{"id":11900,"date":"2012-10-13T11:04:45","date_gmt":"2012-10-13T15:04:45","guid":{"rendered":"\/news_blogs\/john\/?p=11900"},"modified":"2024-12-24T08:19:55","modified_gmt":"2024-12-24T13:19:55","slug":"the-measure-of-our-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/john\/2012\/10\/13\/the-measure-of-our-success\/","title":{"rendered":"The Measure of Our Success"},"content":{"rendered":"
This entry is part 17 of 18 in the series Faithful Strategy Development<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

Many ministries struggle with measuring<\/strong> their mission success. Which of a myriad of possible measurements are most helpful in determining progress towards mission accomplishment? Can you even measure intangibles such as someone’s journey towards Christ? Of all Christian ministries, I think churches<\/strong> find it hardest to measure what really matters, so here\u2019s some help for them. Of course, the same principles apply to all other Christian ministries too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I recently read\u00a0\u00a0The Measure of Our Success: An Impassioned Plea to Pastors<\/a>\"\"\u00a0by Shawn Lovejoy. His\u00a0urgent cause\u00a0is to get pastors away from the three Cs of unhealthy measurement: comparing, copying, and condemning, because they are based on the wrong definition of success. We’re not trying to prove ourselves better<\/em> than another church, or to copy and\u00a0become<\/em> another church or to put down<\/em> another church by, say, attributing their success to a\u00a0watering down of the Gospel. We are all trying to be faithful to the way God wants us to live and work and to the \u00a0mission he has given us. Given that noble calling, Lovejoy quickly knocks down the idols of bigness, numbers, fame and so forth that many pastors unintentionally serve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The starting place for measuring mission success is theological reflection on your ministry’s mission. What is God’s heart for your mission? What does he have to say about it? What is his ultimate goal that he wants your mission to achieve? The answers to these questions will define what mission success is for your ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Measurements Must Measure Mission, Values, and Strategy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the best questions I’ve come up with to help me decide what to measure is, How will the answer matter? What will we do differently depending on the answer? If the answer is nothing, or nothing significant, then find something better to measure. Did people enjoy the sermon or the worship? Good, but does that really matter? The real issue based on the mission of the church is, Did they change an attitude, have a new insight, or make a decision as a result of the sermon or worship? Will anything change in their life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So don’t measure the unimportant things. Look for the important things, things that will cause you to make significant changes based on the answer. Important things are directly related to your:<\/p>\n\n\n\n