The Measure of a Healthy Church

Dear GCI Friends and Family,

A significant Christian author and church leader is how I describe Dr. Gene Getz, a long-time friend of GCI. A few years back Gene hosted me for his annual men’s retreat and ski outing in Beaver Creek, CO. He is a kind, welcoming man with loads of spiritual depth.

Gene wrote a book in 1995 called The Measure of a Healthy Church (updated in 2001 and 2007). He recently sent me a signed copy and it has stimulated more thoughts and ideas about our shared quest toward Healthy Church.

Throughout the book, Gene shows how spiritual growth must be the focus above monitoring numerical growth. He also points out, however, that spiritual growth and numeric growth are not mutually exclusive – it is recorded in Acts chapter 2 that about 3,000 were added to the church after Peter’s compelling sermon about Jesus, the true Lord and Messiah.

Gene tells stories about several of the New Testament churches, and the one that intrigued me the most is the back story of Ephesus. Paul made this large Roman city of 300,000 people his base of operations for nearly three years. In Acts 19:9-10 we see that Paul met with people on a daily basis in the lecture hall of Tyrannus for a stretch of two years. Can you imagine what that lecture series was like?

An important factor in the growth of the Ephesian church that often gets missed is this raising up of other leaders. In Acts 19:6-7 Luke tells us that there were 12 men raised up and gifted in a similar way as the original apostles on the day of Pentecost. Recruiting, equipping and empowering other leaders matters.

The most encouraging and conforming section for me was chapter 4 – “A Divine Trilogy.” Gene demonstrates how faith, hope and love are a trilogy that jump off the pages of the New Testament and form a comprehensive perspective for evaluating corporate Christian life. He cites a quote from C.K. Barrett, a British Bible scholar who says, “Faith, hope and love are the central, essential and indefectible elements in Christianity.” Not only are these three qualities the true measure of the church, they are the best words in our English language to describe the person of Jesus. Jesus is faith, hope and love personified.

In GCI we encourage our members to manifest the spiritual virtues of faith, hope and love as Christ lives and shines in them. We have taken this a step further to design and structure our church ministries around this divine trilogy.

- - - The faith avenue is about discipleship. As individual believers, are we growing in our walk with Jesus? Are we growing deeper as a community of Christian believers?
    - The hope avenue is about worship. Is Jesus being proclaimed in our church gatherings? Is corporate worship inspiring and are lives being transformed?
    - The love avenue is about engaging in our church neighborhood and witnessing to the love of Christ. Are we out there daily as we see demonstrated by Paul in Ephesus? Are relationships being built and cultivated so that witnessing naturally happens?

So, what have we learned from this thumbnail sketch from Dr. Getz?

- - - Healthy churches preach Jesus and trust the Lord to add the numeric growth.
    - Healthy churches multiply leaders for the work of the church.
    - Healthy churches are centered around faith, hope and love (we can abbreviate this by saying healthy churches are centered in Jesus).

As President of GCI, my goal is to make the main things as plain as possible. I sincerely believe if we are attending to the basic principles outlined in this letter, we will see an abundance of spiritual and numeric growth in ways in which we have only dreamed.

A big thank you to my friend Dr. Gene Getz for his teaching and most of all for his loving support.

Growing Healthy Together!

Greg Williams

Listen

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. (John 10:27-29)

We live in a culture of hyper-communication. We are bombarded incessantly with verbiage (written and spoken). There are “news” channels, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram – and much more. Everyone is an expert. Everyone knows what is right. Those who get or take the most “air time” (speaking the loudest, the most frequently, or most “cleverly”) capture the minds and hearts of multitudes. And what is the result of this cacophony of voices? Greater confusion, unrest, and disunity. Anything but a sense of hope, security, and peace – all of which are promised by Jesus, in whatever circumstance we find ourselves.

In this and the previous passage, Jesus clearly expresses his love for us. He shares his life, and all it entails, with us. Peace, security, and stability are ours in him. But we need to listen to him. He needs to be the one we pay the most attention to. His is the voice we need to seek. His is the voice we need to believe. His is the voice we can trust to know the truth, which begins with knowing him, who is the eternal embodiment of truth.

Important questions we must ask ourselves, especially at a time when so many voices are calling, no, shouting, out to us, are: “Whose voice am I listening to? Whose voice am I seeking out? Whose voice am I relying on?” The answer to these questions can determine whether we will experience peace, safety, and even joy as we navigate life’s challenges.

Dear Lord, help us hear your voice. Help us yearn for it; keep our ears attuned to it and follow it with faith, hope and courage, wherever it leads us. For we know we can trust you to be with us at all times and in all things. Amen.

By Randy Bloom

We Are GCI – GCI Development Coordinator, Cara Garrity

We Are GCI Series is a collection of videos where various GCI family members are highlighted. In this episode, GCI President, Dr. Greg Williams interviews GCI Development Coordinator, Cara Garrity. Cara shares a little about her life experience and her goals for development in GCI.

Street Praise and Worship at GCI Cape Town South

8:15 am, Sunday, August 23, 2020

Cape Town South is one of two congregations in the city of Cape Town. The congregation is under the leadership of Pastor Mark Powell, supported by pastors Europa, Visagie, and Christoffels.

It was a Love Venue initiative led by Grant Erasmus, GCI CTS Worship Ministry Leader. The aim was to serve the neighbours in their street who were not able to attend church services at their respective churches due to the lockdown resolution still in place in South Africa.

The residents in Runge Street were excited as the session was opened in prayer by one of the neighbors. Families gathered outside their homes on the pavement and lifted their voices in song. The church sound system was set up in the Erasmus’ driveway to play the music.

Tim Maguire and his wife Veronica from GCI Pretoria, who were visiting Cape Town, joined Trevor Weber, Regional Pastor, and his wife Virginia at the praise and worship morning. Tim also prayed for the community, who face many challenges as a result of the slump in the economy leading to unemployment and hunger concerns.

Pastor Freddie Europa, who is well known in the community, closed the praise and worship session in prayer. The residents immediately requested another morning of praise and worship, but requested that a Communion service be added as well.

8:15 am, Sunday, September 6, 2020

The day dawned as God blessed us with beautiful sunshine and no wind. Praise and worship was again enthusiastically received. During the service, Sandra Mumpies, a member of GCI CTS, gave a short testimony.

The Communion table was set up on the pavement with disposable glasses as part of the symbols and plastic gloves, per recommended protocols.

Pastor Trevor gave a short message from 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, after which the symbols were served by deacon couple Basil and Cristal Benjamin. The residents waited outside their gates on the pavements to maintain social distancing and the servers had to go from house to house.

After a few more songs, the morning presentation ended with the residents again requesting another praise and worship morning.

Dominique Erasmus, the GCI CTS Children’s Ministry Leader, then handed out “Dignity Bags” to some of the young girls. These contain items of personal care products. Dominique had seen the need for these essentials as families had to make the tough decision between food for survival or toiletries. Dominique made a call to the GCI CTS Women’s Ministry and church members for donations to this ongoing “Dignity Bag” initiative.

GCI CTS will continue to strive towards the GCI RSA Vision 2025 of Healthy Church as we share the love of God and the gospel of Jesus with the community.

Death of Gene Michel

With a heavy heart, we must announce the death of a former long-term employee and member, Gene Michel. He was the longest-serving GCI full-time employee before his retirement in 2005. As of Gene’s retirement, he had 51 years and 6 months of full-time employment. He was a wonderful man and a faithful employee.

Gene Michel passed away peacefully in his sleep. He has been in a care facility in Pasadena for over a year along with his daughter, Elizabeth. Being in the same facility was a comfort to both.

Gene attended Ambassador College beginning with the class of 1951. That is where he met his wife, Betty Bates, who was in the first-ever class at Ambassador. Gene headed the Accounting Department for many years and later was responsible for all church properties worldwide. He was a gentle, capable and faithful employee who served well for 51 years.

According to his wishes, Gene will be cremated, and his cremains will be placed with a mausoleum with his wife. There will be no ceremony. Just a few family members will gather at some time in the future for a time of remembrance.

Please keep the Michel family in your prayers as they go through the natural process of grieving and celebrating a life well-lived.

Gene’s brother Bernell specifically asks that no flowers be sent. However, cards of encouragement, love and support can be sent to the family at the address below.

Bernell Michel
2878 Sycamore Lane
Arcadia, CA 91006-6352

2020 Healthy Church Photo Contest

What does Healthy Church mean to you? Snap and submit photos from your GCI church events to enter our 2020 Healthy Church Photo Contest.

Individual prizes include up to $150 in GCI Spreadshirt Web Store credit.

For more information go to: https://resources.gci.org/photocontest