Fruitfulness for Others
The fifteenth chapter of John’s Gospel contains rich imagery of the vine and the branches, an image that would have been obvious to those who…
Browsing: Metrics
Articles
Leading in Challenging Times
What if you knew that your congregation were on a collision course with its demise? What would you do? Whom would you tell? How would…
Fast Forwarding Your Church’s Community Engagement
Many churches today are pioneering a shift in which they are truly engaging their communities in mission. These churches are not only deploying their own…
Monitoring Key Indicators of Congregational Health
Imagine driving a car at night and the dashboard lights go out. With the headlights on, you can still see the road immediately ahead of…
If You Count the Money, Count the People
At a recent gathering, clergy and laity from several congregations were asked how they keep track of their attendance each Sunday and how they keep…
Measuring Church Numerical Growth is Not as Easy as it Seems
George Bullard suggests an expanded understanding of what represents real numerical growth in light of each church’s situation. A recent request for the names of…
It’s Not about the Numbers…. Actually It Is about the Numbers
Lovett Weems stresses the need for quantitative metrics, arguing that churches will never make the changes needed to attract new people until they commit to…
A Plentiful Harvest
Tom Berlin explains why fruitfulness in terms of membership, discipleship, and growth are key measures of leadership effectiveness. I grew up in a town surrounded…
Defining Congregational Effectiveness
Ann Michel compares two research efforts that help define the qualitative factors of congregational effectiveness and their impact on growth. What makes a church strong?…
Successful Planning and Evaluation for Religious Organizations
Lovett Weems reviews Projects that Matter: Successful Planning & Evaluation for Religious Organizations a user-friendly guide by Kathleen Cahalan for religious organizations to use in evaluating…
