I’ve been part of seven different churches in my life. These experiences have shown me that a church is very much like a person in a few different ways: no two are alike, they all have their faults, and most importantly, they all excel at something. In the coming weeks I’ll draw a profile of five of them and characterize something they did that left a lasting impression on me.

I want to point out in advance that my purpose in this is not to say that all churches should do all of these things, or that if an aspiring church planter were to combine all of the “good parts” he’d end up with the optimal church. No, that church would have more faults than any of these! Rather, the optimal church strives to be only what God has called them to be, resisting the lures of comparison and conformity to other churches. The optimal church meets the unique needs of their congregation and their community, and this will look different for every local gathering.

So as I profile these churches, understand that it’s not a prescription for success, only a celebration of excellence.