An Occasional Word from the Bishop: Jan. 6, 2012

01-06-2012
Dear Friends:

All the churches of the Arkansas Conference are beginning to post numbers on the Vital Signs dashboard. Pastors have received and will continue to receive information (as necessary) on the use of the dashboard. As with anything new, there is some discomfort.

Actually, this is not really new. It is just a 21st-century application of what every pastor had to do at the old District Conference, when all the preachers in a district gathered and gave a personal report on their ministry, including statistics, to all their colleagues.

John Wesley knew the importance of numbers. He required them from his preachers. He understood that we pay attention to what we count. If the numbers related to people displease us, we ask the question, “Why are the numbers as they are?” And if we are wise, we act to make the changes necessary to open more widely our arms to those outside the fellowship of the church.

Still, it is easier said than done. I once served as the senior pastor in a large, downtown, west Texas church. It was in the middle of oil country. On arrival, I asked how many members were on the roll. I then asked when a membership audit had been done. The answer was that we were very careful to add and subtract the appropriate numbers from the figures in the Conference Journal.

When we did an audit—actually counted the names on the roll—we discovered that we were reporting 400 digits more in membership than we actually had in names. Ouch!

All this happened during a “bust” in the oil industry. My community led the nation in the outflow of U-Haul trucks and trailers. Population declined. We worked hard at evangelism, but all we could do was hold our own. There was no growth over our actual membership.

Attendance stayed flat. I worried about how this would look at the end of the year. I did not need to worry. Both the bishop and the district superintendent understood the context of the numbers. And frankly, given the context, the numbers encouraged the church.

As we review worship attendance, professions of faith, baptisms and the other statistics, they will help us paint a picture of what is happening in our churches. The additional “box” for you to share your testimony about what is happening in the church will help to set the context for the numbers.

I believe knowledge is power. If we know there is a problem, we can address the problem. If we know there is a roaring success, it will be an encouragement to us and those around us. Count me as one of those who thinks the Vital Signs dashboard will be a helpful tool for us to continue to build the Kingdom of God in Arkansas.

Faithfully,

Charles Crutchfield

Editor’s Note: To read more about the Vital Signs dashboard and see a sample of the online form pastors are using to report ministry data, visit www.arumc.org/dashboard.