One of the biggest challenges for any church is to figure out how to measure healthfulness. The usual default is to count attendance figures. But the number of church attenders was never the best measure of church health, and it’s becoming a less-accurate measure as time goes on.
After all, the church is not called to sell a product, make money, or build a bigger customer base. We’re called to love God, love others, and disciple believers who make other disciples. All of those ventures are hard, if not impossible, to measure numerically. This is why I wrote 100 Days to a Heathier Church, not 100 Days to a Bigger Church. Not all goal-setting should be numerical – especially in the church.
But if we don’t attach numbers to it, how can we know if the church is getting healthier?
Start something I call a Healthy Church Log.
A Healthy Church Log is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a recorded log book of anything that happens that is a sign of healthfulness for your church. Write non-numerical signs of health as they happen, or you’ll forget them.
So what gets recorded in the log? If someone in the church tells you they shared their faith with a friend for the first time, write that in the log. Was there a couple on the verge of divorce whose relationship was restored into a stronger marriage? Write that down. Was there someone who was resisting necessary change in the church but has decided maybe some changes aren’t so bad after all? Write that down.
You may be surprised and encouraged by how many healthy things are actually happening in the church. But you won’t remember them if you don’t write them down.
Adapted from 100 Days to a Healthier Church: A Step-By-Step Guide for Pastors & Leadership Teams by Karl Vaters (©2020). Published by Moody Publishers. Used by permission.