Do you ever go out and do things without thinking about it first?  If this is a consistent way of life, you’ll likely find yourself lost or with no progress after awhile.

Measurement is critical if you want to define success or failure in any circumstance.

So what does your own measuring stick look like?

How do you define and measure the successes of your ministry?

Without being explicit in your objectives and goals, you can easily go into the slippery opportunistic mode for what you are doing with your ministry.  This is when you fall victim to whatever fire needs to be put out or whichever “great deal” or “great opportunity” comes across your way.  Or better yet, being stuck in opportunistic mode keeps you constantly behind the 8-ball or become complacent when you are able to do just enough to keep the status-quo.

The same goes for the mission of a church.  Without strategic vision and a clear set of objectives to measure against, it is easy for a ministry to loose focus and loose ground.

The Wall Street Journal featured a piece, “When the Pastor Says It’s ‘A Time to Sow‘” which touched upon just one factor of measurement worthy of consideration for any church.  Tim Keller’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC takes a suprisingly unique way to measure their own success. (more…)