The Numbers Game

I used to tutor kids and college students in mathematics, and the phrase that sticks with me the most came from an adult who went back to college in their later years. She told me “numbers stress me out.” When I heard this, I realized that this is a reality for many pastors nowadays. When we talk about the church in meetings and in reference to associations, we tend to focus primarily on the numbers. How many baptisms were performed, how many people showed up to Sunday School, what was the morning service attendance, things like this. When we do ministry reports, we just raddle off numbers to make it look like we are successful. When we focus on the numbers, we lose the people.

We need to change our focus. Changing from the numbers game to the people game will allow for a change in heart of your church. Going from making the church look better to making others become better should be your goal in this change of focus. This will go away from the “dunk and drop” Christianity, to a disciple making church. When we make disciples of believers not only do we see growth in the believer, we can see growth in the new believers.

When a new believer is discipled and shown how to lead others to Christ, we see them lead others to Christ. Not only are they becoming a great witness, they begin to invite their friends to the church that devoted the time to make them the better person. Doing this will bring the numbers that are coveted by so many.

Many people worry about the numbers when it comes to the church. If I was a treasurer, I would worry about the numbers of attendance and the offering. If I was in charge of a youth ministry team, I would be worried about the amount of people who showed up to the youth group. However, if I was more worried about the people and helping them grow in Christ the worries would fade.