Marks of a Thriving Church

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Hi folks,
I have been asked by a neighbouring church to be a part of a planning day they are having. They have asked me to offer some input around the understanding of what it means to be a thriving church. I have been given an hour, and have told them that my input will need to be pretty focused.
I am wondering… if it were you, what one or two things would you want to talk about with them to enable them to begin the journey?
From Tom Bandy

John:

In my view, the hallmarks of a thriving church are:

1) More and more adults are going deep into faith and their connection with God;
2) More and more volunteers are getting hands-on involved in mission;
3) More and more micro-cultures are connecting with some aspect of church life (worship, small groups, outreach, etc)
4) The congregation is making micro-macro connections ... linking local and global mission, personal mission and God's mission.

At the heart of a thriving church is an experience with Jesus that the community can't live without ... and a core discipling process that changes, grows, calls, equips, and sends servant teams into God's mission.

There are three questions church leaders need to ask themselves:

"What is your experience with Jesus this community can't live without?"
"With your first breath and your last penny, will it be "membership privilege" or "God's mission"?
"Are you willing to lose a few controllers to gain many more disciples?"

From Bill Easum

John, I like what TOm said, and I would add this

I would say a thriving church is one that relentlessly honors both the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.  That means it is so loving that it serves as an incubator of faith so that everyone grows in their faith and it is so aggressive in its understanding of mission that it will not rest until everyone in its city knows the answers to Toms three questions.