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.

Qualification 1 ⭐️ Leaders in a variety of POSITIONS can join this program. 

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 program.

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 with a specific PERSPECTIVE will enjoy this program.

The Healthy Church and Healthy Systems coaching and certification programs will launch later. Before we release them, we want to work with a group of leaders who are early adopters and will help us forge the path forward. 

We want your input and feedback as we create the implementation strategy for delivering these tools.

So, if you want a fine-tuned, "finished" program, you should wait until the full version of the program releases. 

But...

✅ if you're eager to learn...

✅ and excited about interacting with the creators of this resource...

✅ and would like to provide input as we unveil it...

... then this is designed FOR YOU!

(And, we'll provide you with the full version of the program when we launch it.)

💻🖥️ Both "mini-courses"

Designed to walk through each framework in about an hour, the Healthy Church and Healthy Systems mini-courses are the springboard for our cohort conversations and interactions.

Divided into modules for easy, you can review as often as you as you'd like. You'll have "forever" access to these webinar-styled trainings. 

📙After-talks

We recorded stories, practical applications, and "footnotes" that didn't make it into the final version of the book or the mini-courses. 

This resource will help you "see the content" in a more practical way as you seek to implement the Healthy Church and Healthy Systems framework in your ministry.

📗📘Both books!

We'll ship books to you when you register. In fact, they'll be our go-to resource for the day as we move through the 2-4-6 "healthy church" framework and the 5 systems.

You'll also receive instant access to the downloads (in both PDF and ePub formats).

(Already have the books? Pass them to a team member or other ministry colleague.)

📳 Both audiobooks

Access the content "on the go" with the complete audiobook a both Healthy Church and Healthy Systems. 

📝 Worksheets, templates, and more!

You'll also receive access to each of the full-color worksheets (in PDF form). Some of the downloads include:

• Intentional, incidental, and accidental = 3 ways to run a ministry
• The 3-part best question ever
• 4 ways churches “grow”
• How to discern God’s direction (5-steps)
• Overview of the 5 systems
• Six functions of a church, with definitions
• Seven steps to handling conflict
• Job description / ministry role template
• How to run better meetings
• The 2-4-6 framework at a glance

These resources enable certified coaches to quickly walk others through the Healthy Church and Healthy Systems framework, provide them with focused content and communication pieces, and help them communicate clearly.

Note: based on the group's feedback, we'll likely develop more of these during the project. You'll receive any updates, of course.

📱Access to the online assessments

Receive first crack at the online instruments designed to help you-- 

• See where you are objectively 
• Step forward in the direction you want to go

Each assessment includes customized training based on your answers... and will become a "go to" resource in the toolbox of leaders seeking to lead their ministry to thrive.

(We also have paper / printed assessments available.)

🔗 Regular meetup

This 45-minute Zoom-style gathering will-- in the future-- be reserved for certified coaches and leaders working through the process. You'll have early access as we interact with the content. 

During this time, Edwin talks about one of the aspects of the framework, we dialogue and talk about where we’ve each seen the issue in actual ministry, and we create solutions together.

We want you to know the other leaders, so you can work together.

🎞️ All of the slides

Participants receive the same slide deck we use to lead the workshops.

This enables them to lead others through the material. The slides are helpful whether teaching a large congregation, hosting a small workshop or seminar, or just meeting 1:1 with someone and want to walk them through some of the core content.

📱Smartphone app access to all content

The LifeLift app is now live on the iOS (Apple) and the Google Play (Android) app stores. The app interacts with our website, seamlessly creating logins from either/or.

Coaching replays are available in the app, as well as the online portal.

🪑 In-person interaction

We will schedule 2-3 half-day or full-day events throughout the year, usually back-to-back with other events leaders such as you are likely to attend.

Though they’ll have the opportunity ask questions, share insights, and interact with other leaders (and though we’ll provide some focused training at each of these), the MAIN point of these is to simply connect in-person and be together.

We want the leaders to know each other and learn from each other.

🧪 Assessments / quizzes 

The automatically-graded assessments help distill the core content of the Healthy Church and Healthy Systems frameworks.

Participants can review them— and retake them— as often as they choose.

These are exclusively for the use of certified coaches and leaders working through the certification process. So, they’re not available elsewhere-- unless you're in the beta group!

There are seven total group coaching sessions which participants in the beta program schedule.

Here’s an overview of what to expect in each of the seven 1:1 appointments.

Note: some of this may adjust based on participant needs / feedback, as this is a beta project.

Session 1 = Overview

The goal of this meeting is to—

• Step back and get the “bigger picture” of the process
• Clarify expectations
• Make sure they have the access to all of the online tools, resources, can login, etc.

Session 2 = Healthy Church, part 1 / Ready

We’ll walk through—

• The definition of a healthy church (chapter 1)
• The importance of leading by design instead of default (chapter 2)
• Discerning God’s will as it pertains to leadership in ministry (chapter 3)

Session 3 = Healthy Church, part 2 / Set

• The two foundations of a healthy church (chapter 4)
• The four ways churches grow— and how they build upon each other (chapter 5)
• The six functions of a healthy church (chapter 6)

Session 4 = Healthy Church, part 3 / Thrive

• The eight fruits of a healthy church (chapter 7)
• We will also review the Healthy Church assessment instruments, spiritual gifts assessments, and other online tools leaders can access to equip pastors and other church leaders

Session 5 = Healthy Systems, part 1 / The Five

We’ll walk through the five systems—

1. Path (the discipleship framework) (chapter 1)
2. People (both paid staff and volunteers)  (chapter 2)
3. Processes (chapter 3)
4. Place (culture) (chapter 4)
5. Purse (finances) (chapter 5)

Session 6 = Healthy Systems, part 2 / Frustrations into Freedoms

We’ll cover—

• Healthy conflict resolution and leading a church to “true unity” instead of artificial harmony (chapter 6)
• Current reality— the tension that leaders always see beyond where they are yet must also be content and fully present in the moment (chapter 7)

Session 7 = Healthy Systems, part 3 / Processes + People + the Presence

We’ll review a final word about systems, setting them in their proper place.

We’ll also review the “tech stack” and discuss how churches can communicate in a digital world, including the content from the appendix of Healthy Systems about online communication and the supplemental course.