Management expert Peter Drucker once said, “What gets measured gets improved.” In other words, if you can define how things have performed in the past and define your current reality then you should be able to make changes and improve future results. To a large extent this is true, but not always.

Churches measure what happened all the time. We measure what the attendance at last week’s worship services was, we measure what the offering was, we measure how many people were in groups last week, how many people served last week, and so on the list goes. The tough thing is you can’t change what just happened at your church last week.

Most of the key metrics we look at are all about what has already happened. But what if there were things that we could measure that were indicators of future performance?

1. Follow-Up Rate

Every week your church has guests (at least I hope you do). But do you know if they were followed up on and how quickly? Do you know if they were called, emailed, texted, if a letter was sent, etc. (whatever your follow-up process is)? Measuring the follow-up rate each week on the percentage of “closed” contacts will put a behavioral spotlight and emphasis not only on guests but also helping people get and stay connected at your church.

2. Engagement Rate

Again, you probably already know the metrics on group involvement, volunteers, giving, and other steps people take in their discipleship process at your church. But do you know how long it takes for the average person at your church to move from a guest (the first time you knew they were there), to when they joined a group, started volunteering, or gave for the first time? Measuring those rates will help you become much more proactive and change the score before it happens.

What else could you measure at your church that would be an indicator of future success and what is going to happen instead of simply measuring what has already happened? I’d love to hear your input, leave a comment!