How does one measure success? Businesses talk about meeting certain benchmarks. They look at market share and compare themselves to other companies to see how they measure up. They seek to maximize a return for their shareholders. But how do we measure the success of a church?
Often we church folk take our cues from the corporate world. We count numbers and compare ourselves with other churches or an (idealized) version of our former selves to see how our numbers match up. We look to see if our members are content with the programs and schedule and food we offer. But does counting how many attend worship or a Wednesday night program determine how successful we are? Are we simply in the business of getting more people in the door and hoping they enjoy themselves and stay? Or are we called to something greater?
Numbers are easy to measure. 400 is greater than 300 so it is better. $2 million exceeds $1.5 million so it is superior. But impact – on a community, in an individual life – that is harder to measure. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t examine it.
This past Sunday, our guest preacher, Dr. Bill Tuck, spoke of the new commandment Jesus gave to his disciples: to love one another. In some ways it seems rather obvious: why would Jesus need to command us to love one another? Shouldn’t that just go without saying? But when I look around at how we Christians treat others, how we speak about others, love isn’t always all that obvious.
Perhaps instead of asking if a certain topic or a style of worship or activity is going to attract more people, maybe we should be asking if what we do will help those who come to do a better job of loving others, of making an impact in the name of love. Success for a church is creating a community that loves others and forms people into faithful disciples, making each of us more Christlike and our world more just and kind and humble. If we do that, the numbers will take care of themselves.