What Is Healthy Growing Churches?

Healthy Growing Churches (HGC) is a network of
missional-minded individuals and churches
committed to expanding the Kingdom of God
by transforming their communities and
the world through and for Christ.

Six years or so ago, five people met in Orlando, Florida to discuss their concern for the state of the American church. Their passion was to once again make the Great Commission the driving force in the local church. Out of that meeting was birthed a new organization originally named The Great Commission Group. While the name was later to changed to Healthy Growing Churches, the passion that drove its conception remains the same. We are passionate about, and committed to, helping local pastors and churches focus once again on the fulfillment of the Great Commission, which we believe to be the marching orders for the church.

To achieve this, HGC has recently undergone a metamorphosis of sorts which includes a redesign of the website plus the strategic recruiting of several catalytic leaders that will lead the various components of the ministry. We also have launched our blog that will address the various components of this ministry as follows:

Church Multiplication. Rev. Tom Planck has been named as the Multiplication Catalyst. Tom directs HGC’s efforts in church planting and developing multi-site churches. Tom is a church planter at heart, and as such, well poised to lead this endeavor.

Church Consultations. Dr. Doug Talley serves as the Consultation Catalyst and provides oversight to the consultations HGC conducts with congregations. Doug has years of experience in assisting churches in Indiana and Florida, where he has served in state ministry, and with HGC.

Coaching. Rev. Jeff Matas serves as the Coaching Catalyst and is responsible for the coaching of pastors and congregations that go through the consultation process and enter into a covenant with HGC. We are convinced that coaching is a crucial component in the success of a church’s turnaround, as the pastor and congregation seek to implement the initiatives that are addressed in the covenant.

Leadership Development. Currently the primary thrust by HGC in leadership development is the Leadership Initiative, an online curriculum and coaching experience designed to assist individuals in the ordination process in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Colorado and Florida. Rev. Jeannette Flynn leads this ministry.

Personality and Strengths Assessments. An important part of what HGC does is in administering assessments to individuals. Dr. Greg Wiens, who serves HGC as the Chief Catalyst, heads up our assessment efforts.

I serve HGC as the Resource Catalyst and I will also be the general editor for HGC’s blog. Our plan is to post once a week something related to one of the various ministries listed above. We see the blog as a place for conversation where we present something that hopefully will not only be informative and stimulating but create a dialogue amongest our readers. Stay tuned and connect at least weekly for a new posting.

Do you have any thoughts you want to share? Are there subjects related to health and growth of the church you would like to see written about?