One's blood pressure, respiration rate, white and red cell blood count, cholesterol count, EKG, X-rays, stress test, and other tests do not heal anybody? But why does a doctor or medical specialist use mathematical indicators like body temperature compared to a standard of 98.6 degrees? The answer is because these measurements help diagnose the health/malady of the human body. While some problems can be identified as hereditary from the mother's or father's side of the family, other health conditions are attributed to racial factors or climatic changes. Some cancers and tumors, if not treated, will eventually kill the body. With the church, the doors will be closed to worship.

Remember, church growth principles can no more save the human soul than a thermometer can cure the common cold. Mathematical measurements can only help diagnose the health of the patient. Most church growth specialists use the term "diagnostic evaluation" in a study of a church or churches.

C. Peter Wagner's The Healthy Church: Avoiding and Curing the 9 Diseases That Can Afflict Any Church expands on the idea of the "church pathologist" looking for the diseases that inflict a malady on the church. He states:

The pathology of church growth, curiously enough, has not been included in most seminary and Bible school curricula in the past. Possibly not a single minister in America has taken a full course in the subject. As a result, pastors in general tend to know little about the field, and their churches may be sick without their realizing it. Pastors also may suspect that their churches are sick, but are not able either to diagnose the disease or to prescribe a cure. (Regal Books, 1996, p. 14.)

Over the last 50 years, church growth diagnosticians (ecclesiologists) have discovered various ratios and indicators that are more likely to lead to church growth. By using the principles of diagnostic evaluation, the church growth specialist can examine the church as a medical checkup and prescribe a remedy to increase church growth. The evaluation may even be prescribed as preventive medicine. Some well designed surveys can even be used to measure Christlikeness, agape love and prayerfulness.

The New Testament refers to the Church as the "body of Christ" (Eph 1:22-23). The body of Christ has specific parts such as a head (Eph 4:15); joints (Eph 4:16); feet, hands, ears, eyes (1 Cor 12:15-17); and many members (Rom 12:4). We are told to "build up" and "edify" the body (Eph 4:12). Just as the body grows, the church needs to grow with proper nutrition, exercise, and regular checkups. The members of the body of Christ have to work together.

Many general rules for good health have been established. Likewise many ratios have helped to determine growing, plateaued, and declining churches. These ratios have been modified as more research and statistical studies have been done on thousands of churches throughout the world.

In 1990 Win Arn wrote The Church Growth Ratio Book: How to Have a Revitalized . . . Healthy . . . Growing . . . Loving . . . Church with many rules of thumb and general ratios (guidelines) that apply to growing churches that at the same time eliminate insurmountable growth-restricting obstacles. Many church growth specialists have gathered data, analyzed, and found various ratios. These ratios have been further tested for their reliability.

Thus, churches that imitate or exceed these ratios have been found to grow and have effective ministries. Arn states (page 8): "Christ builds His Church . . . He gives the increase. But establishing appropriate ratios will help to create the conditions, climate, and structure in which God seems pleased to bless and increase His Church." Applying these ratios will grow healthy church.

Only a few church growth principles and ratios are presented here:

1. There should be 60 specific roles and/or tasks for every 100 members. Get everybody involved in a ministry of the church. Whether the task is ushering, greeting, telephoning, all tasks are involvement ministries. One church of more than six thousand has 85 to 87 out of a 100 tasks as their norm.

2. For every three roles and/or tasks that serve the existing church, one role and/or task will be an activity that influences and affect persons who are non-Christians in an effort to direct them to Christ and the Church. Churches just can't wait for people to beat a path to their door, Christians need to go into the world, invite people to worship, follow up on visitors, and work with the inactive members.

3. One of every five committee members should have joined the church within the last two years. This brings new ideas and freshness into the church. One church even invites visitors to help develop programs for a rapidly changing world. New ideas can come from new members.

4. One professional staff person for every 125 - 150 members. This does not include secretaries and janitorial personnel. Count part-time staff as a half person when figuring these ratios. Fifty years ago, the ratio was one-to-200, now a sign of a declining church as more church ministering is required. Members now expect more.

5. For every $10 received by the church $1 should be invested in evangelism/outreach/church growth in the community. A church needs a strong local outreach program. A foreign mission is not figured into this ratio.

6. When 87 of every 100 seats are filled on an average Sunday morning, worship attendance will plateau. With pews, figure 24 to 28 inches per person, then 87 percent as a full auditorium. Families sit closer together than friends or visitors. Some church growth books use 80 percent as the ratio. Today, most people want more space than they did 20 years ago. After 87 percent the church must either add an additional service, enlarge the worship auditorium, or start another church.

7. Each new member should have a minimum of seven new friends in the church within the first six months. Some churches have gone to small groups, social mixers, longer break with coffee and donuts between Bible school and church to help establish this ratio. Member ministries develop member involvement and new relationships.

8. A church should have at least seven groups (small groups), usually less than 17 people, for every 100 members and new groups should be formed at least every 18 to 24 months. After a year, a group begins looking inward and does not readily accept new people.

9. One of every five groups in the church should have started in the past two years.

10. Nine out of ten "new members" should be involved in a church-sponsored small group.

11. Seventy-five of every 100 members should be involved in some group of some kind.

12. Every member in the church, not involved in a group or role, should be personally contacted at least once every thirty days by another member – with the purpose of intentionally showing Christian love and concern.

13. Seven baptisms for every 100 members per year. Less than four per 100 members, the church is in decline. In many churches that grow at more than ten percent a year, the number of baptisms will exceed 14 per 100 members. One Oregon church displays the number of a year to date baptisms in the front of the worship auditorium, along with Bible school and worship attendance, and weekly contributions. The display reminds the attenders of the purpose of evangelism and the "Great Commission."

14. Each member should have the confidence that someone in the church is praying specifically for his/her special needs, at least once every thirty days. Keep reminding the church members that this is happening.

15. At least three of every five people in leadership capacities should have the "Great Commission" as a focus in effective ministries.

16. At least five of every 100 persons in a Sunday morning worship service should be visitors from the church's ministry area. This is a sign of people inviting people to fulfill the "Great Commission."

17. One of four first time visitors within a reasonable driving distance should be assimilated into the life of the church within a year.

18. Three of four second, third, and fourth time visitors, should be active within a year.

19. One of every two active members should have identified their "extended family" of unchurched friends, relatives, and associates and eventually invite them to church.

20. One of every two persons who join the church should join on a profession of faith.

21. One of every five Sunday School classes should have been started in the last two years.

22. At least seven of ten persons on the Sunday School roll should be in class on Sunday morning.

23. One of every three adults in the Sunday School should receive training in outreach/evangelism each year.

24. Each class/department should share a social event at least once every twelve weeks.

25. Seven of every ten persons present in a worship service should be active in an adult Bible class.

26. Of those who attend Sunday School, nine of ten should be in worship.

27. When 80% of the parking spaces, worship auditorium seating, educational space is used, then growth slows or totally stops.

Figuring these ratios/indicators should not be considered as busy work, but like a doctor, information for a proper diagnosis to the health of a growing church. Many more ratios exist, but these have major significance in church growth. Different churches will use different combinations of these ratios and some will be missing all together.

Using these ratios, how would you rank the health of your church?