How does a church measure success?

We recently surveyed our congregation regarding how they defined success in a church. The question received a wide variety of responses. Most of our members gave the same responses I would expect to hear in most churches. Most gage their success by attendance numbers. So, consider the following:

- If a church grows from 200 to 1,000; but all their growth comes by members transferring from other churches... are they successful?

- If the church attendance drops by hundreds in one week, but on that Sunday someone is saved... is that success?

- If a church doesn't grow at all for 10 years, but during that time 2 dozen people commit their lives to serve God in a vocational capacity... is that success?

There are a thousand scenarios and just as many opinions; BUT there is a very simple way to measure success. Stop and ask, "Is your church making disciples?" Are people being saved, baptized, growing, and going? Is the church developing fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ? Simply seeing people saved, but never growing any further, is certainly NOT success; neither is growth by stealing people from other congregations. Success is developing disciples who can disciple others.

EBC will soon be implementing a new process for developing disciples. It includes the following four steps: Share, Connect, Serve, and Disciple. We realize that every member is at one of these stages and their needs differ at each stage. At the first stage, the person needs Christ for salvation or needs to return to a right relationship with the Lord. At the second stage, they need to connect with the church and other believers by attending services, Sunday School, special classes, building friendships, etc. At the third stage, members begin to minister to others. Level three people no longer hold the mentality of "what's in it for me," but instead ask, "what can I do for others?" Finally, those in stage four will begin to reproduce themselves in others by making disciples.

So, success can be measured by moving people through the process of developing disciples, resulting in -- disciples of Jesus Christ, who are discipling others. So, which one of the four levels are you at in the process? ... Okay... now go back and answer that question honestly. :-)