Shortly after we began Next Level Church in 2002, one of our greatest struggles came in being able to see the wins. In sports, seeing the win is easy, whatever team scores the most points, wins. However, in the church world it’s not quite so simple. A pastor can go weeks without knowing if they are winning or even making progress. How do you score points? How do you win? Everyone wants to be on a winning team, but how do you know if you are?
In the midst of the daily challenges of ministry, it’s still possible to know when you’re winning. In order to See the Wins, you must…
1. Play your own Game. Comparison is a deadly game. You were called to pastor in your city, your town and your church for a reason. Every church has a unique vision to fulfill and people to reach. Embrace your church’s game plan. Play your game, not someone else’s game.
Seeing other churches throwing “long-bombs” isn’t easy though, is it? You know what I mean… The church that sent out one flyer and 2000 people showed up the next Sunday. But us, we do the same thing and we get one family to show up… if we’re lucky. And they’re dysfuctional at that!
Being an up-the-middle church isn’t as flashy or glamorous as the long-bomb churches, but they’re every bit as necessary! The Great Commission needs every game plan. Let’s face it, the vast majority of churches do ministry up-the-middle – one-yard-at-a-time. If that’s you, then forget about the long-bomb and get about playing your game.
2. Set Realistic 1st Down Markers. We fail to see the wins when we set unrealistic 1st downs. I went to an eight-year-old’s flag football game recently and noticed the 1st down marker was at the center of the field. When I asked one of the dads about it, he said, “Yeah, they have to get across that line in 3 downs or else they lose the ball.” When I looked at the goal and then looked at the two handfuls of eight-year-olds on the field I actually said out loud, “That’s crazy!” The goal was not realistic considering the factors involved.
Each of our ministries have a hundred different factors that play into whether we win or lose on a daily basis. We must get real about what’s possible in our churches. Create 1st downs according to your reality. You know what’s realistic for your church, in your city at this time with the team you have to work with. You may not be able to triple your attendance this year, but you can probably improve your transitions or create a better experience for your attendees.
As a church that has been portable for 7 years, a huge win for us is shaving minutes off of our set-up time on Sunday mornings. Currently, all of our environments set up in under 45 minutes and our auditorium continues to set up in less than 30 minutes. The goal is 23 minutes and we hit it regularly. In a portable church, that’s a win!
3. Redefine True Wins. How often have you fallen into the trap of measuring wins by one of the three B’s: “Butts, Budgets, and Buildings?” True wins aren’t measured in any of those areas. A true win is life-change, one story at a time. It’s fixing a single mom’s car, or seeing one teenager commit to moral purity. It’s giving 10% of your income one month to a new church plant or missionary. Those are true wins.
4. Celebrate True Wins. As the leader of your church, your primary responsibility is to identify where your church is winning on a consistent basis. It is your job to talk about those wins and celebrate them as often as you can. At NLC, we start every leadership meeting with the question, “Where are we winning?” This question engages our leaders to look for wins. It also forces them to connect the dots between what they do and the stories of life-change happening all around.
When you live in a ministry world, you must be able to know when you’re winning, otherwise you’ll burn out. Around Next Level Church, we have a statement that keeps us in touch with the wins on a daily basis:
“If you don’t celebrate the small stuff, you’ll never celebrate!”
It’s time to see the wins and start celebrating!
Matt Keller is the author of The Up the Middle Church, a book written for leaders and leadership teams of churches that find themselves living an Up-the-Middle reality. To purchase copies for you and your team go to: www.UptheMiddle.com. Matt is also the lead pastor of Next Level Church in Fort Myers, FL, a church that began in 2002 with 4 people in a coffee shop and now serves over 1,000 people weekly. (www.NextLevelChurch.com) Matt blogs at www.MattKellerOnline.com.
