Last week we introduced the five myths that are stalling disciple-making movements. This week we look at the first myth.
The Engagement Myth: ACTIVITY = TRANSFORMATION
How does your church measure success? Every church measures some form of activity. How many people attended worship, how many people are serving, how many are attending a group or class, etc. Though this is important to measure, it isn’t the best way to measure success.
The fatal assumption made in the Engagement Myth is that all activity equals transformation. We over-value the impact that is made in attendance. The problem with this is that just because someone attends a church program doesn’t mean that they are being transformed. When we only measure people’s attendance in our programs, we make program activity the end goal, not individual transformation.
hough there is a correlation between program activity and individual transformation, we must not equate them as the same. Just like measuring hits in a baseball game or assists in a basketball game is an important measurement, it isn’t the one that we use to measure who wins the game.
Without a clear picture of our church’s mission and the disciple-making traits we are trying to form in our people, we have no clarity on what is a win. This leaves the staff confused on why we do certain programs and if they are succeeding. Additionally, because our congregation doesn’t have a clear picture of who they are to become as they follow Jesus, they settle for believing that maturity is just about attending more programs. The result is a staff and congregation that replace disciple-making with program management, thus leaving the staff dissatisfied and the congregation apathetic.
Want to learn more about the five ministry myths and assess how influential they are in your church? Download the FREE assessment here and get a free training talk by Robby Gallaty from our Discipleship Blueprint course.
HOW DO WE BUST THIS MYTH?
When Christ measures the health of the church, he doesn’t count them, he weighs them. Focusing on attendance to worship services, small groups, and volunteer teams is not wrong, but it is incomplete. We must push the finish line back and not just measure collective activity, but individual transformation. For us to accomplish this, we need a contextual and catalytic mission statement and a vivid picture of what our Dream Disciple looks like. We then can develop an effective and realistic strategy that helps us accomplish our all-play, everyday disciple-making movement.
Ready to bust this myth? We are offering a FREE month of our Replicate Collective for July. Try it today to receive a coach and a huddle of church leaders who will help you problem-solve, vision cast, and set goals that help you activate your disciple-making movement. Join at ReplicateCollective.com/FREE
The post How Are You Measuring Church Success? Why Measuring Engagement Isn’t Enough. appeared first on Replicate Ministries.