By Dave Ferguson
Church leaders are being more creative than ever before in measuring ministry and stats that are significant for accomplishing the mission. Here is a long list of just some of the stats that are now being incorporated into churches” scoreboards. These came from dozens of churches just like yours who are trying to figure out how to make sure they are winning:
“¢ The number of people who attend a worship service
“¢ The number of people who are in a small group
“¢ The number of people who are serving both within the church and outside the church programming
“¢ The number of people who are going through an apprenticeship
“¢ The number of people who are in a small group with a written mission statement and commissioned
“¢ The number of new churches or campuses started
“¢ The number of people in new churches and campuses which their church started
“¢ The amount of money given to the church
“¢ The number of first-time givers to the church
“¢ The amount of money given to organizations outside the church
“¢ The number of other churches or not-for-profits with whom we partner
“¢ The number of leadership residents or people being trained to plant new churches or campuses
“¢ The number of missional communities
“¢ The number of applications received for micro-grants to fund community service projects
“¢ The number of baptisms in a year
“¢ The number of people who became a part of the church through personal invitation or connection
Ң The number of people who are customers of our caf̩
“¢ The number of people we send out from our church to other parts of the world as kingdom leaders
“¢ The amount of resources we give away and invest in global engagement
“¢ The number of relationships we have with people who are unchurched
“¢ The frequency with which our people connect with others in “third places” in their communities
“¢ The number of volunteer hours we invest in the community
“¢ The number of people who have completed a life plan and are in the process of pursuing that life plan
“¢ The number of invitations to events and outings received from non-Christians
“¢ The number of new relationships formed where people know each other”s names
“¢ The number of community-based initiatives our people are supporting with their time and money
“¢ The number of leaders we are developing
“¢ The number of Bibles purchased and given away because someone requested one
“¢ The number of people who can share their story
“¢ The number of groups that are reproducing
“¢ The percentage of people in a small group or missional community
“¢ The percentage of people serving in a ministry or in the community
“¢ The percentage of leaders with an apprentice
“¢ The number of people in intentional discipleship relationships
“¢ A statistical decrease in crime in a community
“¢ A statistical decrease in the number of children living below the poverty level
“¢ The percentage increase in home ownership in a community
“¢ The percentage increase of students graduating from high school
“¢ The decrease in the number/percentage of marriages ending in divorce
“¢ The number of people who have engaged in cross-cultural trips
“¢ The number of people who have led cross-cultural trips
“¢ The number of significant legislative or policy changes influenced
“¢ The number of people in recovery
“¢ The number of children adopted by members of our church
“¢ A statistical decrease in the number of children waiting to be adopted in our city
“¢ The number of children sponsored
“¢ Dollars spent per person being discipled
“¢ Dollars spent per person baptized
“¢ The number of life-change stories we can share with the church
“¢ The total percentage of budget given to causes outside the church
“¢ The percentage of people with a self-identified mission
“¢ The number of conversions
“¢ The number of new and consistent givers
“¢ The number of people who read through the Bible in a year
“¢ The number of people who completed a Bible reading plan
That is not a complete list of all the possible stats a church could use. It is just a list to get you started thinking and praying. As you decide what measurements need to be on your scoreboard, you may find yourself coming back to some of the statistics listed above that others are using. Or you may conclude there are some brand-new stats that need to be collected and measured in order to know whether you are winning and accomplishing the mission of Jesus.
Dave Ferguson serves as lead pastor with Community Christian Church in Naperville, Illinois, and provides visionary leadership for NewThing. Download his book Keeping Score for free at www.exponential.org/resource-ebooks/keeping-score/.
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