The Great Commission is about growth.
Spiritual Growth: As we disciple others we help them “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18).
Numerical Growth: As we keep going, more and more people become disciples of Jesus Christ.
The Great Commission is not a once and done effort on our part but rather a continual, on-going mission. Some churches start out with a passion to reach the lost and help them become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. But, something happens along the way. They get preoccupied or distracted by other agendas like maintaining programs, managing and paying for the building, etc. They might still be doing a lot of “good things” and think they are alright but they have stagnated. If they had just paid attention to the records, they might have noticed the start of the plateau or decline.
Records Help us Assess Growth and Predict Future Growth.
If we don’t keep records and receive reports from the various church ministries, how will we truly assess growth? Our best guesses at how we are doing pale in the face of the facts. We can be deceived, thinking we are doing better than we truly are. Sometimes seeing the realities wakes us up.
The Steering the Church Toward Discipleship Leadership Guide lists some assessments questions we might ask with reports in hand.
All Posts about Records and Reporting:
- Record Keeping & Reporting: Measure Your Objectives
- Record Keeping & Reporting: Keep Pulse on Body
- Record Keeping & Reporting: Facilitate Ministry
- Record Keeping & Reporting: Assess Growth
- Church Record Keeping Resources
- Church Records Management
- Transparency in Church Records Management
- Confidentiality in Church Records Management
- Responsibility in Church Records Management
- We’ve Been Hacked!
- Record Keeping & God’s power?
- Record Keeping Based on Human Wisdom
- Records & Reporting Point Back to God’s Grace?
- Record Keeping & Reporting Kept in Check by God’s Grace
- Records Keeping & Spiritual Gifts
- Record Keeping That’s Not Mundane
- Lay It All Before the Lord
- Meaningful Record Keeping
- Whether Good or Bad, Make Records about the Name of the Lord
- Records and Reports from the Resurrection