Remember the old adage – if you don’t have a target, you will miss it? Or, if you aim at nothing you will hit nothing? It’s an interesting feature of many contemporary evangelical churches that they have strategies, plans, goals and mission statements. And some have even adopted specific percentage goals.
When I first came to Australia to work in evangelism, I was asked to state what my “KPIs” were. This was somewhat difficult, given that I didn’t know what a KPI was! I know now. Key Performance Indicators. I didn’t know what to say. More people praying? People becoming Christians? Preaching the word faithfully. What were they looking for? They wanted facts. Percentages. Measurable outcomes. Figures. Apparently, this is what funders look for.
I remember consulting with one church pastor who told me that their aim was to grow their growth groups by 63% in a couple of years. Why I asked 63%? Why not 64% or 62%? I think he got the point.
Gossip is no longer just local – it’s global
The woman was horrified… “You wouldn’t dare do that”. She was a member in the church and had just been …