March 5, 2021

What does the word prosperous mean biblically?

There are many and varied opinions about the word “prosperity.” And due to excesses in some quarters of the Christian community, the image of prosperity has been compromised. Therefore, to get a balanced look at the true meaning of the word “prosperity,” we will go to the original Greek text.

‭‭3 John‬ ‭1:2‬ ‭TPT‬‬
“Beloved friend, I pray that you are prospering in every way and that you continually enjoy good health, just as your soul is prospering.”

The Greek word for “prosperity” is: Eu-odou= good path or good journey.

Other words related to this are: direction, destination, and a sudden movement forward.

Our family has always loved going on a journey. There were times when the journey wasn’t particularly comfortable or short, but we loved the prospect of the things to be discovered at the destination, or the reunions with family we journeyed to meet. And when kids came along, things got really interesting on these journeys. They had no concept of time, and would ask every 10 minutes, “Are we there yet?”

I feel like I spent the first part of 2020 asking God the same question: “Are we there yet?”

If the destination is the end of this pandemic, then the answer is no! We’re not there yet. But God has shown us that even though our journey has been hard, it’s still been a good journey because God has walked it with us. So the following question comes up.

Has 2020 been a good journey for us as a church?

If we reframe it to the original meaning of “good path” or “good journey,” has 2020 been a prosperous year in the biblical sense? Maybe we can find the answer at the end of this blog.

[ Prosperity and Lifehouse’s 2020 journey ]

1. Prosperity starts with our souls – Encourage each person in the church to connect with God personally.
2. Prosperity can surprise you – Sudden jumps we’ve seen in 2020:

[ Online content increase (in Japanese/English) ]

• Increased reach
• Rising leadership
• New campuses in many regions of Japan and other countries
• Unity of hearts
• New College Courses (design and video editing)
• Stronger Dream Teams 
• Stories of self discovery (new strengths and passion)
• An abundance of fun online
• People discovering the Importance of Family
• Community roots strengthened
• New music, new song writers
• God’s Word reaching new Demographics
• The launch of Zoe International School (planned launch April 2021)
• An increased capacity of vision and heart!
• Excitement and faith for the year 2021 (believing for more)

I think we can answer the question at the beginning of this blog with a resounding YES!

2020 has been a prosperous year for us as a church, despite all the challenges and hardships that have come along with it. Not only have we prospered but we have also picked up momentum that can take us into 2021.

Momentum: What the mathematical equation looks like for us. 

1. Direction: going in one direction, unity
2. Speed: increasing
3. Mass: reach, leadership

We take the increase into 2021, but we also take a deeper understanding of what true prosperity is, placing a higher value on relationships and health and being committed to work on them.

What did the “good journey” of 2020 look like for you?

What are you taking into 2021?