As Christ began building His church through His Spirit-filled disciples, we see eleven traits listed in Luke’s account from Acts 2:4-47 and 4:32-37. These are the symptoms of a healthy church that he lists:
1. Constant additions by salvation
2. Devoted to teaching
3. Devoted to fellowship from house to house
4. Devoted to communion
5. Devoted to prayer
6. Filled with fear and wonder
7. Sharing together financially to meet needs
8. Devoted to meeting together in the temple complex
9. Gladness and simplicity of heart
10. Praising God
11. Favor with all the people

Let’s look at the second of them briefly, within our context, and with a charge from God’s Word.
Devoted to teaching
Mark Dever, senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C. wrote the book, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. He states that, mark one of a healthy church is, expositional preaching – “that preaching which takes for the point of a sermon the point of a particular passage of Scripture.” His second listed mark is, commitment to a biblical theology based on God’s character and His ways. Both require strong devotion to the apostles’ teaching as found in the Bible. Acts 17:11 tells of the Bereans who hungrily sought to verify truth from God’s Word. 2 Timothy 2:2 instructs that we accurately, faithfully and intentionally teach what we have been taught, fulfilling Jesus’ great commission to teach all that He commanded. And Psalm 119:105 encourages that we can rely on God’s Word to show us how to function. A church that emphasizes teaching the scriptures well and dynamically says to people, “God has the way!” and says to God, “Your Word is our lantern.”
In our association, Trinity Baptist Church in Laramie has focused on solid, accurate teaching and has seen numerical growth as a result. Teachers have trained teachers who have started new classes. People want to be taught the truth consistently, thoroughly and accurately. In your personal life can you say, with your church and on her behalf, “Your Word is my lantern!” He will bless you with solid growth that provides a great foundation and a healthy church.