Tell Stories that Bear Witness To Your Numbers
It’s the start of Annual Meeting season both in the non-profit and church world. It is where, despite how many words may appear in an annual report, the numbers reign supreme - in most contexts!
But if you’d like to change that dynamic… I’d encourage you to fight the powers and principalities by crafting a narrative budget or a pictorial slide show of the life of your ministry or tell stories and share testimonies, or why not just do all of it?! Celebrate.
Put faces to ministry.
Share impact through embodied witness.
Flip the tables of the money counters!
Ok, maybe I’ve gone too far here - don’t get me wrong, numbers and budgets and the people who are gifted in discerning them are an integral part of any ministry as well. I guess all I’m saying is that it needs to be a collaborative effort - tell the story to which the numbers bear witness.
But this time of year also gets me thinking about what we measure… what we believe success looks like. I’d like to share a couple of resources that can help us think more deeply about “success,” what it is we should be measuring, and what the goal might be for our ministry going into a new year.
First, here’s an article from Barna that looks at applying mountain science to ministry contexts. It will encourage us to shift from tracking numbers to measuring impact, engagement, and listening deeply to the stories of transformation and resilience.
As the article’s author notes,
“When we measure what truly matters, we see the Church differently. We see beauty and impact in places we may have overlooked. We see the grandeur of smaller churches faithfully discipling their people. We see resilience being formed in families. We see the Spirit’s work in communities that may not make headlines but are making disciples.”
Next, here’s a brief clip and the longer conversation featuring our friends at Pro Church Tools and Brady Shearer (our 2024 Creative Ways Keynote speaker) where they talk about moving away from measuring attendance and focusing on building relationships and nurturing connections.
What a beautiful example of taking TEDx talk by Amber Johnson to a next level by reaching out to potential new friends by asking better questions.
Now, maybe a goal of having 1000 coffees or meals with people in your community is a little on the high side for your ministry context… but I would imagine that there a few people who come to mind who you’ve had a passing thought about inviting them out for a coffee(or tea… or whatever beverage you, and they, may prefer).
Why not commit to doing it in 2026!?
At the Centre for Lifelong Learning’s Annual Retreat last June, we committed to building more relational connections as a priority. It means a little more tea for me and a few more breakfast and lunch meetings - but more than that it means going deeper with ministry leaders and literally coming alongside them. Such an intention will have a much more meaningful impact than more Mailchimp subscribers (though those are essential too!)
Finally, I think whenever you start talking about success in ministry it is essential to flip the conversation to just how healthy a community of faith might be. The good folx at Convergence share a new way of getting at the question: What is a Healthy Church? in this article. They share a number of powerful insights as they encourage us to move away from our old archetype of a healthy church which is no longer realistic or helpful. A healthy church is one that promotes well-being…
“This healthy church cares for members and their physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being. This church builds people up rather than burning them out. The congregation ends any programs or patterns that take away from members’ well-being. People know each other deeply and authentically, offering prayers and support in good times and bad.”
What a beautiful image for any ministry context to embrace!
We are going to be talking more about this wholistic vision of ministry in the coming months on our Ministry Forum Podcast when we release our three-part series on Mental Health and the Church. You won’t want to miss it.
Where is some of this resonating with you? Do you have a creative way of approaching budget season? We’d love to hear from you!