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What’s Up
Most pastors think the church growth scoreboard is about the Big 3 B’s … Butts in seats, Bucks in plates, and Buildings. Sure, those numbers matter, but they don’t tell the whole story – not by half. The truth is, tracking the wrong numbers can leave you thinking you’re winning when, in reality, you’re losing.
So What
Here’s the truth: you can fill a sanctuary with enough marketing dollars and still not move the needle on disciple-making. I’ve told pastors for years that if they give me enough money, I can pack their pews every week … at least until they run out of cash. But the scoreboard for the church was never about packed sanctuaries or the size of your offering plate. Jesus didn’t commission us to build bigger barns. He told us to make disciples. And that means if you’re not measuring disciple-making, you’re not even looking at the right scoreboard.
The Point Is
Conversion Baptisms Count Most
Stop kidding yourself. The most important number you can track is the number of adult conversion baptisms. Not rebaptizing Presbyterians if you’re Baptist … actual new believers who had no faith, met Jesus, and chose obedience. That number shows whether your church is actually reaching the lost or just rearranging the sheep.Discipleship Engagement Matters
Don’t fool yourself into thinking Sunday school headcounts equal discipleship. They don’t. Christian education has largely failed us because it creates informed members, not transformed disciples. If CE had been making disciples, let’s face it: our buildings would be full. But they’re not. The real numbers worth tracking are those in transformational accountability groups … small transformational groups, micro accountability groups, one-on-one mentoring where behavior and obedience are measured.Visitor Retention Is Reality
Every church thinks they’re the friendliest in town. (Spoiler alert: they’re not.) If your first-time visitors don’t come back within two weeks, you’re not friendly … you’re delusional. Count first-time guests, but more importantly, count how many return. That number tells you if your hospitality, relevance, and follow-up are working or failing.Other Numbers Still Matter
Worship attendance, giving, small group participation, mission involvement … these are still useful. But they’re supporting stats, not the main scoreboard. They really only matter if they’re connected to disciple-making outcomes.
And … ?
Let me be perfectly and completely clear: Numbers aren’t the enemy. In fact, Scripture is packed with them. Jesus fasted 40 days. He chose 12 apostles. He sent 72 disciples. He fed 5,000 with five loaves and two fish, and 3,000 were baptized after Peter’s Pentecost sermon. The early church cared enough about numbers to record them, because numbers tell stories … and the right numbers tell the story of faithfulness.
But here’s the problem. Too many pastors hide behind the line, “It’s not about numbers, it’s about being faithful.” Sorry, but that’s a cop-out. Faithfulness without fruit is failure. Jesus said the tree is known by its fruit. Numbers reveal fruit, or the lack of it. If your scoreboard only tracks the Big 3 B’s, you’ll keep missing the point. The goal isn’t church attendance … the goal is disciple-making.
And let’s not sugarcoat it. If you’re not tracking adult baptisms, discipleship engagement, and visitor retention, you have no real idea whether your church is effective or just busy. That’s why you need a new scoreboard. Because your current one may be telling you you’re winning, when in fact, you’re bleeding out.
Action!
Join me for this week’s Catalytic Conversations webinar, “You Need a New Church Scoreboard,” on Thursday at 10:00 Central. Register here: https://effective.effectivechurch.com/webinar-registration
