Discerning a Sound Ministry or Church
It is so easy to be misled by current views of what a solid and sound ministry or church is. How can we judge between what is true and what seems to be good or impressive, but is in reality, man-centered? Here are a few ways to judge properly--
1. There will be no manipulation at all of people by the leaders, whether in their private lives, their financial giving, or pressure used to produce any outward responses to messages, in the form of altar calls--no manipulation at all. When you see any, you know to run the other way.
2. True leaders will serve and support the saints of God under their care, not the other way around.
3. The church services will be substantive, biblical, and have reality, and will not be a performance in any way.
4. Sound churches and ministries will desire for men to see what God can do, not what man can produce.
5. Their chief concern will be long-term spiritual benefit, not immediate results.
6. They will focus on inward change and not on outward response.
These characteristics always mark a genuine ministry or church.
-- Don Currin and Mack Tomlinson
