Why Online Numbers Aren’t the Same as In Person Numbers and that’s Ok
Church leaders love to count numbers. They love to highlight the number of people in attendance on any given Sunday. They love to highlight how many baptisms they have. They love to talk about how many people are coming on Sunday mornings. And that is ok. Heck, I’m a Church Leader so I know that tracking numbers are important and they do matter.
Because of the emphasis on numbers and how many people are coming to this or that, it has created a little bit of a conundrum for Church Leaders in this digital world we are living. See, in person numbers are easy to track because people are either there or they aren’t. You can physically count how many people are in the room. Online numbers, however, aren’t as easy to track. Sure, you can see the IP address but who else is watching with them? How long are they watching for?
There are too many unknowns about fully tracking online numbers. So, while I strongly encourage you to track IP addresses, keep account of the different online Bible Studies you are doing and those who are serving in your ministry, trying to quantify your Sunday service numbers is really hard to do. You can try until you are blue in the face to track them, but you will never be able to be 100% accurate. And that is OK!
Why is it ok? Because whether you are counting online numbers or in person numbers, Sunday service numbers are not your focal point. It’s the number of people you are moving from in the service to discipleship that matters. The bottom line of ministry effectiveness is the discipleship relationships that grow and develop. You can have a lot of numbers but if those numbers aren’t connected into discipleship relationships, then the numbers don’t really matter. So while it is important to track your Sunday service numbers, make sure you are keeping track of your discipleship numbers as well. Those are the numbers that are going to produce fruit and real growth to your ministry.
But how do you determine what online attender is ready for online discipleship? Who are they? I wrote a blog post about 2 ways you can identify people online. Also, Stan Rodda from 4Gen wrote a great piece about the “Five Best Places to Start Fishing” (i.e. evangelism that can lead to discipleship) that is very useful for people looking to make disciples outside of the regular Church service time. Whether it is online or in person, discipleship is so important and one of the most important numbers your Church or ministry should be tracking.
Conclusion
While tracking numbers is a tedious process for many, they are really important. But make sure you are tracking the right numbers. Sunday morning online numbers are not the same as in-person numbers. Don’t let it stress you out. Let it be one of the fishing areas you go to to create disciples. And the great news is that there are plenty of them online and in person. So what are you doing today to build new relationships? What conversations have you had? You can do these in person or online as a Digital Missionary. The more you can engage in discipleship relationships the more likely that your numbers, online or in person,
What do you think? Share them and your experiences below or on social media use my twitter handle @tapounder or #ymsidekick when you share.
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