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Measure What
Matters - Part One
By Dan
Reiland
Numbers, measuring and
keeping track of things seem mechanical and impersonal until they are about me.
Numbers get personal and matter when it comes to my age, my weight, my
cholesterol level and my bank account. The truth is every number tells a story.
(My waistline tells a story that I'm not getting into today.)
As a church leader, do
you migrate toward numbers and keeping track, or do you avoid it if at all
possible? I don't enjoy numbers, keeping track, or measuring, but I have learned
to appreciate their value, so I do. Every number not only tells a
story...believe it or not, it also has heart. Numbers have heart because they
are ultimately about individual people.
When Jesus told the
parable about the lost sheep in Luke 15, it is clear that in order for the
shepherd to know one was missing, he had to count. I know the point isn't
counting, and that is my point. It's about the one! I care about how many
visitors and converts we have because it's about the one.
In this and the next
Pastor's Coach article, I am going to discuss measuring what matters. In
this article I will cover hard data, and in the next issue, "heart data." Hard
data is much easier to measure, but heart data, although subjective, cannot be
overlooked. We'll cover attendance, plus five key church life issues to measure,
in this first category of hard data.
Attendance
I call attendance the
"cosmetic" number because it is not always what it appears. Some churches have
had an ecclesiastical facelift when it comes to their attendance. As a church
consultant, I am amazed at the creativity with which some churches count their
worship attendance, and the many different definitions of "about five hundred."
The second reason I call it the cosmetic number is because it's the number that
we like to make us look good. We like the attendance number because it's the
largest number we get to work with. The trouble is, of the measurements that
matter, it matters the least. Gathering a large crowd of people who are
spiritually unresolved is critical, but we can't stop there. Helping people
become fully devoted followers of Christ is the other half of the equation.
Attendance can be deceiving.
A church of five thousand may seem impressive until you discover it's been stuck
at about five thousand for years. In contrast, you may think a church of 150 to
be very average, until you discover it's in a little town in the middle of
nowhere. One church that fits the latter profile is Leslie First Baptist in
Leslie, Michigan. They are in a town of 2,050 where there are several churches
from which to choose. Toby Teague is the pastor and is doing a great job. Eight
years ago when he arrived, the church attendance was thirty. Today it is 175
with a high day last year of 415. Now those numbers tell a story. I love their
church brochure. It says, "The Church that Could Care Less." Then it opens to
read, "We could care less where you come from, We could care less where you've
been, we could care less what you have, The thing we really do care about is You
and so does God." Good job Toby, keep up the good work!
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Church Life Issue
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Character It
Reveals
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1st Time Visitors
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Selfless Attitude
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Measuring the
number of first time visitors tells us much about the health of a church.
Particularly when you also study how many of your visitors are not
Christians. Who you invite and attract is as important as how many. A high
number of visitors generally reveals a selfless character within the
church. New people on your church property communicates that you care
about people not yet part of your church family and that you are willing
to make room for them. This sends a strong message to both those who are
already part of your church as well as those who are not.
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Converts
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Faithful Obedience
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Keeping track of
the number of new converts is not a cold-hearted, mechanical thing. It's
the primary way to measure the faithful obedience of your congregation to
the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20. Keeping track the right way
means far more than just counting numbers. You need to know the name of
every new convert and where they are in their new faith journey. For
example, have they been baptized? Have they started some kind of new
Christian training classes or small groups? In other words, what follow-up
do you do to encourage and strengthen their faith?
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Volunteers in
Ministry
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Responsible
Gratitude
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The number of
people involved in strategic, spiritual gift-based ministry helps you
measure the "muscle" of your church. God's plan in Scripture is clear in
Ephesians 4:11-12: The pastors are to equip the saints to do the work of
ministry, not just do all of the ministry themselves. This is a key
ingredient of a strong church. We all know churches with superstar
pastors; the kind that when the pastor leaves, the church basically
collapses. This is not true for all such churches, but unfortunately, it
is for most. The difference between one that does and one that does not is
how many committed and trained volunteers are part of the ministry. The
number of people equipped for meaningful ministry can and will transform a
local church. Measuring this number will give you insight to the
responsible gratitude of the congregation. I'm not talking about works of
righteousness. We are saved by faith, not by works. I'm saying that when
the people of God begin to mature in that faith, they can't help but
express their gratitude for what God has done for them through Christ.
They then begin to become more responsible for their faith. They begin to
understand that it was never meant to be kept all to themselves, but to be
shared with others. And whatever part of ministry they help with, it's
part of the church reaching out to those who are spiritually unresolved.
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People in Small
Groups
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Authentic
Relationships
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Real life change
takes place best in the context of a small group of people who are open
and honest and engaged in healthy relationships. The larger a church gets,
the more important this number becomes. I will admit that it is difficult
to get a handle on who is and who is not in an "authentic" relationship.
But difficult or not, it is vital that we press the issue. This is done
through top-notch and ongoing training of your small group leaders. When
people are offered healthy and productive relational environments where
they can be honest with each other, it is a tremendous help for them to
become honest with God about who they are and what He wants them to
become.
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Offering
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Mature Commitment
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You didn't think I
would leave out money, did you? The reactions to measuring money matters
vary greatly from hyper-interested to avoidance and denial. Neither are
healthy or wise. Just face the reality of where you are financially.
Whether you like it or not, ministry costs money, and it's not cheap.
Churches with strong general fund per-capita giving ($20.00 and up per
person, based on average attendance per Sunday) have stronger ministries
because they are able to do more and hire quality staff. At a deeper
level, however, your church income gives you insight to the level of
spiritual maturity level in your congregation. Although we don't like to
talk about it because it doesn't feel spiritual, mature Christians give
more money than immature Christians. That's just a fact. So while it might
feel like business, it's more about the growth and commitment of your
people to God and His work.
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There are so many other
things you could measure, but focus on measuring what matters, understand what
the numbers are telling you, and keep on leading!
Blessings!
This article is used by permission from Dr. Dan Reiland's free monthly
e-newsletter 'The Pastor's Coach' available at
www.INJOY.com.
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