How do we Measure Success?: People really are are more important than Statistics

The stats counter on this blog has just ticked past 100,000 hits and as a result of this and some other things I have been pondering what success is and how we measure it.

100,000 hits in three and a half years feels pretty good, especially for someone like me who doesn’t feel that writing is something they are very good at. I do love expressing ideas and creativity and I am grateful for any way that allows me to share what I am thinking with the wider world but t is writing everything down that I find hard.

What is success?

For me, 1000 people whose lives are changed through what they have read is of greater worth than 100,000 page views.

It strikes me that we often prioritize numbers over meaningful change and progress. This happens in churches with success often measured by bums on seats on a Sunday morning rather than the quality of discipleship.

For me, 10 people whose lives are being transformed is of greater worth than 100 people making up the numbers on a Sunday morning.

The Sunday morning attendance at Orchard Baptist Church has increased dramatically during this past year. I am pleased about this as more people hear the good news and have the opportunity to explore in creative and interactive ways faith in Jesus and what it means for life in the world today. My greatest encouragement of the year so far though came from someone who shared with me recently how much they have changed. They were facing a situation that would have been impossible for them a few years ago, but now they are in a place where they can see God leading them into and enabling them to thrive in it! They are discovering who God made them to be and as they see this more clearly it enables them to live in the way that he intended rather than being restricted by fear and the other things that hold us back.

Now that gets me excited!

Seeing God at work changing people shows that our church family is doing some things right!

What do you measure your success by? Are you obsessed with numbers or are you measuring using something more meaningful?

By the way, thanks to all of you who visit, read and hopefully think about what you find here. I hope you feel blessed and most of all I hope that you know God at work in you bringing about change as you continue to become the person who he created you to be.