About the Founder

Hi, I’m Mike Robins.

I am married to Shelagh, have four children, three granddaughters, and enjoy kayaking whenever the weather allows.

I have spent more than thirty years serving local churches, leaders, and denominations. During that time, I have seen churches flourish, plateau, renew, and, sadly, decline.

One conviction has remained constant throughout my ministry: healthy churches help people flourish.

Not healthy in the sense of being perfect, impressive, or busy, but healthy in the biblical sense: churches where Jesus is central, disciples are formed, leaders are supported, people are cared for, and mission flows naturally from faith lived out.

What has always fascinated me is that churches with similar beliefs, resources, and opportunities can experience very different outcomes. Understanding why that happens has shaped much of my ministry, study, and research.

The Healthy Church programme grew out of that lifelong interest and conviction. It represents lessons learned through decades of ministry, leadership, observation, and reflection on what helps churches thrive over the long term.

My Journey

Before entering ministry, I worked as an engineer within the aerospace manufacturing industry. Following a call to ministry at the age of 32, I entered pastoral leadership and was ordained within the Elim Pentecostal Church in 1994.

After serving for a year as an Assistant Pastor in Bournemouth, my wife Shelagh and I were invited to move to Cornwall to re-pioneer a small seaside church of around twenty people.

Over the next 26 years, we focused on building a church rooted in discipleship, leadership development, prayer, and mission. By God’s grace, the church grew significantly and became a strong and influential presence within the local community.

During those years, leaders were identified, trained, and released into ministry. New churches were planted, ministries were established, and a substantial congregation was developed in a neighbouring town. Significant investment was also made in creating environments that enabled ministry to flourish across all age groups.

What mattered most throughout those years was never growth for its own sake. My greatest joy was seeing people discover their calling, mature in their faith, and step confidently into the purposes God had for them.

Those experiences taught me an important lesson: sustainable growth is usually the result of healthy foundations. When churches intentionally invest in discipleship, leadership, culture, and mission, growth becomes far more sustainable and fruitful.

Why Healthy Church?

Alongside local church ministry, I have spent nearly three decades working with churches, leaders, and denominations across a wide range of settings and traditions.

That experience allowed me to observe churches in every season: pioneering, flourishing, plateauing, declining, and renewing.

One pattern became increasingly clear. Most churches carefully monitor attendance, finances, and activities, yet very few intentionally evaluate the things Scripture repeatedly emphasises: discipleship, spiritual growth, leadership health, community, mission, service, and the overall well-being of God's people.

I also noticed that churches often became aware of challenges only after they had become significant. Leaders frequently had passion, commitment, and vision, but lacked clear visibility of what was happening beneath the surface of church life.

My engineering background significantly influenced my thinking. In aerospace manufacturing, safety and quality are never left to assumption. Systems are regularly reviewed, measured, and improved to ensure they remain healthy and effective.

In a church context, quality control becomes church health.

Healthy churches do not emerge by accident. They are built intentionally through prayer, discipleship, wise leadership, healthy culture, accountability, and continual reflection.

The Healthy Church programme was developed over three years to help churches gain clarity about their strengths, identify opportunities for growth, and create practical pathways towards greater health.

It is not designed as a scorecard or a quick fix. Rather, it provides a framework that helps leaders and congregations reflect honestly, listen carefully, and move forward prayerfully as they pursue healthy, sustainable ministry.

Wider Leadership Experience

Alongside practical ministry experience, I hold a Master of Theology (MTh) from the University of Chester, where my research focused on revival and church planting. I remain deeply interested in how theology, leadership, culture, and practice intersect in the life of the local church. (I was particularly intrigued to see how the Wesleyan Revival translated into phenomenal church growth over hundreds of years).

In 2017, I founded Church Dynamics, providing consultancy, coaching, and development support to churches across a range of denominations and traditions. Through this work, I have helped leaders navigate growth, transition, strategy, and organisational development.

I have also developed leadership and growth programmes, taught within church-planting environments, and spoken extensively throughout the UK and overseas.

From 2018 to 2025, I served at Compassion UK, concluding my tenure as Head of Strategic Partnerships. Working within a large and highly respected Christian organisation provided valuable insights into leadership, strategy, organisational health, and sustainable growth.

One lesson that particularly shaped my thinking was the importance of intentional review and reflection. Healthy organisations do not simply focus on growth; they continually examine culture, effectiveness, leadership, systems, and mission alignment.

The convergence of four areas of experience: engineering, local church leadership, church consultancy, and senior charity leadership, ultimately helped shape the Healthy Church programme.

In 2025, I stepped away from my role at Compassion UK to devote more time and energy to serving churches and leaders through Healthy Church, helping them create environments where people can flourish and fulfil their God-given calling.