Define "success"

Jul 06, 2010

The other day, I read a Facebook status of a fellow church planter that read, 

"there are so many false metrics out there in which we try to measure our worth.. (thats what I am thinking about)."

Now I am not totally sure what my Facebook friend was referring to in his status update, but as a church planter/pastor something inside me resonated. What are the metrics by which we determine success? 

  • In our denomination, we have a goal of starting 400 new churches by 2014. If we do not reach the goal of 400, does that mean that the denomination has failed?
  • Is the metric for success the number of attenders in a given worship service or is new believer baptisms over the course of a year?
  • Is success found in our weekly offerings? Does operating in the black necessarily mean that a church is 100% healthy? Or is it how much we give away to local and/or international missions?
  • Is it determined by how many programs a church has to offer? Does the church have a rockin' kids' ministry with a play land and full band? Do you have a VBS program? A men and women’s ministry? How about a thriving social justice chapter?
  • Do you have a building? Hmmmm…
  • Is success determined by how we line up with our denominational standards (use or non-use of liturgy, egalitarian or complementarian leadership, conservative or liberal theology, adherence to the Book of Church Order, etc.)?

How would you define “success”? 

P.S. - Is success even the wrong word to use?