THE USE OF KPI IN THE CHURCH

“Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success.” (Proverbs 15:22 NLT Version)

From the start of the church where I have pastored since 1990, instead of establishing a traditional board comprised of Deacons, Deaconesses, and Trustees, I organized a Leadership Council. As the Pastor, I still perform my role of leading the congregation, but I strongly depend on the input of the leaders of all the various auxiliaries or ministries in setting goals and strategies that align with scripture. As the verse above says, “…many advisers bring success.”

Also, in addition to deviating from the church organization model that I had been familiar with since my childhood, I introduced the concept of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to measure how well we are doing in key areas. For example, areas such as giving, growing church attendance, and multiplying Sunday School attendance.: Based on a theory I was taught in an evangelism class decades ago, I agree that if you grow the Sunday School, you will grow the church. You can add an additional third to the two thirds that normally attend Sunday School. If you still do Sunday School, check how this theory is working in your church. No, it is not an exact science, but if your KPI for Sunday School goes up, brought about by efforts to grow the Sunday School, so does your KPI for church attendance.

Setting KPI is easy, but they are fluid, dynamic, always changing.  The goal is always increased once you start achieving 100% continuously in any area. This sounds like a church administration or a evangelism training class, doesn’t it?. Well, so be it, since we as disciples have an evangelism assignment, given to us by the Master in The Great Commission, this training, equipping can help advance the kingdom of God.

There are some definite things you will want to do if you chose to use KPI in the church. In additional to revising the goal to keep the work of the church from becoming stagnant, you need to educate leaders and members, provide updates monthly, and set goals to improve where improvement is indicated by the KPI results. At our church, we have not used bulletins since the pandemic, but we used to insert KPI performance weekly.

The KPI concept does not just work in the secular world. But it will work in the church as well. Think about this concept and perhaps, if you are not already applying the KPI concept, bring it up as an idea at your next leadership meeting. If it is not accepted, and you don’t adopt this metrics driven concept, that’s okay. Yet, at the minimum, heed to the words below found in the scriptures. Have a great day!  Be blessed!

“That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:14-16 King James Version)

Committed to the climb,

Mark L. King