What Gets Measured Gets Done
Walter Bennett
The origin of this statement is somewhat murky, perhaps going back as far as the mid-1500s and the mathematician Rheticus. In the context of Organic Outreach®, there are a few different ways that this statement applies. First, it suggests a need for accountability. I will address this aspect later with the treatment of the One-Degree Rule. The second way in which this statement informs us is with regard to the strategic nature of Organic Outreach® within the context of the church. While strategic planning is absolutely critical to any secular business that wants to survive, it is something I have found to be woefully lacking in the context of the church. The closest most churches come to strategic planning is scheduling sermon topics in advance and typically this isn’t even done more than a month or two at a time, if that. Even in the realm of strategically planning sermon topics, I have yet to see a church that goes into a sermon series with a specific intended outcome that is measurable other than the hope for an increase in attendance, which is not necessarily linked directly to spiritual effectiveness of sermons. If anything, it is more often a result of the entertainment value of the sermons and the likeability of the pastor delivering those sermons.
In the context of outreach, churches often measure things such as number of meals served, items of clothing distributed, or number of families/people served. None of these outcomes tells us anything about the spiritual impact of the “outreach” service rendered. If we want to get serious about our outreach efforts having a positive kingdom impact, we need to not only begin projecting and measuring outcomes if we are not already, but we need to ensure what we are measuring is relevant to what we are trying to accomplish. Almost every church measures “cheeks in the seats” on Sunday, and generally a church can tell you how many salvations/baptisms occur each year, but rarely, if ever, are these numbers tied back to root causes. The reality is that it would be almost impossible to make strong direct connections to which ministry activities result in more people attending services or accepting Christ as their Savior. This being said, there are some things that we can measure that we can reasonably expect will have a positive impact on both of these ultimate metrics.
The first thing we can measure is the culture of the church. Is it a church where:
- Non believers would feel welcome and like they belong whether they believe in God or not?
- The church put as much resources toward reaching the lost as it does toward worship or discipleship?
- Every member of the church has a love for God that leads them to sacrifice in their own lives in order to be in His will?
- There is a love for the lost that mirrors Jesus Christ’s own compassion for lost sheep?
- There is more reliance on prayer than on programs when it comes to reaching the lost?
- As much attention is given to the lost as is given to the church membership?
- Doctrine is clear and unadulterated by the surrounding cultural beliefs and this truth is shared unabashedly yet lovingly with non-believers by members of the church?
- Hope and faith abounds in spite of the world’s message of church irrelevance in the face of culture?
- Members of the congregation eagerly share their love of the church with friends, family, and acquaintances as they would a favorite restaurant or hair care product?
- Leadership is constantly thinking five steps ahead and approaching every activity with expected measurable outcomes and adjusting plans based upon actual outcomes?
"Sunday worship services and sermons are the most obvious way to begin bringing laser-focused messages to address the targeted areas."
Collectively, these 10 attributes provide a fairly comprehensive measure of the outreach culture of the church. If you have read Organic Outreach® for Churches you may have realized as you read through these bullet points that they represent the key foundational concepts of the first four chapters of the book:
- Love for God
- Love for the Lost
- Love for the Church
- Seven Simple Mind Shifts
Organic Outreach International® has developed an online assessment that can help you measure each of these 10 cultural characteristics of your church. Additionally, it will break your results into three subsections of your church:
- The Board/Leadership Team
- Ministry Leaders
- The Congregation
It is intended that this assessment be taken by every member of your board/consistory/leadership team as well as every ministry leader (staff and volunteer). It should take about 45 to 60 minutes to complete. Each person taking the assessment will receive their individual results, but all of these will also roll up into an aggregate report. Armed with these results, you can begin to develop a strategic plan to specifically raise the 3 or 4 areas that have the greatest opportunity for improvement (a nice way of saying the ones that scored the lowest). Because the results are presented not only in an overall rating of each of the ten areas for the whole church but for each of the aforementioned subsections of the church, there can be some overarching strategic plans as well as plans for each of the subsections which address each of their weakest areas which may not directly align with the overall weakest areas.
These plans should be designed to target improvement in the weakest areas through every opportunity available. Sunday worship services and sermons are the most obvious way to begin bringing laser-focused messages to address the targeted areas, but plans should also be developed to be deployed through regularly occurring meetings, Bible studies, home groups or life groups, special teaching events, etc…
After executing your strategic plans, typically over a period of twelve months, it will be time to take the assessment again. Now you can measure the movement/improvement in the targeted areas as you compare the results against the previous year’s results. If your strategies were sound, you should be able to notice clear improvement where it was needed the most. You may also notice collateral improvement in other areas as well. As you review the results of this follow-up assessment, identify the areas that now present the greatest opportunity for improvement. Some of these may be repeats, some may be new areas for improvement. Develop your strategic plans for the coming twelve months and execute. Lather, rinse, repeat…until Jesus returns.
If you prefer to measure more frequently to ensure you are on the right track with your strategic plans, you can do that. I would not, however, recommend anything shorter than six months. The very nature of true culture change dictates that any measurement of change over less than six months is just as likely to be a localized spike as it is to be a sustained change in behavior or thought patterns.
The Church Outreach Culture Assessment does have a cost associated with it of $150 to $500 each year, depending on the size of your church. This is the total cost regardless of how many people take the assessment. As always, if this cost presents an insurmountable burden for your church, please just contact us (info@organicoutreach.org) and we can work with you to make it possible.
