When my son was about 18 months old he literally stopped growing. An extended stay at Sick Kids revealed that he was experiencing failure to thrive. What the doctors never asked was: “how do we make this child grow?” That’s a rather foolish question. Rather they queried as to why he wasn’t growing, because, a healthy child, all by themselves, will grow!  

Through focusing on the underlying health issues my son has grown to be an active young man who excels in academics, athletics and was recently baptized as a follower of Jesus.   

The church, by definition, is not an institution or an organization; the church is the living breathing body of Christ; an organism. As such we, as servants and leaders of the church, are called to make every effort to have the church become as healthy as she can be. Our goal is to see the church become holy, radiant, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.   

To that end our focus is not on growth, but rather, our energy is directed towards the realization of church health. We are called to plant and water allowing God to make the organism of the church grow. 

What the NIV has translated as “All by itself,” comes from the Greek word: automatos (ow-tom'-at-os).  The parable indicates what we can do… plant seeds and harvest crop, and what we cant do… make things grow.  This parable is not merely a nice story; rather it is the very essence of church health and growth.  

Yet the reality of church life for most churches is anything but all by itself growth.  Instead most churches are better represented by the image of those who work so hard to see so very little in the way of results.

So how does a church experience all by itself growth? Certainly not be doing nothing and letting God do the rest! To better answer the question of what we do to experience all by itself growth it would be beneficial to look at the Health Principles and the Health Characteristics. 

Each of the eight Health Characteristics has both a noun: worship, leadership, structures etc. and a corresponding adjective: inspiring, empowering, functional etc. The secret to each of the health characteristics is not realized in the noun – every church has worship, leadership and structures. Instead, the secret is hidden in the practical application of what each of the adjectives represents. 

As we experience qualitative growth in each of the eight adjectives we are doing our part in bringing health to the church. Instead of pushing and pulling the cart (the church) ourselves, we have to unload some of these wheels that are already on the cart, mount them in the right place and make the joyous experience that the wind of Holy Spirit sets this cart in motion (seemingly) “all by itself!”

It has been rightly described that our role as lay and pastoral leaders is that of being spiritual environmentalists. We are called to create the atmosphere in which God can most effectively work, removing growth barriers. As we do our part and focus on health, God will do his part and bring us Kingdom growth.