What To Count

I read a number of blogs of other church planters from around the country and rejoice with them at the ways God is moving in their churches. They will often report that 50 persons, or 35 persons or 135 persons made a commitment to follow Christ at their last Sunday service. I surmise this info is gathered by having people fill something out or by asking persons to raise their hands to indicate they are making a first time commitment to follow Jesus. Whatever way they use to measure that really doesn't matter to the point I am trying to make.

Let me say I think it is great and tremendous that these persons are making a commitment to follow Christ and I rejoice with the angels in heaven for them and these churches. However, Craig Groeschel made a great point at the Exponential Conference this April. He suggested that perhaps instead of or addition to counting the number of people who raise their hands, respond to an altar call or fill out a call we should count the number of people in our community who have not begun to follow Christ and report that and let that number drive us in our ministry.

I agree with Craig and think in many ways we let "who we have" drive us in the church. We focus on "how many we have" when what we need to focus is on how many that are beyond the walls of the church who do not follow Jesus yet. This is why churches become territorial when a new church comes into the community. They view that as a zero sum game. If there is a new church that means less for me. No, there are more than enough people to be reached- the harvest is plentiful.

One unscientific way I have heard of calculating the number of people who are not part of a vital worshiping faith community is to survey the churches in a geographic area and ask what their seating capacity is. Subtract that number from the total population and you come near the number of people not involved in a vital worshiping faith community.