When you’re trying to measure scientifically verifiable data from massive groups of people, surveys are invaluable. They help us look past our own small, prejudicial view of things and give us verifiable, objective results.
But when we’re dealing with people, surveys can give us a false sense of understanding. Knowing how many people have been through a discipleship class is not the same as knowing how much they’ve grown in their faith. That requires a much more personal touch.
In the classic leadership book In Search of Excellence, Tom Peters introduced the world to MBWA—Management By Wandering Around. The concept is simple. In large companies, including large churches, it’s easy to think you know what’s going on because of all the raw data you collect. But you can lose a sense of what’s really happening if you rely too heavily on the numbers. Every leader needs to spend time in the trenches or they lose touch.
In Small Churches, MBWA is just the way things are. There are no layers between the pastor and the people. Surveys aren’t needed because conversations are taking place.
In big groups, conversations can give you a skewed picture of what’s going on, so they need to be supplemented by surveys, and vice versa. But in smaller groups, you can get a large enough sample size through conversations, and have all the info you need.
MBWA isn’t a new concept. It’s the original data collection system. Shakespeare referred to it in Henry V, when he had the king disguise himself to walk among the troops and gauge their mood the night before the Battle of Agincourt. And, long before Shakespeare, Jesus did it with his disciples.
4. The People Who Need Connection the Most Won’t Sign Up for Small Groups
Most large churches recognize the need to make relationships more intentional. That a massive worship meeting, while exciting and inspiring, is not enough. So most of them work very hard at developing and promoting small groups.
The problem is that most people feel like they’ve received their weekly spiritual dosage by attending a one-hour weekend church service. They don’t see the need or have the time to add another meeting to their schedule. And that’s what many people see a small group as—just another meeting.
No, that’s not a very spiritually mature view of small groups. But aren’t the spiritually immature people the ones who need those groups the most?
In a Small Church, people get the small group experience on Sunday morning—one-stop spiritual shopping. And the friendships that develop there are one reason why Small Churches likely have a higher level of volunteerism and involvement. In a bigger church, the only way to get that much-needed smaller group is to add one more meeting to the calendar. Most people won’t.
So what’s a big church to do?
Clearly, I’m not an expert on running a big church, but it seems to me that it might be helpful to find a way to infuse more one-on-one connection into the main service times. Not just “turn around around and say hi to someone before you’re seated.”
What about these as starter ideas? For bigger and smaller churches.
- Have a mid-service break every once in a while. Take five minutes in the middle of your biggest services for people to grab coffee, chat and get to know the people sitting near them.
- Assign section hosts. People usually sit at the same place in the same service time. A section host could get to know the 100 or so people in that section and be the “social glue” that recognizes new people, introduces newcomers to regulars and oversees the mid-service break time.
- Have discussion times after each service for those who want to stick around for a few extra minutes. It’s a lot easier to stay while you’re there than to come out on another day.
5. Stories Matter More Than Numbers
“So, how’s your church doing?” is the #1 question ministers ask each other when we get together.
What’s the #1 answer to that question? “We’re running (insert your Easter Sunday numbers here) in attendance.”
That’s how I used to answer that question. I don’t any more. Attendance alone is not an accurate measure of how my church is doing.
Stories are a far better measure of how a church is doing. How is Jesus affecting the people in your church? How are they responding to the needs of their friends and the community. Are lives being transformed, relationships being healed, families growing stronger, ministry to the community being effective?
Numbers can get in the way. When the church is growing, they can give us a false sense of health and, let’s admit it, ego. When the church is small or shrinking, they can make us doubt our ministry and calling. But attendance statistics are not an accurate measure of how any church is really doing. Stories are.
Stories matter because people matter. From the world’s biggest megachurches to the smallest home churches, let’s get to know people and celebrate their stories.
