What Were Your Numbers This Weekend?
As I have coached and worked with pastors across the country, I am continually met with hesitancy when it comes to that simple question. There are a lot of pastors who want to stop talking about their Sunday morning attendance numbers. Congregants are attending less frequently, and the lack of frequency in attendence has skewed overall numbers vs. what had been recorded in the past. It looks like this: someone who came 48 weeks a year only comes 38 weeks. Looking at a macro of weekly attendance that is a 20% drop. If you do that across the board, it can seem like a church actually has a down year when, in reality, it could be just a cultural trend. (You can read some of those here: Link to Thom Rainer & Carey Nieuwhof articles.)
Or it could be indicative of something much more. . .
Pastors now are wanting to be counted at other metrics: baptisms, salvations, groups, serving, and discipleship. Some are even looking at how the wrong numbers in their communities are changing (violent crime, educational gap, poverty rates, etc.). The change is community statistics are excellent and highly encouraged. We should’ve been doing this all along.
Here is an example of two pastors:
Pastor 1: “We don’t measure Sunday AM numbers, we measure disciples, baptisms, salvations. We intentionally discipled 12 people last year, baptized 11, and saw 17 people decide to follow Jesus.”
Pastor 2: “Same here! And we had the same metrics as Pastor 1! 12 discipled, 11 baptized, and 17 follow Jesus.”
Second Chair Solutions: “Wow! That’s amazing (and a weird coincidence). I am celebrating with you! Just for context, what are your Sunday AM numbers?”
Pastor 1: “150 Sunday AM”
Second Chair Solutions: “That’s awesome! You are really on mission!”
Pastor 2: “1,700 Sunday AM”
Second Chair Solutions: “We need to talk.”
Numbers do not lie, but they can hide things very well.
Your micro must support your macro.
Your systems, numbers, output, etc. must support your broader vision. Honestly, in that example, Pastor 1 is seeing some fantastic things happen. Though they probably won’t be invited to speak at national conferences anytime soon, their metrics are still remarkable. While I do not have anything against Pastor 2, there is something off in their numbers in comparison to The Great Commission. There could be a lot going on in that pastor’s church. They could have just walked through a season of transition. Maybe there was some supernatural growth over the last two years, and they are just getting to the point of stasis. That is why it is essential to ask questions.
Your numbers do not define you, but they do offer more clarity into what is happening in your organization. So, I am still going to ask you about your numbers because that number tells me so many hidden things, along with allowing me to ask my next questions.
Your weekly attendance tells me:
The leadership ratio for your church
A ballpark on your yearly budget
Your barriers of growth in depth and numbers
The percentage of reach into your community
Your evangelism focus
But it also allows me to ask these follow up questions:
How have the changes in attendance affected your staff, budgets, etc.?
How is your soul in this season?
What is working in your church?
What is not working in your church?
What is your long-term focus, and how are you getting there?
We tend to shy away from “what are your numbers,” because of the implications and the questions behind the question. Let’s not do that. This is a judgment-free zone. Let’s face the truth and reality of the situation, pivot, and move forward in faith, together.
So how are your numbers?
