Hello Oliver & Others,

I realize I am arriving late to the party—I will try my best to add to the dialogue. I resonate well with aligning local church vision and mission with God’s heart to reach the world with his love.

Moses’ interaction with God in Exodus 33:12-15 has always stuck with me as we exercise leadership  in our churches:

“Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”

The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here” (NIV, emphasis mine).

Oliver, as you have described, churches often go into places or engage in ministries or track budgets instead of meeting the real needs of their congregations. As Christian leaders, we must constantly reflect: If God’s presence does not go with us, where are we going?

I want to reply to Boyder’s comments on measuring and vision because they struck a chord with me.

She writes, “I agree with you that it is near impossible to measure the depth of growth a person experiences in their discipleship journey as a result of the work of the Holy Spirit.  Salvation and baptisms are certainly initial measurements, but how do you determine the ongoing growth of the spiritually mature?  My head spins at the thought!” (2018, emphasis mine).

As a pastor, I have spent a great deal of time wrestling with these sentiments—wanting to see our mission as both a church (To produce fully devoted followers of Christ) and as Christians (Matthew 28) fulfilled.

Lepsinger (2010) reminds us,

“Of course there are a wide variety of paths to reach any goal, and choosing among them and establishing priorities is the essence of execution . . . Still, the process can be simplified by breaking the vision down into manageable pieces—the Standards of Excellence . . . Standards of excellence describe measurable results in the areas that are most critical to the organization” (p. 37)

We measure decisions made (salvations) and baptisms—and I want to argue there are more elements to measure; however,  they take much more effort on our end.

  • We can measure whether or not people are serving (from ushers, to lay pastors).
  • What happens when we measure small group involvement (Leaders and attendees)?
  • Can we measure individual financial giving in a relevant manner?
  • Do we encourage and measure invitations (Both myself and others inviting others to church)?
  • On a case-by-case basis, we must ask, “how are our most spiritually mature engaging in the life and ministry of our church?”

I realize some of these questions can lead us into uncomfortable territory, but it is better for us to ask these questions so we can be intentional as congregants ask us, “How can I grow closer to Christ?”

We can assist our congregants to become better versions of themselves (TSL) when we move them towards spiritual and practical measures. We employ strategic plans with the goal of infusing energy into our one-on-one interactions, our marketing, and even our program development.

I have mentioned some measurables I have employed in the past to track growth. Let me know: what is working for you or what has worked for you in the past to measure growth in the church? What practical strategies have infused energy into accomplishing your mission, or vision?

References

Boyder (2018). Response to leader post || CM1. Retrieved from https://create.twu.ca/lboyd79/2018/10/11/response-to-leader-post-cm1/

Lepsinger, R. (2010). Closing the execution gap: How great leaders and their companies get results. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Parsons, O. (2018). TSL, strategy, self-sacrifice and christian ministry // CM1. Retrieved from https://create.twu.ca/oplearning/2018/10/10/tsl-strategy-self-sacrifice-and-christian-ministry-cm1/