Metrics of a Healthy Church?

In the January “Called to Serve” ministers letter L. Alton Garrison shared some interesting findings that I thought I would share here today:

Recently, Dr. Michael Clarensau has completed an intensive study of a decades’ worth of ACMRs to determine what metrics might help you determine the health of your church. Based on his research, he proposes five metrics:

First, missional effectiveness. The metric compares Sunday morning worship attendance (A) with the number of conversions or salvation decisions (C), measuring how many attendees it takes to produce a convert (the AC ratio). A healthy church will have a low AC ratio of attendees to converts each year. Dr. Clarensau estimates that the AC ratio should be 5:1 or lower. Continue reading

Is Tried

Nobody is perfect. You and I both have heard that before, but some of us really struggle with wondering if our “good enough” is good enough. Those nagging doubts infect our relationship with our spouse, our children, our job, and even with God. The Bible helps us out on that last one and lets us know that “…all our righteous acts are like filthy rags…” (see Isaiah 64:6). So, no, you are not good enough, but that doesn’t stop God from loving you and choosing to use you and desiring a relationship with you. Continue reading

Fasting the iPad

Yesterday our church kicked off our annual 21 days of a corporate fast. Our 7 year old daughter shared with us yesterday that she is praying about fasting from the iPad that our three kids received for Christmas from a close family friend. Our 5 year old son didn’t miss a beat when he added that you can also “fast-forward” on the iPad and made the hand gesture of how you can fast-forward a video. Just goes to show you that even at a young age we are all susceptible to miscommunication. Continue reading

If you want your happily ever after

[:en]”Marriage is the most important relationship we commit to here on earth.  There are many resources to pick from when it comes to focusing on a great marriage.  But in the plethora of marriage resources, Jason’s perspective and expertise is one of the best.  If you want a healthy marriage, you need to read this book.  If you are struggling in your marriage, you need to read this book.  If you are going to get married, you need to read this book.  If you want your happily ever after, you need to read this book.” Continue reading