How do you measure success at your church or ministry?

Is it how many programs you are running or people that have signed-up for bible study groups?

Is it how many worship services you provide or how many multi-sites you have planted?

Is it how many baptisms you perform each year?

Is it related giving and tithing stats per person or family or percentage of income?

The church *is* a machine that needs to care about the classic ABC’s of running a church (how many people are we Attracting?, How big is our Building?, How many people are giving over their Cash as offering?) amongst other metrics.

But there’s one critical factor that is not only more indicative of a healthy church, it’s a non-negotiable as best put by God’s Word itself. . .

Can you see that loving our God is not the end story!  Read those “AND”s in there…”AND SERVE HIM with all your heard and all your soul.”

This passage recently reminded me how important it is to establish a volunteer and serving culture.

The Christian walk and struggle is only fully experienced when a believer is in action, serving others.   Is your ministry supporting this critical component of Christian living?

So many times we focus on making sure that it is as easy as possible for those who come to church to focus on the message, to be fed, to grow, to mature.  But the sit-and-soak model ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. 

Get-up-and-serve is an equal and mandatory part of the equation — for your brothers and sisters, NOT JUST YOUSELF.

Truely successful ministries have the highest level of service involvement — to each other.  We should be asking ourselves periodically how many of our people are serving?  How many are in serving capacities that are on cruise control for themselves or in roles that stretch themselves?

Does your minstry planning rely on the cooperation and work of others?  Or do you look at ‘extra help’ just as a bonus if it happens? Do you have enough faith to incorporate those that have yet to raise their hand into your plans?  Are you thinking big enough of God’s kingdom and the kingdom workers that he is sending your way?

Joshua 22:5 is teaching me that part of it is to have larger faith in God’s vision, and the other part depends on my own vision for the ministry I am entrusted with.