by Jeff Tunnell
You don’t get what you expect, you get what you inspect. That saying has stuck with me for years and proven to be true in nearly every case where quality of outcome is important. Farmers and crops, engineers and building projects, teachers and student progress, water filtration systems and safe drinking water, and the list goes on.
Expectations for cell group health, quality, and growth, must likewise be quantified and then inspected to evaluate each area. Systems are put in place to insure that the end results are met, and in our situation, that means we are looking for growing, healthy, disciples of Jesus Christ living in mission together within a cell family.
Few things are more exciting than realizing a goal. Everyone involved in achieving a goal feels a level of satisfaction, joy, contribution and partnership. If there are no goals, or no method of monitoring goals in place, we are basically dreaming. We will wake up one day to find we are exactly where we used to be, or worse, farther behind than when we started dreaming. Statistics bring aid to us from beginning to end, from inception to fruition. They help us know for certain that we have made progress toward the desired end or that we are failing. Knowing this at the ½ way point of a goal period gives us opportunity to make adjustment to the goal or process in a realistic way.
As the church grows, statistics become even more important due to the distance between the lead pastor and the entry level believer. Therefore it is imperative that we begin keeping statistics right away and fine tuning them as the church body grows.