites others to participate in making
Complains about the weaknesses of the decisions.
congregation. Strengthens the congregation in its areas of
Does everything himself: preaching, weakness.
visiting, praying, teaching, leading, Trains others to do ministry and affirms them.
worship, etc. Sees other leaders as partners and blessings.
Sees other leaders as competitors and
threats.

Five Task of a Healthy Church

1. Evangelism
a. The church announces, in words and deeds that people can understand, that through Jesus Christ,
the Kingdom of God has come. It calls people to believe this good news, to turn their lives over
to Jesus, and to become His disciples. Our lives give evidence of the new creation in Christ—a
“living proclamation” of what God has done.
b. To how many people have I shared the gospel (good news) in the last two months?
c. How many believers has our church trained to share their faith?
d. 3 kinds of change: a change of POWER, BELIEF, AND WILL
2. Discipleship
a. Conduct-Thinking-Character-Commitment
b. SEGMENTED FAITH VS. INTEGRATED FAITH

Sports Faith
Sports Politics
Family Politics
Family Faith Finance
Social Life Finance
Social Life

3. Service
a. The church holistically helps meet the needs of people and the community in the name of Christ
and invites them to be His disciples.
b. CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SERVICE AND EVANGELISM:
i. Service is a result of evangelism: God’s love makes us want to serve others.
ii. Service is a bridge to evangelism: We do concrete acts of service first, and those acts of
service open doors to share our faith.
iii. Service accompanies evangelism: As we serve others, we speak of God’s love for them in
Christ.
4. Fellowship
a. In a healthy church, the members enjoy each other and bear one another’s burdens, showing the
love and compassion of God.
b. The theological basis for fellowship comes from the Trinity itself—the FIRST community (John
17).
c. Already in the Old Testament, we see the value ascribed to the unity among believers (Psalm
133).
d. FACTORS THAT CAN HELP THE CHURCH GROW
i. Warm welcome to visitors
 ii. Follow-up of visitors
iii. Room for new people in the worship area
iv. Solid biblical preaching
v. Clear communication
5. Principle
a. The church is a living ORGANISM as the Body of Christ, and at the same time it exists in
concrete, visible ORGANIZATIONS (congregations, denominations) through which God is at
work in the world.
b. COMPONENTS OF AN ORGANIZATION

THE CHURCH WITH CHRIST AS

HEAD
ORGANISM | ORGANIZATION
Resources
Transformation
Communication Structure

People LEADERSHI People

P
entering minister
Transformation
VISION Program People PURPOSE
ORGANIZATION HISTORY | CENTRAL MINISTRY VALUES
FLOW OF PEOPLE | ENFOLD – BUILD – EQUIP – MOBILIZE
SPIRITUAL FORMATION | CHILDREN AND ADULTS
ANNUAL PLANNING CYCLE | PLANNING – EVALUATION – CALENDAR
FEEDBACK AND RESULTS

A CHURCH THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE:

1. Obeys the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37)
a. Love the Lord with all your heart
b. Love your neighbor as yourself
2. Fulfills the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20)
a. Go and make disciples
b. Baptizing them
c. Teaching them to keep everything that Jesus taught

A GREAT COMMITMENT to the GREAT COMMANDEMENT and the GREAT

COMMISION makes a GREAT CHURCH.