As the statistics come in, I determine again what I will do with them. We ask our churches to go through the rigorous and time consuming process of filling in names and numbers. We should be able to tell these hard working citizens of the Kingdom that we intend to make productive use of their efforts. These are a few of the ways I analyze their details that lead to a deeper involvement in the lives of the churches.
With Sunday School, numbers that show average attendance and enrollment being nearly equal reveal a church that probably has little tolerance for absentees. This church has lost a vision for ministry. It is more concerned with percentages than transforming lives. Helping them to see the importance of enrolling prospects should be a priority. Stats that indicate enrollment in age groups that do not reflect the demographics of the community can also indicate a congregation that has turned inward and is no longer in contact with its context. These people need to be awakened.
Mission statistics should lead a Director of Missions to determine where people are involved in mission work, on campus or off. Sending packages by mail brings a different impact on a church than does sending people out to get their hands dirty. Is the missions financial support staying local or going global? Are mission funds being used in cooperative efforts such as the local association and Cooperative Program or are they primarily used for designated projects and personnel? Additionally how committed is the church to funding missions as revealed by its ratio of mission gifts to total church receipts?
I personally have an interest in how churches are seeking to disciple their members from the time the individuals first start relating to the church and on through the following years. Determining how many are involved in discipleship training as a ratio with resident membership can lead to questions concerning a core group receiving the bulk of the training or if there is a wide spread interest in growing as disciples.
Seeing these statistics as windows into the life and priorities of a church can generate questions that will allow an associational missionary to approach a church with relevant offers of assistance. Needs will become obvious and the biggest hurdle will become getting the church leadership to see the needs as well. This will take sensitive and patient communication.
