How do you report numbers and the effectiveness of your ministry at your Church? Here is the process I went through at my Church, which I feel is very effective and it helps you, as the person reporting, control your ministry’s narrative.
It Starts With Numbers
Years ago, my Church used to have a simple dashboard that the Staff used to report our numbers every week. We tracked the numbers because it helped us determine whether or not we are barking up the right tree and if we are being effective in our mission.
As the student minister, at that time, I reported only one number. That number was how many people showed up on Sunday night Youth Group. And based on that number my Executive Pastor and Senior Pastor could infer how I was doing based on that simple number. If that number was high, “great job” and if it was low, “we need to talk.”
However, that number was never a true reflection on all that I was doing in ministry. Because of that, I created a new dashboard and reported those numbers of all the things that we were doing. It included the number of small groups we had going, the number of leaders, the number of discipleship conversations and the number of people who attended our outreach events. This was a specific dashboard that I would report every single week to show what I was doing.
Tracking numbers is just one way to control the narrative to your ministry's health. But, it is not the only indicator of all you are doing. Click To TweetControl the Narrative
While this helped communicate to my Church all that was happening, it wasn’t a complete reflection still. That is when a member of our Leadership Team introduced a new reporting operation where the Staff would email our Executive Pastor all that we were doing and working on. It include what we are celebrating, what we are working on, what our 30, 60 and 90 days of ministry events were and what is stressing us our about our ministry. While some people may have been offended by this type of reporting because it seemed a little controlling and micro-managing, I wasn’t.
To me, I never took it as a thing of trying to control me. I took it as a great wave being held accountable for what I was doing. I was holding myself accountable just like they were holding me accountable.
- What was I really working on each week?
- What progress was I truly making?
- Where do I need help?
That is how I saw it and, honestly, it was the right of my Supervisors to know that. After all, we are all getting paid to do a job. It is ministry, yes, but it is a job, too. With that payment comes a responsibility to perform our best. So, I never took this as a negative thing. Rather, I took it as a way to show that I was driving towards goals and trying to show my worth and value as a minister and employee. I wanted to control the narrative so I did my best at sharing all I was doing, the good and the bad.
This became particularly important for me as I was doing multiple staff positions at the time. I was in charge of Student Ministry and the Online Ministry. It was important for me to track all that I was investing in those ministries. And, by me sharing what I was doing enabled my Supervisors to know exactly what I was doing so if they ever got questioned what I was working on, they would know fully.
Reporting what you are doing and how it is going helps you control the narrative of your ministry. Click To TweetSet Goals
But here is the thing, while the emails helped to hold me accountable and control the narrative, over Covid, I had realize I’d become a little complacent. I was in survival mode. Juggling both Student Ministry and Online Ministry, I was just trying to make it through. And that was OK for a period of time. Everyone was in survival mode at the beginning of Covid. However, when we started a really coming out of Covid, just surviving was no longer acceptable or OK.
Then one day, I was in a meeting with my Senior Pastor and he shared his vision for the Church very organically. It wasn’t something he had scripted or planned. He was just sharing his heart and passion. That’s when I decided that I needed to step up my game and start setting some measurable goals focused around the mission of the Church. It wasn’t like I was pursing things that went against the goals of my Church at the moment. But, it was there that I realized, how I was judging success was not what was important to my Senior Pastor. I was measuring the wrong stuff. That’s why I started S.M.A.R.T. goals. I needed to get specific with measurable goals that were 100% in line with what the Church was pursuing.
That is when my reports also started getting better and I really felt like movement was happening in the Online Ministry for the first time in months.
Setting goals is a great way to keep your ministry focused and moving forward. S.M.A.R.T. Goals are a great way to set goals. Click To TweetConclusion
Reporting numbers, sharing what you are working on and setting goals are all keys to helping you control your ministry’s narrative. The more you can commit to doing these things, not only will you experience movement and momentum in your ministry but your Supervisors be well aware of what you are doing and be in your corner when asked. Choose to control your ministry’s narrative today.
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