{"id":1272,"date":"2014-01-27T08:00:47","date_gmt":"2014-01-27T13:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trainchurchleaders.com\/practicum\/?p=1272"},"modified":"2026-08-03T09:39:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T13:39:35","slug":"records-reporting-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trainchurchleaders.com\/practicum\/records-reporting-growth.htm","title":{"rendered":"Record Keeping & Reporting: Assess Growth"},"content":{"rendered":"
To get the greatest benefit from this practicum, make sure you have read related training on the site. Click below to read about The Great Commission:<\/em><\/div>\n
Church Leadership Basics: The Great Commission<\/a><\/center><\/div>\n

The Great Commission is about growth.<\/span><\/h2>\n

Spiritual Growth:<\/strong> As we disciple others we help them “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18).<\/p>\n

Numerical Growth:<\/strong> As we keep going, more and more people become disciples of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>. If they had just paid attention to the records, they might have noticed the start of the plateau or decline.<\/p>\n

Records Help us Assess Growth and Predict Future Growth.<\/span><\/h2>\n

If we don\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

The Steering the Church Toward Discipleship Leadership Guide<\/strong><\/a> lists some assessments questions we might ask with reports in hand.<\/p>\n

Of course, we need to properly assess records<\/a> for such benefits in record keeping.<\/p>\n

For More on These Topics:<\/p>\n