Ed Stetzer: Creating an Assessment Culture

What Is It and Are We Really Making Disciples?

I hate bad stats. They undermine the credibility of Christians and can confuse the issues. (I've written on the issue in Christianity Today.) But when we apply stats wisely, they can be of great benefit.

So while I often say "facts are our friends," they aren't always friendly. For example, in 2009, LifeWay Research found that 55% of church attendees believed they had grown spiritually over the last year, while only 3.5% of those displayed any measurable growth. That's not a very warm and fuzzy stat, but it's an honest one.

Sometimes, though, churches tend to be more hopeful than honest when they look at their situation. That can be good—we are a people of faith. However, bad information undermines good strategy. I believe that churches must have the right information to make that right decisions.

That takes intelligent self assessment. Keep reading