Here are some things I would love to see in a church environment
1. Multicultural - members from all races joined together in worship to God.
2. Biblical - preaching the word and also relating that word into today's world.
3. Spirit Filled - expecting that the Holy Spirit will turn up in power when the word is preached, souls are saved and also in corporate worship.
4. Leaders - who are genuine, caring and selfless about those whom they have to one day, make an account.
5. Social - On all levels from the creche to the elderly. Everyone can enjoy some kind of social gathering.
I will stop there. Please add ore or create your own list....
Angelina, to be honest based on my travels and experiences and in reading history, there are and will be only a few brick-and-mortar 'functioning' 'churches,' that last more that a decade or so these days. They are found with people who are not only believers and trust the Lord, they live in a community separated from the world in general. They have forged a set of social norms and morays and lifestyles that are somewhat unique. These especially occurred before the 20th century. The Amish, the Hooterites are still some of these surviving types here in the US and Canada. And then there are cracks developing in these as well as the forces from the outside world slowly creep in and threaten their integrity. Some of these small types of groups also spin off and turn extreme, and into cults.
In today's fast paced living with each person carrying and exporting/importing their own set of values, social values, unique cultural views, and ways of communicating, within a mix of true believers and those that profess, although not really believers and many non-believers in these churches,' there is no chance for functionality that counts for anything. You end up with a multicultural mix of all types of 'believers,' and even some atheists. The 'well' is already contaminated, and needs to be capped and one must move on.
That is why many well-intentioned believers usually leave their congregations out of disappointment with their expectations of a 'church' and hopelessness that is does not function well, and so why bother anymore.
The best bet for true participation and shared leadership and functionality in a gathering of believers is to join a cell or a 'small' group of like-minded folks and keep the membership very low. And then these are not affiliated with any world recognized chain, of hierarchical organization as a 'religion' like most Protestant and especially Catholic groups are part of.
I'm just very pessimistic about any useful functionality even truly maturing in congregations these days Angelina.
Besides, Christ never promoted brick-and-mortar 'churches.' In fact he clearly spoke of the opposite. The congregation of believers are from the heart, in the world and living in the world as the church, quietly, unnoticed and generally unattached to a religion of the world.
We do the will of the Father and attend his church and in his Kingdom daily, through obedience to his the Son who sustains his Body world-wide, as we live our lives with others of different types: with our families, people in our neighborhood, our communities, counties and districts and even folks like you and me on these types of chat sites.