The Numbers Game

I am glad that it's January 30...and for several months, I am done playing the numbers game. Every year, we have to compile numbers for charge conference, and every year, we have to compile numbers for year-end reports. Earlier this week, the year-end reports were sent off. The numbers tell us that we added eleven members and lost two, for a net gain of nine. Sounds great, but I'm less interested in members, and more interested in professions of faith (we had three this year, by the way). At the end of the year, we have 76 members, and an average attendance in worship of 63. Pretty good percentage, but I'll be more excited when our average attendance exceeds our membership.

I'm a numbers guy - there's no denying that. I love statistics, and financial figures, and all of that, but what do numbers really tell us? Membership is important, but if you aren't an active member, then membership is largely symbolic. You could be a faithful worship attender (3-4 times per month) and never show signs of spiritual growth. Numbers matter a lot in the world of business, but it doesn't necessarily translate into the world of the church. How do you measure spiritual growth - especially when numerical growth doesn't translate?

I recently had a conversation with a colleague who serves a large church. We were talking about what had happened in the last year, and where we saw signs of hope. I said that we had grown a little bit numerically, but I was most excited about seeing people growing in their faith. This person responded by saying something like "I wish we had that at our church. We have lots of numeric growth, but that's about it."

The reality is that measurement for the church is hard. I'll maintain that numbers are important (professions of faith, average worship attendance, etc.), because they give some sign as to the health of a congregation. Perhaps more important, though, are the things that can't be measured, but are evidenced by a spiritual life - growth in patience, kindness, self-control, and other fruits of the Spirit. You can't put a number down on a form for it, but you can see it by the way a person lives.

I don't like playing the numbers game. I do the statistics and turn them in, but they don't give a full picture of the church. If you want to see where a church is, physically and spiritually, you have to look at the people and their lives. They are more than numbers; they are God's children, and so they count for more than just another statistic on the page. Names and faces, growth in grace and spiritual discipline - these are the things that really matter.