All leaders moving a ministry forward in strategic change will face resistance to the need to set goals and measure effectiveness. Most people in an organization find it easy to identify what is needed: “We need to raise money, $50,000 to be exact, to implement this program.” But, the day you start using numbers for goal setting and measure your progress toward your vision, people are going to push back against you.
Here are a few of the common reactions to measurement and goal-setting in ministry:
- “The work of the Lord isn’t measurable.”
- “Are we now trying to run the ministry like a business?”
- “The day you start focusing on numbers you lose your focus on people.”
- “We only want to give God the glory, and measuring results makes it about numbers, not God.”
Let me give you a few practical ways to address this challenge.
Help people move beyond pseudo-spiritual language about numbers.
The reality of numbers in ministry is this: numbers are like gravity. They are not religious. God created gravity and gravity is a law. Unless you are Jesus Christ Himself, if you jump off a mountain, you will fall to the ground. It’s not inconsequential that Satan tempted Christ with this idea, “If You are the Christ, throw Yourself down and you will be picked up.” It doesn’t matter who you are, if you are walking this planet, gravity is a law.
Numbers in ministry are the same, they are bound by laws. If you charge less than it costs to do something you will end up in a hole every time, and need more money. It doesn’t matter how much faith you have, and to acknowledge this doesn’t mean you limit God’s power for your vision. There are fundamental laws of the universe that God put in place and He will decide when, how, and if to suspend them.
The event of the loaves and fish is such a powerful picture of this. The disciples knew exactly what resources they had, 5 loaves and 2 fish, and it wasn’t nearly enough to do the work Jesus was calling them to do. They resisted moving forward with the resources they had. Jesus had them step forward in the work of feeding, and the people were fed. But, the most relevant point for you and me happens after they are fed. Someone actually counted and measured what had happened. About 5000 people were fed, and there were 12 baskets remaining. Not only was this counted, it was recorded in the book of Matthew as a measurement of a powerful work of Jesus among the people.
The fact is 2+2=4, and when God is at work 2+2 can equal 10. But, we try to get way too cute when we overspiritualize the disciplines of vision casting, setting goals, and using metrics.
Measure the work you already see God doing so you can clarify the greater vision.
For example, if you know that 1 staff member can only do a really good work with about 50 volunteers, you are limited by that framework and must operate within it. You are limited by time and space and reality of those numbers. You must have a clear understanding of your numbers and their implications, so that you can apply faith to the pursuit of the big vision.
A vision helps people understand, especially when you put numbers to it, how far the work can really go if God leads them to be a part of it. Numbers, metrics, and setting goals helps people see what it really takes to do the work. It’s just that simple. It’s just that hard.
There is no magic in the words of your vision statement. The power is in the process of counting the cost of the huge vision God is calling you to, measuring what can be measured and dreaming about what might be possible if God moves through people. If you haven’t measured that it takes you 1 staff member to reach 50 people, or that it takes a specific amount of time, capacity, and resources, and you are not able to measure the trends and results, you will be forever doomed to unhealthy and unnecessary struggle.
Metrics are not, as some people fear, somehow limiting or belittling the work of the Lord. Metrics just mean that, like a heart surgeon, we have done this a few times now and we know that when we cut in the wrong place people bleed out and die. So, let’s not cut there. This is the disciplined process of learning and developing skills while trusting God to empower us to do the impossible.
I love how specific the Gospels are. I was reading recently in the Gospel of John about Peter going fishing after Christ is Resurrected. Peter basically says “I’m fed up waiting on Him to show up, I’m going fishing.” Other disciples are with Peter fishing all night and they don’t catch a fish. They see a man on the shore. Peter doesn’t realize it’s Jesus. Jesus tells Peter to cast their nets in the water, and they become full of fish. Peter immediately realizes the man is Jesus, and he jumps out of the boat to go to shore. They pull the fish up on the land, and the Scriptures record exactly how many fish there were, 153. Why in the world is that an important detail for them to record? Because any fisherman knows you can’t go fishing at night without catching a thing, throw a net down, and come up with a number like that unless it’s the Lord himself doing it!
Numbers and measurement are an important part of the process of understanding and communicating the work of the Lord toward the vision for your ministry. You have to help people understand the realities that your organization faces and what you are asking them to do: pray, serve, and give generously.