October 16, 2017

Numbers matter at our church because every number is a person.

No.

Just… No.

Too many pastors are hanging on to the increasingly antiquated notion that every number is a person and vice versa.

Certainly, church metrics can be helpful. But only if we use them wisely. And hold them lightly.

At best, our attendance numbers are like the old-school number machines at the deli. They’re stand-in for actually knowing people’s names, stories and lives. They can increase efficiency when we’re selling bratwurst, but they’re not effective when we’re dealing with the deepest parts of people’s lives.