Edwin Jenkins has been in ministry for over 50 years. He's served as a youth pastor, a senior pastor, a senior adult pastor, a transitional pastor, and more...

He loves the church, because Christ loves the church and the people who comprise it.

(Not only is the church God's primary means of reaching the world, the church will exist throughout eternity!)

In 1997 he went to work for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, where he launched the newly-formed Office of Leadership and Church Growth. 

A few years into the endeavor, the editor of The Alabama Baptist weekly newspaper invited him to write a series of articles on church health. Those articles were later packaged into a small 50-page booklet, The Biblical Design of a Healthy Church, which was well received across the state. It ran through multiple printings (the red book here is one of the originals).

The book provided Edwin with the opportunity to share gleanings from Scripture and his experience with leaders throughout the State.

The short book was repurposed into workshops, training seminars, certifications, and more. The goal was to help church leaders pursue "church health" and kingdom impact moreso than just "church growth."

During this chapter of life, Edwin is seeking to pull together his "core" messages and essential topics-- to leave them as a legacy. 

The conversation arose once again about growing healthy churches. 

"What would it look like to update the information, leverage some of the online tools and other resources that weren't available 25 years ago, and make the content available for a new generation?"

That conversation led to the birth of LifeLift Ministries as a formally organized entity. The team agreed that one of the first projects needed to be Healthy Church.

That's where Andrew, Edwin's son, comes in. 

With 25+ books to his name, as well as a background in online courses, church & ministry consulting, and more, the father-son duo merged their skill sets to make a bigger impact. 

It soon became clear that churches & ministries ALSO need healthy systems. 

That is, they need to pursue the Presence (and become healthy) but they also need processes to implement and reach greater levels of effectiveness.

In early 2025, Edwin and Andrew tag-teamed to repurpose the previously released Biblical Design of a Healthy Church book AND add Healthy Systems for Healthy Churches, based on content Andrew developed to consult churches and ministries over the past decade. 

And, with plans to train church and ministry leaders around the globe (yes, actual plans are in place for 2025 and beyond), they're starting the movement at home.

That means these Healthy Church and Healthy Systems are available for you.

🤷‍♂️ Lesson 1 | What do we want to develop?

We need to define what we're trying to lead.

✅ A lot of resources discuss current trends (which we need to know about)

✅ A lot of resources discuss methods and models (we also need those)

💥 But an even better place to begin is here... 

... with the definition of what we're seeking to foster: a healthy church is a biblically functioning community of believers committed to Christ.

⚜️ Lesson 2 | So how do we lead it?

Some faith communities are led...

😬 Option 1: Incidentally

They serve a process (we do it this way because that's how we've always done it) or a person (who over-exerts their influence) instead of serving the Presence and walking-out their purpose. 

When they "get it right," it feels different, but they're not sure what clicked. It was an incident-- not intention. 

💣 Option 2: Accidentally

They move from one chaos to yet another crisis to still another catastrophe. 

It's hard to focus on the Presence and serve your purpose when you're constantly managing pain... 

... yet some churches do it. 

⚜️ Option 3: Intentionally

We want to lead by design-- not default. And that requires clarity...

⚙️ Lesson 3 | A different starting point...

Intentionally led "healthy churches" don't begin with a model, they start with a mandate. 

They don't begin with systems, either (even though they leverage them), they begin with the Savior's specific design for them...

They step into the Presence and discern God's unique desire, design, and direction for them... which often includes pulling from the resources of others BUT is a very different beginning point.

(As such, the results are very different!)

🧱 Lesson 4 | The Great Commission and the Great Commandment = two foundations

You've probably heard it before: focusing on the great commandment and the great commission grows a great church!

Though true, we Healthy Churches approach these foundations differently. 

Rather than viewing them as two "equal-opposite" wings of a plane, both necessary for flight...

... they recognize that the great commandment FUELS the great commission (like rocket fuel!), yet...

... the great commandment arises from an overwhelming awareness, first of all, of God's love for us!

So, they lead people into an encounter with radical grace and God's lavish love!

💥 Lesson 5 | Comprehensive growth = four focus concerns

Healthy churches don't just grow in "one way" (size) any more than healthy people just grow in one way. 

Healthy churches develop people spiritually...

... who, in turn, discern their unique gifts and calling. 

The outflow of spiritual growth, then, is ministry involvement (serving the body of Christ) and missions advancement (taking the message of grace into the world). 

The result...

... is outreach effectiveness...

... which means the people who are impacted grow spiritually. 

The truth growth, then, is Kingdom growth. and it happens in a comprehensive way.

⚛️ Lesson 6 | What we do = six functions

Churches do "lots and lots" of things. Arguably, everything should revolve around six.

... the six functions of the church, built on the 2 foundations, facilitate the 4-focused impact.

When leaders focus on going back to God's desire, design, and direction, many of them find they can make an even greater impact with "less stuff" and "less busy-ness."

🍒 Lesson 7 | The right fruit is a result... 

The fruit always reveals the roots and is helpful in affirming that we're on the "right track" or helping us discern areas we may need to refocus.

Rather than "forcing the fruit," leaders of healthy churches affirm that our part is to create an environment in which God can do the work that only He can do. You see, when we pursue health, the fruit emerges in multi-faceted aways-- numerical growth begin only one of them.

Qualification 1 ⭐️ Leaders in a variety of POSITIONS will benefit from this resource. 

In fact, it works for-- 

• Senior pastors / lead pastors
• Bi-vocational and co-vocational pastors
• Executive pastors (especially those who want more clarity on running "healthy systems")
• Other pastors who aspire to lead at a higher level and make a Kingdom impact, regardless of the formal position they hold 
• Associational / denominational / organizational leaders 
• Leaders overseeing ministry networks
• 501c3 / nonprofit ministry executives 
• More!

Qualification 2 ⭐️ Leaders serving in various PLACES will benefit from this resource.

The content “works” for any New Testament church. And, it works for churches of any size / model.

The resources work for churches that are—

• Small
• Large
• House
• Family chapel
• Mega
• “Big box”
• Mini
• Monthly meeting only
• Multi-service
• Multi-campus
• Traditional
• Liturgical
• Blended
• Contemporary
• Modern
• More!

Qualification 3 ⭐️ Leaders who believe the church is an essential part of the Kingdom...

... and want to make an immediate + eternal impact, yet believe there's a better way than simply-- 

• Chasing the latest model or method (though they're not opposed to either old traditions and new trends)
• Striving and straining (they're not afraid of hard work, but they want to create space for the Holy Spirit to do the things that only God can do)