Church Measurement Beyond the Tired Old Numbers

by Mark Tidsworth, Founder and Team Leader

It’s fascinating how churches take shape over time.

What they measure eventually becomes what they value, nearly their very identity. Churches can see their future selves in what they spend their time tracking, discussing, and promoting. Where our treasure is (that in which we are invested) is where are hearts are (what we value).

Here’s how this works. All the time we are training one another on what we value in church (any organization really). When church leaders come together with agenda in hand for meetings, they give attention to what’s important. Where their attention and energies collect reveals what they value.

With this in mind, how are our lay leadership team and church staff meetings different than corporate board meetings or staff meetings? Laid side-by-side, often these agendas look very much the same. We are tracking organizational metrics, doing our fiduciary duties to steward the organization.

In some ways this is well and good, as it should be. We need stewards of the organizational aspects of church. In other ways, many churches slowly train themselves to believe this is the highest form of stewardship by church leaders. Over time, we subtly forget we are stewards of the pearl of great price (the Way of Jesus). As culture-shapers, church leaders unintentionally train their churches to believe running a financially sound and responsible organization is our primary purpose. With energy largely focused on running the organization, we indirectly train everyone to believe increasing buildings, bodies, and budgets are indicators of success in church life. Nobody means for this to happen, yet happen it does. Mission-drift is subtle, else we wouldn’t buy into it. Subtle… and powerful, it is exerting a constant downward gravitational pull.

This point and place, right here in the tension between running the organization and pursuing God’s mission, is where we live.

So, let me articulate the other side of this dilemma inherent in church functioning. From where I sit, it seems the purpose of God’s Church is transformation. We are called to join God’s mission to:

• Transform ordinary human beings into disciples of Jesus Christ

• Transform churches into greater expressions of the body of Christ

• Transform communities toward the coming reign of God (KOG)

God loves and accepts us as we are – and loves us too much to leave us as we are – inviting us into a life of transformation. When we can get our hearts and minds there, this mission is so enlivening, setting our spiritual imaginations afire and energizing our life journeys. This is a mission worth pursuing, worth giving our one precious life to (thanks Mary Oliver).

Back to the other side of this dilemma… how in the world do we measure and report transformation? People in churches, like in other organizations, are convinced that if its not measured and recorded, it didn’t happen. They are cognizant and aware that the items occupying the most air space and time in our meetings are indicators of what we value. It’s just that we can easily quantify participation numbers in worship and in events, along with dollars in bank accounts and building maintenance. Quantifying and reporting transformation requires far more engagement, energy, and attention.

Perhaps this dilemma for church leaders is illustrative. Actually tending to transformation requires more from us than does simply reporting numbers. To track transformation in and through our churches we would need to engage one another at another level. We would need to know each other’s stories, becoming able to recognize transformation when it happens. We would need to engage our churches in significant ways to recognize transformation when it happens. When transformation is the priority, churches must function differently.

So, rather than avoiding this issue due to the inherent tension and dilemmas involved, here’s a very simple straightforward suggestion. As you begin your next lay leadership team and staff meetings, invite everyone to respond to this question:

“Where have you seen transformation happening in or through this church since our last meeting?”

Perhaps the deer in the headlights look is the response you will receive. Nevertheless, go right ahead and place this question first on the agenda for the next meeting. Ask the question again and again until people begin to think this may be important. I know of a church who asks a very similar question right there in its worship service, inviting people to respond out loud. They believe training themselves to look for the kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven is in alignment with God’s calling (since Jesus asked us to pray for this).

Transformation. Focus on it, talk about it, develop the eyes to see it, and over time God’s Church will find ways to track and measure it… if we even need to measure it when it becomes a central part of our collective church experience.