From Bill Easum

We are often asked to boil down to a bare understandable minimum the essential characteristics of a biblical congregation.

1. Driven by a clear mission (DNA) that is imprinted throughout the life of the congregation. E very church has the same DNA – to carry out the Great Commission. Of course, every DNA is different because of the gene pool which means that every church will carry out the Great Commission in their own way.
2. At its heart is the passion for multiplication of leaders and mission in fulfillment of the Great Commandment and Great Commission.
3. Lead by a team of transforming equippers. The core leadership team, which is usually a core of paid staff both clergy and laity, base their validity not of what they accomplish, but on what they equip others to achieve. They are not hired to ministry.
4. Ministry is carried out by called, permission-giving, gift-based, unpaid teams. These laity are not nominated and elected based on something some central authority wants them to do, but raised up to live out what God created them to be and to do with their life. People are allowed to do whatever they feel God is calling them to do as long as it enhanced the agreed up mission of the church.
5. Leaders are passionate about articulating for the community what it is about their relationship with Jesus Christ that the community can not live without knowing. Leaders know how to articulate what God through Christ has done in their life. One�s life story becomes the framework in which one does evangelism. If you know your story, you know where and with whom you are called to evangelize.
6. Culturally relevant. It is contextual and understands the gentile world.

A thriving Church does the following: it reaches out and brings in people; it retains those people long enough to incubate and assimilate them; it equips and deploys them into ministry; then it sends them back out into the community.