There’s this constant struggle that seems to exist in almost any ministry context. It’s the whole “numbers game.” The question of how many are active in a certain ministry – how many “you’re running” these days. The problem comes when you realize it’s all about the numbers and yet not about the numbers at all.
Let me explain.
Yesterday I had the opportunity of sharing with our church’s ministry to retiree-aged people. They had pooled some of their money around Christmas to buy gas cards for some youth they heard were driving a good distance to come to our youth ministry. Yesterday I wanted to share with them the significance of their gift.
So what did I do? I shared the stories. I mentioned first names and told of each of the different stories of these students and how their gift was impacting their future. I wanted them to be able to see behind simple numbers of dollars that were given to a number (6) of students. It wasn’t about 6 students getting some help with gas money. It was about the lives of those specific students being touched.
See, every number has a story. Every youth that walks into AMPED (our youth ministry). Every adult that walks into our Sunday morning services. Every child that maybe crawls into our children’s ministry. They each have a unique story.
So why would you ever try to bother counting them and reducing them to a number? That’s a good question!
In the New Testament you’ll often find in Jesus’ ministry and in the first church that numbers are given. Jesus miraculously fed more than 4,000 people (Mark 8). He also miraculously fed a crowd of more 5,000 people (Matthew 14). He had 12 guys who followed Him around as disciples during His ministry years. The first church in Acts 1 numbered about 120. And on the Day of Pentecost it shot up about 3,000 (Acts 2). And so on.
And we know this why? Because somebody had to be counting. And because somebody had to care enough to record that number. It must have mattered.
It matters because those numbers reflect how many people were listening to Jesus’ teaching to the point of being hungry on a hillside. It shows how many people were left following the gospel after Jesus had been crucified and risen. It gives a picture. That’s what statistics and numbers do, they give a picture.
And this picture is crucial for those of us in ministry. Why? Because it shows the depth and breadth of how the gospel is penetrating any given area.
See, at last count (2010) there were 54,727 people living in Bowie, the city I reside in. That could be just another number, but I know some of those 54,727 people and I know their story. I know whether their story has been touched by the amazing, life-changing message of Christ or not. I know some of those numbers. And even those I don’t know have stories. And many of them, as we’ve come to find, don’t know Jesus personally. So that’s thousands upon thousands of stories that are unfinished and in need of the gospel.
So we count our numbers. We count to be able to see if we’ve grown or shrunk. If we need to continue doing what we’re doing or drastically change. We keep track to know who maybe hasn’t been around in a couple of weeks as well as seeing who seems to refuse to miss.
We struggle with this in ministry, but we count to see how we’re doing in many ways. So the numbers really do matter. And the numbers really matter because each and every one of them is a precious story. And so, like I said, the numbers don’t really matter. It’s about the people. I’m sure a number of people in your city would love to have you care so passionately for them…what number that is, I’m just not sure.