Online Assessment
Responses you provide will not be stored or shared, but only used for purposes of this self-assessment by your organization.
Purpose: Measure where leaders in the church invest the bulk of their time and energy
Enter a % distribution of time for each activity by each group. Make sure each role/column totals to 100%.
Key to Church Growth & Impact:
Treating Members as Your Church vs. Enabling a "Consumer" Mentality
Maturity Model
|
ORGANIZATION |
1 – "Consumer" |
2 – "Caterer" |
3 – "Climber" |
4 – "Challenger" |
5 – "Change Agent" |
|
Time Allocation (staff and pastors) |
Nearly 100% of pastor/staff hours invested in member/attender-related attraction and retention activities |
<10% of time invested in building and engaging disciples (versus building and growing the organization) |
10%-25% of time shifted from attraction/retention to training and sending members into ministry work |
25%-40% of time focused on activities that prepare and equip members to "be the church" to those around them |
Majority of time spent discipling, empowering teams, equipping, deploying, and networking |
ACTION PLAN:Quick Tips: 1. Do Less – Evaluate each initiative and program at your church to see if it is consistent with the concept that members ARE the church and the community is your "customer". Are the investments of your pastors' and staff's time all geared toward (and effective in) preparing members to BE the church after they leave the building on Sunday? 2. Exchange the Good for Great – Trade in some staff meetings for opportunities to network with local secular and Christian leaders, offering your church to serve where needed most. Reallocate much of your administrative time to personal (1-on-1 or triad) discipleship. 3. Delegate More – Let lay leaders lead. Entrust more of the operations of the church and care of members to Deacons – that's their Biblical role. Meanwhile, empower Elders to disciple, teach and pray as they were intended, alleviating much of the burden on pastors. 4. Look for Efficiencies – Whatever activities you decide are most worthwhile, do them more efficiently. For example, mobilize more members to engage in showing the love of Christ to your church's intended "customer", the community where your church is planted, using Meet The Need. More Reading (Click Links): Responsibilities of Deacons and Elders #3 - Churches Should Not Treat Members as "Customers" #23 – The 3 Roles of Great Pastors eBook – 5 Steps to Revitalize Your Church Meet The Need - Solutions to equip churches to reach their communities |
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Purpose: Measure where the church invests its dollars
Ensure the line items total to 100%.
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Budget Allocation |
Nearly 100% of budget spoken for by largely "fixed" internal expenses; little to no investment in community ministry |
<10% committed to local/global impact through funding discipleship, local and int'l missions and ministries |
10%-25% freed up to train and send disciples and support local ministries; realizing people are more generous with a generous church |
25%-40% redirected to support and empower internal impact teams, discipleship programs and local ministries or causes |
Church operational expenses cut to point where 40%+ can be dispersed to member-led and non-member-led ministries and causes |
ACTION PLAN:Quick Tips: 1. Be a Generous "Church" – Rather than defining your church's generosity in terms how much members give to the church, reevaluate generosity in terms of how much of your church's budget goes toward your real "customer" – the lost in the community. 2. Give Your "First Fruits" – Churches often accuse congregations of giving its "leftovers" yet churches do the same thing – their fixed expenses are so high there's little remaining when all the bills are paid to invest in loving and serving those who don't know Jesus. 3. Investing for Growth and Impact – Church plants begin with a vision for impacting a community, but typically retrench inside the "4 walls" once the demands of running a church take hold. Recapturing the initial vision God gave the church often entails moving back toward the church's initially allocation of dollars. 4. Give More, Get More – Ironically, as a church is more generous, investing in its community, the resulting growth and excitement about making a difference drives more donations to the church. Members are more generous with generous churches. More Reading (Click Links): |
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Purpose: Determine whether leaders truly consider its members to be the church. Instructions: Check all that apply.
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Role of Pastors vs. Members |
Hierarchy where pastor is in charge, staff exists to serve pastors & members, and members are passive participants in church activities |
Members given responsibility for some ministries, but generally sense they’re working “for” the church and not “as” the church |
Members beginning to be seen as “insiders”; plans in place to create leverage by better utilizing members to reach others |
Pastors humbling themselves to relinquish some control; lay leaders and members accepting greater responsibility |
Pastors, staff are on essentially equal footing; lay leaders equipped and empowered to run micro church outposts |
ACTION PLAN:Quick Tips: 1. Bring Them In to Send Them Out – Your members and attenders, not just the pastors and staff, ARE the church. The job description for church leaders is to equip and mobilize the entire congregation to be effective in their role as the living, breathing body of Christ. 2. Build Disciples, Not an Institution – Why do you market your church? Why do you encourage others to come to your church? It's important for pastors, staff and lay leaders to examine their hearts, ensuring the goal remains the Great Commission, not church growth. 3. Challenge and Direct Members – Any hesitancy to boldly challenge members and frequent attenders to BE the church - for fear of losing them to the church down the road who still "caters" to theirs - is wrong. Instead, church leaders should train them as "insiders", show them ministry opportunities to reach the "lost" and hold them accountable for living out the Great Commission. 4. Flatten the Org Chart – For churches to have a dramatic impact on the world around them, they need leverage. Fully utilizing the "manpower in the pews" entails pastors relinquish much of their centralized authority, knowledge and responsibility to members. More Reading (Click Links): #2 – Members, not just pastors and staff, ARE the Church #4 – Root Cause for the Church's Decline |
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Purpose: Evaluate whether the church is doing more to cater to or to challenge members
In each row, consider which of the two options best describes your church in terms of what you expect of (emphasize to) members and assign a relative percentage score (each row should total 100%):
|
Expectations of Members |
Primary focus on ensuring first-rate church experience for members/visitors; culture where members evaluate church performance and pastors/staff seek to ensure satisfaction |
Regularly asking members to serve and give but nearly exclusively internally; little expectation and no accountability for life change or impact on others |
Testing concept of challenging members; transition underway from members expecting church to perform to church expecting members to perform |
Weekly challenging members to “be the hands and feet of Christ”, but no longer losing them - they’ve bought into “we are the church” mentality; limited accountability |
High expectations of all members; holding them accountable for performance in serving (in/out), evangelizing, engaging beyond service attendance; Full member buy-in |
ACTION PLAN:Quick Tips: 1. Fear Factor – Pastors demonstrate a great deal of faith and courage as they start a new church plant. At that early stage there's little to lose – no large membership and limited investments of hours and dollars. As the stakes rise, pastors become more cautious about challenging members to do all they could and should to win people to Christ. Leaders should remember and rekindle that initial fire. 2. Cheap Grace – Companies don't feel at liberty to require anything of customers – they would never demand customers read the owners' manual and evangelize the company. Churches treat members similarly today – treading lightly when it comes to asking members to live out the Great Commission. 3. What Have You Got to Lose – The modern American church growth model isn't working - 93% of churches aren't growing. The perception of churches and Christians is in decline. Churches should take a chance and readopt the definition it had for 1900 years of its "customer" – the lost in the community where it's planted. 4. Who's Evaluating Who – Churches track attendance, worrying about losing members, and turning churchgoers into "shoppers". Church leaders should turn the tables on the balance of power – despite fears of a smaller percentage of churchgoers distributed over a large number of churches - challenging members to BE the church pursue its real "customer". More Reading (Click Links): #9 – When Did We Start "Shopping" for Churches? #10 – Why Churches are Afraid to Challenge Members #18 – The Ultimate Church Growth Model (continued) #26 – Raise Your Expectations of Members or Try to Meet Theirs |
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Purpose: Determine what people hold the power/influence within the church
Which of the following best describe how you’ve set up your organizational structure?
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Expectations of Members |
Primary focus on ensuring first-rate church experience for members/visitors; culture where members evaluate church performance and pastors/staff seek to ensure satisfaction |
Regularly asking members to serve and give but nearly exclusively internally; little expectation and no accountability for life change or impact on others |
Testing concept of challenging members; transition underway from members expecting church to perform to church expecting members to perform |
Weekly challenging members to “be the hands and feet of Christ”, but no longer losing them - they’ve bought into “we are the church” mentality; limited accountability |
High expectations of all members; holding them accountable for performance in serving (in/out), evangelizing, engaging beyond service attendance; Full member buy-in |
ACTION PLAN:Quick Tips: 1. Turn Small Groups into Neighborhood Groups, responsible for "prayer, care and share" in their particular locations (this is the most grass-roots example of structuring a church relationally) 2. Form Teams assigned to ork with particular local ministries and/or cause(s) 3. Facilitate "Planting" of Ministries by members to fill cause-related gaps in the city 4. Consider Restructuring into Semi-autonomous, Medium-sized Subgroups around geographic or cause lines (since entire congregations are hard to mobilize and small groups lack the scale to make a significant impact) 5. Assign a Staff or Lay Leader to Manage your Community Missions Efforts and another to lead discipleship and elevate those positions to a high standing within the church, commensurate with the reversion to defining the community and not members as your "customer" More Reading (Click Links): #24 – 5 Organizational Tweaks that will Revitalize Your Church |
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Purpose: Understand how the church makes its name known and entices people to come
Which methods are you most reliant on to attract new visitors? Rank 1 through 7 based on your relative emphasis (not based on effectiveness, e.g. best source of new visitors).
|
Marketing |
Advertises attractive features of services/ environment (only appeals to Christians from other churches); channels are member invitations, mailers and billboards |
In addition to Level 1 marketing, does occasional outreach events, such as servant evangelism, but emphasis is on marketing the church |
Members accept real responsibility for invitations and evangelism; they begin to understand inextricable link between prayer, care and share |
Year-round service based outreach is primary marketing strategy; Little need for advertising due to visibility in community through service |
Goal of church body has shifted from marketing church to showing God's love by being the "hands and feet of Christ" in the community |
ACTION PLAN:Quick Tips: 1. Community Engagement is the Best Marketing Plan – Ironically, if the intent is to market the church (institution) then marketing will fail to bring in the right people – "non-consumers". Instead, training and sending disciples attracts those looking for much more. 2. People are Attracted to Christians, not Churches – Church is not a what – a place. It's a who – us. The church's power is in the vast number and diverse giftings in the body – fueled by the Holy Spirit. Rather than cater to members, prepare members to be a light to those around them. 3. Branding versus Targeted Marketing – Consider your branding strategy, what people think of when they hear the name of your church, versus your targeted marketing strategy, how you reach out to those you want to attract. Few churches do either of those appropriatly. 4. Advertise Love and Compassion – Messaging on mailers and billboards touting service format, facilities, children's ministries, etc. – which only appeals to Christians – entice folks from other churches. Instead, use messaging of hope and love that brings in new believers. More Reading (Click Links): #3 - Churches Should Not Treat Members as "Customers" #6 – The True Intended "Customer" of the Church #11 – The Starting Point for Revitalizing Your Church |
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Purpose: Discuss ways in which your church encourages people to come back
Rank (1-12) the importance the following have in encouraging visitors and occasional attenders to come back next Sunday.
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Retention |
Very careful not to inconvenience congregation (e.g. 1 hour service and only light pushes for more engagement); retention is a key metric for the church |
Concerned about "revolving door" and taking steps to make church more attractive and engaging for members and visitors; tracking attendance |
Walking fine line between catering and challenging, pushing more but not too hard for fear of losing people to churches down the road who still cater |
Staff fully bought in (i.e. retention no longer an objective of leaders) but some members/attenders, still leaving as leaders step up call to discipleship/service |
Pastors courageous in challenging church to go out of their way to be discipled, disciple, and serve others; members fully on board, staying and responding |
ACTION PLAN:Quick Tips: 1. Retention as a Goal is Sin – If hoping members or regular attenders will come back next weekend causes you to soft-pedal the gospel or the costs of discipleship, that is a disservice to them and the Kingdom. 2. Be Willing to Lose a Few – The future trajectory of a church that decides it's time to reorient toward the model behind the fastest growth in the Church's history and the most successful companies is not a straight upward-sloping line. Those remaining after you challenge the congregation with the Great Commission can grow your church exponentially. 3. Retain Through Impact – Few will want to leave a church that's making a tremendous difference in the lives of people and in their city. Instead though, most churches misallocate resources and funds by trying to retain and grow through attraction and "customer service". 4. Let Some "Graduate" – If your church can't offer all of the teaching and discipleship a person needs to become all they can be in their faith and walk with the Lord, encourage them to go elsewhere. More Reading (Click Links): #3 - Churches Should Not Treat Members as "Customers" #5 – You Can't Ignore the Customer and Succeed #9 – When Did We Start Shopping for Churches? #10 – Why Churches are Afraid to Challenge Members #26 – Raise Your Expectations of Members or Try to Meet Theirs #31 – There's a Place for Seeker Churches eBook – 5 Steps to Revitalize Your Church |
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Purpose: See how your church approaches discipleship and challenges members in that area
In the first column, indicate which discipleship options your church offers, and in the second column the % of your total congregation that participates in each.
|
Discipleship |
Not available except through small groups; seeing only limited participation in small groups with undiscipled leaders running them; no 1 on 1 discipling even among pastoral staff |
Small group format only but solid participation; members role is to invite others to church, not pushed to evangelize or disciple, leaving it to "professionals" |
1 on 1 discipleship only among pastoral staff and a a small number of lay leaders/deacons/ elders; those discipled leaders assigned to run all small groups |
Small group format no longer viewed as key to discipleship or organized such that it involves intensive Bible study by trained leaders; widespread 1 on 1 discipleship |
1 on 1 highly organized and intensive discipleship required for all members and frequent attenders; requirement that all disciple others |
ACTION PLAN:Quick Tips: 1. Discipleship is the Key to Growth and Impact – Even though the community is the real "customer", ministry inside a church is actually more important than ministry outside the "4 walls" because the internal dictates how much impact its members will have externally. 2. Are Your Members Disciples? – Do you members and frequent attenders look and act like Jesus? Do they share his primary attributes – constantly seeking the lost, a servant, compassionate, sacrificial, and wholly dependent on the Father? 3. If Not, How Do You Get Them There? – Since members ARE the church, they're "insiders"- more like employees than "customers". Would a company consider a 30 minute presentation each week and group discussions with fellow employees to be adequate training? Of course not. Intensive, effective training is 1-on-1 and on-the-job. 4. The Main Impediment to Discipleship – Discipleship is hard work, risky, costly and messy. When presented with the truth of what's involved, most "consumers" will leave for the less demanding church down the road. Be willing to challenge everyone in spite of that. More Reading (Click Links): #14 – Nothing We've Been Discussing Will Happen Unless Your Church Does This #15 – Why Small Groups Aren't Making Disciples #17 – The Ultimate Church Growth Model #18 – The Ultimate Church Growth Model (continued) – gain and lose members |
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Purpose: Review the types of programs and ministries you offer to attenders/non-attenders
Rank the following 12 programs/ministries, if offered at your church that have been most responsible for your growth to date:
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Programs/Ministries |
Offers no ministries or programs for those who do not go to the church; the word "ministry" is defined to mean internal only |
Has 1-2 seasonal ministries available to the public but invests very little in building awareness of them in the community |
Defines the word "ministry" to mean ministering to the unchurched; identified key local issues to address |
Designed and implemented 5-10 externally focused programs/ministries (some ongoing and some annual) |
Structured and actively marketing 10 or more year-round ministries specifically addressing issues in the community |
ACTION PLAN:Quick Tips: 1. Serve the Community – Evaluate how many of your church's programs are geared toward attracting and engaging members. Compare that to how many are truly preparing them to pursue the true "customer" (the community where the church is planted) and how many programs directly serve those "customers". 2. Empower Leaders – To motivate members to become the "hands and feet" of Christ in the community, make them responsible for running and promoting your church's externally-facing programs. Pastors and staff alone can't manage the number of community-oriented programs your church should have. Consider how you're using EACH of your internal ministries to equip and mobilize ALL to live out the Great Commission. 3. Measure Success – To see what ministries and programs are effective in reaching the lost, first develop goals for each one. Then determine whether they're accomplishing those objectives and hold leaders accountable. Little gets done without setting and tracking goals. 4. Publicize – Invest in building awareness of your community programs and ministries. How visible are they? Make sure they're promoted and run year-round to avoid the appearance that your love and compassion are transactional rather than truly relational. More Reading (Click Links): #3 - Churches Should Not Treat Members as "Customers" #5 – You Can't Ignore the "Customer" and Succeed #12 – Where Does the Road Lead if Churches Don't Change? #13 – The Entire Church Pursuing the Real "Customer" #24 – 5 Organizational Tweaks that will Revitalize Your Church http://thomrainer.com/2015/11/five-problems-with-church-programs/ |
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Purpose: Determine the degree and nature of the church’s commitment to Jesus’ model for serving before/while sharing the gospel
Key:
- % Dollars = % of overall church budget spent on each item
- % Participation = % of members engaged in each activity
|
Local Missions |
No budget, only 2-3 service events per year, typically around the holidays, where church's name is referenced to act as marketing |
Frequent activity but limited participation and transactional; coming more from desire to "check the box" than a sincere concern for people in the community |
Defines the word "outreach" to mean reaching out to the unchurched; 5-10% of budget and rate of participation in internally-run and external ministries |
10%-30% of budget committed; relational year-round with follow up; tracking activity and impact; multiple local ministry partners; 1-2 on-campus ministries |
Level 4 but where care and love for the lost and hopeless in the community baked into the fabric of the church's culture; 30%+ budget and participation rate |
ACTION PLAN:Quick Tips: 1. Who You Are, Not What You Do – Bake care and love for the lost and the community into the fabric of your church's culture. If it's not on the hearts and minds of pastors and lay leaders, then it won't be near and dear for your congregation either. 2. It's all About Them – Motives for community events must be pure - not about marketing. The definition of the word "outreach" in America today has come to mean advertising your church (to anyone) rather than engaging and serving (the lost in the community). 3. Don't "Check the Box – Occasional service events can actually damage the perception others have of your church. People won't believe your church genuinely cares unless you follow up with organizations and individuals touched during events to form ongoing relationships. 4. See What's Working – Monitor and track the success of your local missions efforts. Are enough members involved? How many lives are being touched? Is the gospel being shared? Are initiatives being run efficiently? If not, use free software provided by Meet The Need. More Reading (Click Links): #5 – You Can't Ignore the Customer and Succeed #6 – The True, Intended "Customer" of the Church #7 – Churches Largely Ignore Their True "Customer" #16 – 5 Steps to Maximize Your Church's Impact eBook – Transform Your Community Forever in 6 Months Meet The Need - Solutions to equip churches to reach their communities |
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Purpose: Church’s success in getting members involved in internal and external ministry
Which of the following best describes the attitude of members toward serving?
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FRUIT/RESULTS Member Engagement/Service |
Members expect to be fed, provided for and entertained; 1-2 events that involve no outside contact (e.g. canned food drives); less than 5% engagement |
Still reluctant to ask; nearly all requests for "church chores" besides 2-3 service events involving direct contact with those being helped; 5-10% engagement |
Members getting sense they are the church, so service is not optional; Church assesses gifts and deploys into internal and external options; 10-20% engagement |
Church publicizing service opportunities inside and outside church on weekly basis; members fully see role as to serve, not to be served; 20-30% engagement |
30%+ engagement in international and local missions on year-round basis; staff and members bought into need to work together to reach real "customer" |
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1. Are Members Being Adequately Challenged? – Pastors talk about "fields white for harvest" and the Great Commission but is your congregation living those out between Sundays. Are all hands on deck pursuing the real "customer" or should your church push them harder to BE the church in the community? 2. What are You Challenging Them to Do? – Are your requests for volunteers much more geared around "church chores" than serving the community and reaching neighbors with the gospel? Research needs in the community and train and prepare members to model a prayer, care, share lifestyle around all those they meet. 3. Attitudes Toward Serving – Do members see serving at your church or in the community as fulfilling an obligation, a good deed or a favor. If so, they haven't fully bought into their role as the living, breathing church but instead still believe church is an institution. 4. Levels of Engagement – How many in your congregation understand their spiritual gifts and are actively leveraging them for the Kingdom? Empower and equip more lay leaders to take ownership of internal and externally-focused ministries and to recruit others to join them in their efforts. Show more needs that fit the giftings of your members using Meet The Need. More Reading (Click Links): #7 – Churches Largely Ignore Their True "Customer" 13 – The Entire Church Pursuing the Real "Customer" eBook – 5 Steps to Revitalize Your Church Meet The Need - Solutions to equip churches to reach their communities |
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Purpose: Understand whether the church is trying to or is actually making a difference in the eyes of the unchurched and (Christian and secular) leaders in the city
Which of the following best describes the level of impact your pastors and staff currently has in your local area?
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Impact on the World |
Staff nor members recognize church's role in addressing issues like hunger or homelessness, in part because it doesn't believe it can make a difference |
Small, occasional events but not with goal or expectation to make a real dent in the spiritual climate, moral compass or social issues of the local area or world |
Stands up for justice and mercy issues, even alongside non-Christians and those of other faiths; staff and members sense need to play a role in alleviating social ills |
40%+ of members actively deploying talents and treasures in the community; demonstrating God's love powerfully to many across all walks of life in the city |
Level 4 plus initiates projects/programs, and enlists partners, to address specific issues of concern to local citizens; seen as a trusted source of hope and help |
ACTION PLAN:Quick Tips: 1. Expand Your "Footprint" – Deconstruct the "skyscraper" mentality and "take ground" by decentralizing, entrusting more responsibility to neighborhood groups, local ministry teams, and other structures that fully deploy the leverage sitting idle in your pews across your city. 2. Become a Factory and Not a Warehouse – Produce world-changing disciples who no longer view the Great Commission as a choice but as a commandment. Disciples realize that Jesus healed and fed before telling them who He is. They have more encounters with the lost and maximize the impact of every interaction. They don't stop at inviting people to church, not leaving conversions to the "professionals". 3. Rally Around Cause(s) – Uncover burning issues in the community and make a bigger difference by honing in on a couple of them. Convince everyone of the importance of the cause and get as many involved as possible, year round. Reallocate budget to support these efforts or your congregation and the community won't believe your church is really committed to the cause(s). 4. Enlist Partners – No one church can do it all. Link arms with those already working on the selected cause(s) or think of creative solutions and recruit other organizations to join you in your efforts. More Reading (Click Links): #11 – The Starting Point for Revitalizing Your Church #12 – Where Does the Road Lead if Churches Don't Change? #16 – 5 Steps to Maximize Your Church's Impact #24 – 5 Organizational Tweaks that will Revitalize Your Church #25 – Why Churches Should Work Together but Don't eBook – Transform Your Community Forever in 6 Months Meet The Need - Solutions to equip churches to reach their communities |
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Purpose: Determine whether the church has a “voice” in the city
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Influence in the Community |
Internally focused; more concerned about building an organization than building disciples that move the area's spiritual needle |
No real voice – seen but not heard; Few connections of pastors/staff to other ministry, business or church leaders outside its "4 walls" |
Pastors/members are well liked and fairly connected locally but not viewed as an authority or go-to-resource by local leaders |
Pastors/members have earned "right" to speak on issues of concern to citizens in the community but could be more actively engaged |
Church and pastor is looked to by local leaders for comfort, advice and support whenever trouble hits the community; truly valued in local area |
ACTION PLAN:Quick Tips: 1. Network – As church leaders build relationships with local leaders like school superintendents, mayors, city council members, local charity directors, etc. their influence in the community grows. Pastor presence at community meetings and members serving on boards of local charities, schools, ministries, foundations, etc. also give the church a voice and access to share the gospel with non-Christians. 2. Demonstrate a Willingness to Help – When approaching other leaders, don't tell them what your church can do but ask how you can help. Follow up with action, not more meetings. Do homework and become knowledgeable about issues of concern to the community. 3. Talk about Issues, Not the Church – Become a trusted source of advice, comfort and assistance for local leaders and citizens regarding key cause(s). Be a voice for justice and mercy, not just for your church. 4. Be an Early Responder – Show up when disasters or emergencies strike the city or local area. Be responsive and reliable other leaders call for help or counsel. Ensure many members are trained to be early responders as those issues provide great opportunities to share Christ. More Reading (Click Links): #8 – People Don't Care What You Know Until They Know You Care #24 – 5 Organizational Tweaks that will Revitalize Your Church #26 – Raise Your Expectations of Members or Try to Meet Theirs |
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Purpose: See how your church is viewed by leaders and citizens in your area
Which of the following best describes the perception non-attenders have of your church?
|
Perception by Community |
Church and/or pastor have little visibility or are not well thought of; those who've heard of it generally see it as taking care of its own |
Starting to get involved in some local ministry work and in an effort to show that the church/ Christianity is about love, not judgment |
Building relationships and partnerships in the city; transitioning community service from transactional to relational in nature |
Not seen as being about serving members but widely recognized as having a sincere, ongoing concern for people in the community |
If no longer in that community would be sorely missed, leaving a spiritual, compassion and social gap that could not be easily filled |
ACTION PLAN:Quick Tips: Take the following steps if the general perception among local "unchurched" and community leaders is that your church: 1. Only Takes Care of Its Own – No amount of saying you care will outdo actually showing you caring. Actions speak louder than words. Get members involved in serving others, not just through events but year round. Do so with no agenda except to love unconditionally. 2. Is Judgmental – Earn the right to speak out on issues (e.g. moral) by spending a commensurate amount of time demonstrating love and compassion. A louder megaphone won't bring your city around to your beliefs. In the culture war, fight a ground war, not an air war. As you do your part to reverse the poor perception of churches and Christians, remember that renewing trust in your intentions will take time. 3. Doesn't Play Well with Others – Reach out to secular leaders, even those who may not agree philosophically with you, showing you have an interest in improving the lives of local citizens (regardless of whether your church stands to benefit or get any credit). 4. Operates Like a Business, Concerned with Filling the Pews and Coffers – Don't give anyone occasion to believe that your church is about building an institution, but instead give them good reason to believe you're only interested in building and sending out disciples.
More Reading (Click Links): #30 - What Do Seekers Find at Your Church eBook – 5 Steps to Revitalize Your Church |
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Purpose: Use what the church measures to gauge its commitment to seeing members as the church and the lost as the “customer”
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Success Metrics |
Only actively tracking internal "customer-centric" metrics, e.g.:
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Not as concerned with #s; realizing that too much focus on internal metrics is not Biblical or healthy; but still some dissention among leaders on importance of tracking those #s |
Beginning to track external metrics like:
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Also trying to measure impact via hard-to-quantify Key Indicators like:
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Actively monitors Church "Health" not based on numbers, but on love for one another, prayer, engagement, impact, influence and by whether it's known as caring across the city |
ACTION PLAN:Quick Tips: 1. Redefine Your "Customer" – A wrong definition of your "customer" leads to bad metrics. Define the "customer" correctly and you'll get the metrics right. What a church tracks and monitors will help reorient expectations of "shoppers", encouraging them to BE the church to those around them. 2. Discard "Customer" Metrics – Try to grow membership, attendance and giving and you'll be inclined to cater rather than challenge, treating members as "customers". Instead, focus on metrics that coalesce everyone around reaching the real "customer" of your church – the community where your church is planted 3. Monitor the Health of Your Church Instead – Health can be measured by a Balanced Scorecard for churches consisting of 4 dimensions around Discipleship, Empowerment, Community Impact and Generosity. See the blog posts below for specifics. 4. Find Our Whether You're Really Making a Difference – To measure this, consider surveying community leaders and citizens, seeing if they would miss your church if it was no longer there. More Reading (Click Links): #26 – Raise Your Expectations of Members or Try to Meet Theirs |
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