There is an age-old argument in missions and the church in general when it comes to assessing anything: the argument of quantity vs. quality. Pick up any review of a statistical reference on the church (e.g. Operation World, the World Christian Encyclopedia, World Christian Trends or the recently released Atlas of Global Christianity, reviewed in the latest International Bulletin of Missionary Research) and you will find this argument at least mentioned if not made. It is present in the debates over church growth measurements. It is present in the debates over discipleship vs. evangelism.
Admittedly, measuring quantities are easier. It is not difficult to count the number of people who are baptized members of a church (=affiliated church members) or who profess to be Christians on a census poll (=professing Christians) or who attend on a given Sunday morning. We can even infer something of quality from these quantities (professing-affiliated=nominal). But metrics can be misunderstood and misused.
when they’re really just interesting, big numbers.
Statistics are very powerful things. Consider this famous Youtube video, Did you know. It is pretty much nothing but statistics from beginning to end with a few powerful statements here and there. The attractiveness of the video rests in the “big numbers” which can change your understanding of the world around you. It gives you a big picture of social media trends.
Yet what do these kinds of statistics mean for you and your ministry? Surely you’ve measured similar statistics in your own ministry. What do they mean? One famous quote says they are “signs from God.” Unfortunately, once measured, they can also be interpreted as signs from God when they’re really just interesting, big numbers.
When we begin interpreting a statistic as a sign from God, we can be easily tempted to subtly shift our “means”—which can bring about a change in our “ends.” We must begin with a goal and measure ourselves ruthlessly against the goal. Once we start measuring ourselves against something else, we begin reacting to those measurements, and our goal can shift without our even knowing it.
What if you can’t measure the goal? What if you’re struggling to figure out how to measure? My response: struggle! Don’t fall for the temptation to measure something that is unrelated to your plausible promise. Part of the problem may be that the goal is not defined well enough. Struggle with it, fight it through, and find a way to measure it! Your promise deserves nothing less.
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