Keeping Score: How to Know If Your Church is Winning

by Dave Ferguson

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Chris Huff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been looking for a resource like this! I had to laugh out loud a few times while reading this, because the author described my church frighteningly well (we still have the "register of attendance" board at the front!).

I love stats because I think we can learn a lot by paying attention to the numbers. But I've also been frustrated with the stats that we traditionally collect and monitor. They focus on the wrong things, and they don't say enough. This resource encourages us to monitor the things that matter.

I love the transparency of the author. He fully admits that his system isn't perfect, and that it won't work in every context. But I think it is a good starting point. It's useful in helping church leaders think through the types of questions we should be asking, and the types of stats we should be monitoring.

I think the only thing that could make this resource better is a stronger theological foundation. In my opinion, it's definitely biblical to give more attention to the things that matter (making disciples, being on mission), but it would have been helpful to have all that laid out better.

I'll be coming back to this book again in the coming months as I lead my church to think about who we ought to be and what we ought to be doing.

[Jeff Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not so much a book really as an enlarged pamphlet. Only took about a half and hour to read. Much of it is the same as all the other, "It's about faithfulness." Yeah, we get it but there are times when being faithful is not all that fun.

Having said that, there is a bit of encouragement with some of the questions Ferguson suggests the church should be asking. "How many of our people serve and or give in a ministry outside the church?" "How many tithe faithfully". He also suggests counting the attendance of churches you have planted or are supporting along with your attendance. There's probably some help here for those of us in struggling small churches trying to stay "kingdom minded".

[Merv Budd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a free eBooks download from exponential. The premise is simple you need to keep track of what is important. If we only track money and attendance are we really tracking what is most important in the life of the church? Ferguson provides some good food for thought with how to get started in measuring what is most important to the mission of the church.

[Matthew Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a short e-book, almost a booklet, but it has a bunch of good ideas with clear ways to apply them. It also prompted even more ideas appropriate to my situation.