Northbridge Baptist Church, Charleston, was not a very healthy church just seven years ago. The average age of the congregation was rising, while attendance in worship and Sunday school was going down.
But in 2002 the church called a new pastor who built on their desire to turn things around based on a recommitment to evangelism and Sunday school. This refocus back to the basics of a biblically centered church has resulted in a 200-percent increase in both Sunday school and worship attendance over the past seven years, as well as both the nursery and children’s departments overflowing.
Prior to 2002, the church averaged 2.4 baptisms per year. Since 2002, Northbridge has baptized an average of 22 people per year, most of them adults. The church is on pace to set high water marks in baptisms and worship attendance in 2009.
Why would a healthy church experiencing this kind of growth express interest in a revitalization process? Louis Venable, senior pastor of Northbridge, put it this way: “We thought we were a pretty healthy church and that we were doing things considered healthy church behavior. We were very involved in evangelism and discipleship. We wanted to find out objectively if what we were doing was working. We needed an evaluation tool.”
The CHAMPS process became that evaluation tool. The Church Health Assessment and Mobilization Planning Strategy is an initiative of the South Carolina Baptist Convention to assist the local church in its task of fulfilling the Great Commission by focusing on the attributes of a biblically healthy church. A healthy church is described as one that is actively pursuing excellence in the six functions of the church as described in Acts 2:42-47: worship, evangelism, discipleship, prayer, ministry and fellowship. The CHAMPS process is designed to help the local church identify its current level of health in each of the six functions. The process utilizes an assessment tool known as the Strength Development Index (SDI) to gauge health.
After hearing about CHAMPS at an associational meeting, Venable led Northbridge to participate in the process. “Northbridge has always taken the position that God deserves the very best,” he said. “As a church, we are doing the best we can with the information we have available and with existing strategies. But we are always looking for God to provide a way so that we can be an even better church for him.” Northbridge is a good church seeking to become a great church for God’s glory.
While Northbridge has a desire to grow, the church also has a heart and concern for sister churches. This kingdom mindset begins with the senior pastor and extends throughout the staff and membership of the church. Because of this kingdom mindset, Northbridge reluctantly allowed the SCBC to recognize the church at the 2009 annual meeting. The point of this recognition was to increase awareness of the CHAMPS process as a valuable tool for both struggling and thriving churches. To date, of the more than 100 churches currently participating in the CHAMPS process, none has scored healthier on the SDI than Northbridge.
The folks at Northbridge downplay any recognition of themselves. They give God full credit and glory for what he has done in their midst. In fact, they just want to continue “reaching people for Christ and helping them grow in Christ, so they will glorify God and reach others for Christ.” – SCBC