IMB Twelve Healthy Church Characteristics

Publisher: Global.Church (curator); International Mission Board (source framework) · Created: 2026-04-26 · 12 concepts

https://ontology.global.church/imb#TwelveCharacteristicsScheme

Twelve marks of a healthy church published by the International Mission Board (IMB) and used by IMB field teams as a qualitative church-health rubric. URIs are GC-curated representations of an IMB-owned framework — IMB does not publish RDF URIs, so this scheme provides stable identifiers for cross-org reference while attributing the source via dct:source. Result-values are qualitative — recorded as free-form text via gc:datumLiteralValue, not as scaled ratings.

Code	Label	Definition
`IMB12-DIS`	Biblical Discipleship	New believers are walked into obedience to Jesus through ongoing relationship with mature disciples. Field teams record whether discipleship is happening, who is doing it, and whether new disciples are themselves becoming disciple-makers.
`IMB12-EVG`	Biblical Evangelism	Members proclaim the gospel to those without Christ, both within their oikos networks and across cultural distance. Field teams record evangelistic activity by ordinary members, not just by recognized leaders.
`IMB12-FEL`	Biblical Fellowship	Members love and bear with one another in shared life — hospitality, mutual aid, care for the suffering. Field teams record whether the 'one another' commands are being lived out, not just preached.
`IMB12-GIV`	Biblical Giving	The body practices generous, sacrificial giving — sustaining itself, caring for the poor, and resourcing mission. Field teams record observable giving patterns and whether the body is financially indigenous.
`IMB12-LED`	Biblical Leadership	Qualified, indigenous leaders are identified, trained, and released to shepherd the body. Field teams record whether leadership is in place, whether it is reproducing, and whether the body is dependent on outsiders.
`IMB12-MEM`	Biblical Membership	The body has a clear, intentional understanding of who is and is not a member, with practices that establish identity, accountability, and care among members. Field teams record whether membership is meaningfully expressed.
`IMB12-MIN`	Biblical Ministry	Members serve the body and the surrounding community according to their gifts. Field teams record whether ministry is widely shared or concentrated only in formal leaders.
`IMB12-ORD`	Biblical Ordinances	Baptism and the Lord's Supper are observed in the body in ways consistent with their New Testament meaning and practice. Field teams record observed practice rather than mere belief about the ordinances.
`IMB12-PRY`	Biblical Prayer	The body practices personal and corporate prayer, including intercession for the lost. Field teams record whether prayer is a sustained rhythm rather than an occasional event.
`IMB12-SND`	Biblical Sending	The body sends its members out — across the street and across cultures — for evangelism, discipleship, and church planting. Field teams record whether the body is generative beyond its own gathering, the operational mark of multiplying churches.
`IMB12-TCH`	Biblical Teaching	Scripture is the authoritative source for the body's teaching, formation, and decision-making. Field teams record whether Scripture is being taught faithfully and whether teaching is shaping the body's life and obedience.
`IMB12-WOR`	Biblical Worship	The body gathers regularly to worship the triune God in spirit and truth. Field teams record observable patterns of corporate worship — frequency, posture, content — without scoring on a fixed scale.