Measurement: Execution is insured through measuring the right things, aligning each part to the whole, and establishing controls and reporting systems

The Many Advisors Approach To Decision Making

Suppose I wake up one morning with a crick in my neck that won’t go away. I go to my family physician and he prescribes for me pain pills to alleviate my pain. But, the next day I wake up with my crick worse than the day before so I go to my chiropractor who gives me an adjustment and... Continue Reading

The 80/20 Rule And How It Can Transform Your Church

Known by various names, including Pareto’s Law, Pareto’s Principle, The 80/20 Rule, and The Law of Disproportionate Distribution, the 80/20 Rule is a powerful and simple tool for analyzing and optimizing choices involving distribution of any kind. By the numbers it means that 80 percent of your outcomes come from 20 percent of your inputs. The concept is especially useful... Continue Reading

How to Set SMART Goals for the Coming Year

As you reflect on possible goals for the new year use the SMART Goals acrostic to insure your goals are Specific, Measureable, Realistic and measure accomplishment of an objective over a defined period of Time. Here is a quick review of this sure fire way to set better goals: The SMART Goal Formula Specific:  Use the five W’s…….Who, What, When, Where and Why to think through... Continue Reading

Assessing the Health of Your Church Organizational Systems

A good organizational structure can often spell the difference between a smooth operating church and one in chaos. A healthy organizational structure includes intentional and aligned systems that establish how the church operates and assists the church in obtaining its mission, vision, priorities, goals and strategies. The following 10 statements reflect the attributes of a church with healthy and functional organizational... Continue Reading

Assessing the Health of Your Eight Organic Church Systems

Today much is being written about the importance of the church being “organic” as well as being “systems” based. Using the following definitions we can see these are not mutually exclusive. “Organic” may be defined as having fundamental characteristics of or deriving from living things. A “system” may be defined as a combination of parts that work together in a synergistic... Continue Reading

Three Easy To Use Church Staff Surveys

In our last post, Five Keys to Successful Church Staff Surveys, we examined how to plan, design and implement effective church staff surveys. Below are three examples to jump start your survey planning using open ended questions, yes-no questions and a 1-5 scale. STAFF SURVEY USING OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS 1. What is the most impacting ministry inside the church? Outside? 2.... Continue Reading

Five Keys To Successful Church Staff Surveys

Employees are essential to the success of any church. Surveys can provide a means of gathering the information needed to bless and keep employees motivated. Church staff surveys, when done well, can be a valuable tool to engage employees and provide understanding of how employees perceive their job, their leaders, their co-workers and the church as a whole. Other benefits... Continue Reading

Measuring What Matters – 100 Meaningful Church Measurements

Finding the right measurements and defining the results to be measured is a significant challenge for the church. The things that matter most – transformed lives, spiritual growth, fruits of the spirit, congregational health – are the most difficult to measure. And, numbers can be misleading, inaccurate and not tell the whole story. But is it worth the time and... Continue Reading

10 Church Goal Measurements To Jump Start Your Planning

Do you have a “brain freeze” when you sit down to write your annual ministry goals? Staring at a blank piece of paper wondering where to start is a common and daunting experience for most of us. Admittedly, much of what we do in life and in ministry is difficult to quantify apart from anecdotal evidence. But, often we simply... Continue Reading

How to Set Goals that Get Results

The well known Zig Ziglar quote, ‘if you aim at nothing you will be sure to hit it every time’ speaks to the importance of setting measureable goals. Goals that can’t be measured are of little value if you desire to know whether or not you are hitting the mark. Regretfully, most people who do set goals, do so incorrectly... Continue Reading