“What are you running?” It’s a question almost always asked soon after two or more pastors begin a conversation, with “What’s your budget?” following close thereafter. While these questions often emerge from an unhealthy way by which those in ministry assess their self worth, they do reflect important matrices for evaluating the overall health of a church. Nickels and noses, the two measures everyone wants to know.
Except….
These statistics, as important as they are, don’t reveal much. In fact, they reveal no more about congregational health than a thermometer says about the presence of cancer.
And no, this isn’t a “bash the big church” post. Most larger churches, at least in the Southern Baptist faith tribe, grew through the practice of biblical, healthy ministry systems.
But churches can be large, report high numbers of baptisms, or run their budget “in the black” and still fall short of the Lord’s mission. I know a church that closed with only five remaining members after leading their association in baptisms four years straight. Two funerals and four years of losing more people than they discipled precipitated their end.
The other problem with the nickels and noses scorecard is that, when decline occurs, we’re drawn to simplistic, knee-jerk assessments of the problem. So, when the church misses the budget, the deacons conclude the pastor must not be preaching enough on tithing. Multiple families leave the church, it’s the _____’s fault (insert responsible pastoral staff position here).
Of course there are multiple reasons why people leave or finances decline. Some can be identified with a particular offense or mistake, others the political or economic environment, change in family circumstance, or strategic misalignment. And many defy explanation.
So, if measuring nickels and noses is not enough, what else should we measure? I’ll not answer that question here. Thom Rainer, Christian Schwartz, Mark Dever and others have assessments they favor. Instead, I’ll leave you with some questions to consider with your team.
How will you assess worship gatherings to assure you are fulfilling Christ’s purpose for His gathered church? What is His purpose? What different elements comprise your congregational worship? How does each support the purpose?
How will you measure whether your disciple making pathways accomplish their intended purpose? What are your disciple making pathways? What outcomes are you teaching toward? How do you know when they are met? Do your groups actually work together to support these outcomes?
How will you measure deployment of disciples for Christ’s mission through His church? How are disciples connecting with unbelievers? How do disciples draw new people into your church? How do you deploy disciples for Great Commission and Great Commandment ministry beyond the church?
How will you discern whether church assets, facilities and budget in particular, align to support God’s mission? How much is mission and how much is “fluff?”
Of course, church health and vitality should always be assessed based on what scripture reveals is Christ’s intent for local congregations. As you consider these questions, I’d like to know what you think. Besides nickels and noses, what would you measure as an indicator of your congregation’s ministry health and vitality?
Bro. Jim