Changing the Scorecard of the Church

[James Nored]

I just finished reading Missional Renaissance by Reggie McNeal. I took Reggie for a D.Min. class at Fuller, and Becki and I heard him speak at a minister spouse retreat. He is very in tune with both the religious and the non-religious world, and I give him credit for inspiring me in a lot of the missional concepts that I've sought to make a reality. He gives practical, usable insights, and in person, he is a very witty guy.
A lot of this material he has shared in his seminars and in the excellent DVD series, The Present-Future. However, this book is an excellent book to hand to church leaders to help them see the practical application of what it means to be missional.

In this work he makes the point that whatever gets counted gets rewarded, and what has been counted in the past has often not been missional nor particularly spiritual. Instead, they have been institutional markers. Some obvious examples:

- Numbers in worship - Unless these are differentiated by members and non-members, these are really just church growth stats (which do have their place)

- Numbers in Bible class - This number by itself tells us nothing about whether people are growing spiritually. We assume that knowledge = transformation, and this is a false assumption. Again, this is an institutional measurement.

These numbers could double, triple in 5 years, and yet the numbers might only be people moving into an area. This perhaps might indicate church health, but these numbers alone say very little about whether or not a church is fulfilling its mission.

I have always sought to put in good counting systems in the churches at which I have served. I like to know these numbers so that I can gauge progress. There is nothing wrong with these numbers; however, they need to be but one set among many.

If mission from outreach and service to the community is fundamental to what the church is, then these numbers must be counted. Otherwise, the old scoring system might be merciless. For instance, if a church releases its members on Sunday or Wednesday night to serve people in the community and build up relationships, then Bible class numbers will take a hit. So those serving outside of the church building walls need to be counted in some way. And they need to be tracked, and celebrated when they rise. Concern should be raised when they drop--just like other numbers.

Other things we might record related to mission:
People prayed for in the community
- Number of people fed, clothed, from the community
- Number of community groups meeting in the church building
- Number of baptisms from the community
- Number of new outreaches begun & number of participants
- Number of spiritual conversations at work
- Number of people going on short term mission trips
- Number of people in evangelistic Bible studies, etc.

These kind of celebrations can help us keep other numbers in perspective. If Bible class attendance increases, does it really matter if people's lives do not change and we do not reach or serve people in the world?

Buy Reggie's book and give it to your church leaders!

What other kinds of of measurements could we make related to outreach and service?

[James Nored]

Hey dad. I'm obviously a big believer in helping people discover what they do well and equipping them to do these things. Thanks for sharing these stats.

[James Nored]

Hi Scott. I'm glad that you found the book review of sorts helpful. After you read it, share back what you think here if you can!

[James Nored]

Monica, I would love to meet Bryan. Sounds like a great guy. Always glad to find other missional ministers and churches. That is great that you guys brought in Reggie McNeal. He is tremendous.

[James Nored]

George, I understand the concern with measuring kingdom activity. Obviously, no number can tell the full story. However, the book of Acts counts baptisms, and these numbers represent preople. As do numbers like the "number of people fed" and the like. Your thoughts?

[Lynn S. Nored]

Not only is it true that what's measured gets counted, but is is generally true that what is measured get's done or get's attention. Another type of measurement focuses on the engagement of members instead of focusing on the outcomes. The Gallop Organization has a religious component that did a nationwide survey in 2001. They developed 12 items of "engagement" of members. They were: 1) As a member of my congregation I know what is expected of me 2) In my congregation my needs are meet 3) In my congregation I regularly have the opportunity to do what I do best 4) In the last month I have received recognition or praise from someone in my congregation 5) The spiritual leaders in my congregation seem to care about me as a person 6) There is someone in my congregation who encourages my spiritual development 7) As a member of my congregation my opinions seem to count 8) The mission or purpose of my congregation makes me feel important 9) The other members of my congregation are committed to spiritual growth 10) Aside from family members I have a best friend in my congregation 11) In the last six months, someone in my congregation has talked to me about the progress of my spiritual growth. and 12) In my congregation I have opportunities to learn and grow.

What is very interesting about the above is the results for those who were "engaged" according to the above factors. Their "outcomes" are they 1) are spiritually committed at levels up to eight times as high --reading bible praying, etc. 2) are up to twice as likely to be satisfied with their lives 3) are up to eight times as likely to invites others to their churches 4) volunteer at least twice as many hours per week in their communities and 5) give up to three times as much money to their churches. Strikingly, members who have the opportunity to do what they do best are Thirty-five times as likely to be engaged as be actively disengaged.

I would be very interested to hear what everyone thinks the above indicates for church leaders???

[Scott Johnson]

James,
I really think that you've hit a critical point here. So often the only numbers we think about are the "who's in church on Sunday and who's not." which, in all actuality means nothing in the unseen world of spiritual progress. Numbers do give you a VERY generalized, birds-eye view of what's going on, but as you stated, those are just institutional markers. They do not give you an idea very well as to what's going on OUTSIDE the church building. I think I'm going to check this book out. Thanks for the recommendation.

[Monica Healer]

James, You and First Baptist McKinney's Missional Pastor should really get together. His name is Bryan Doyle www.bryandoyle.info . At FBC, we brought in Reggie McNeal as a guest speaker at our "State of the Church" meeting earlier this year. Unfortunately, I had to miss but I heard amazing things about him and his passion for the future of the Church! In any case, I think if you and Bryan Doyle got together and shares some of your ideas....WOW! Bryan has made a huge impact on our church and his passion for living a "missional life" is very contagious.

[George Little]

Numbers are helpful. They give you an idea of what is going on but they never give you a good idea of what is going on. They tell you the quantity of work to some degree but tell us nothing about quality of work. History, I think, has shown that we too often become slave to numbers. As you can see, I have a real aversion to stats on kingdom activity. That's just me.

If we are going to pay attention to numbers I do like making them more specific as James suggests.

I am excited about this book. Thanks for the recommendation.

[Jason Whaley]

We go to regular community events. Of the five of us in living in this city, we're all either volunteers in community service or classes.

So maybe score:
Number of church people serving alongside non-church people IN the community.

Your post helped me come up with that, but is it fair?

[James Nored]

Jon, counting the number of meals shared, particularly with non-Christians, is indeed a great thing to measure. I like Michael Frost's missional practice of sharing three meals a week- one with a Christian, the second with a non-Christian, and the third meal can me with either.