Groeschel, Cymbala, Success, and Prayer

Craig Groeschel is blogging this week about measuring success in ministry.  His first post went straight for an issue that is sensitive to many pastors:  numbers. Groeschel writes,

"The size of your ministry does not determine the level of your success."

His post came a day after a capacity crowd here at Effingham Presbyterian.  Talk about God's timing!  As a pastor, it is hard for me not to get caught up in church attendance numbers. Frankly, there are very few ways for a pastor to measure whether or not their ministry is effective other than numbers. We joke about "nickels and noses." Attendance, baptisms, decisions for Christ, & financial health are all measured and compared as indicators for success. Numbers are important and significant, but they are not the reason we do ministry.

The most helpful point in the post was not from Groeschel, but from the comments section.  It is a quote of a quote from "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire."  Many leaders have recommended this book, so it's probably time I read it for myself.  Here's the quote:

“You can tell how popular a church is by who comes on Sunday morning.
You can tell how popular the pastor or evangelist is by who comes on Sunday night.
You can tell how popular Jesus is by who comes to the prayer meeting.”

How true!  Right now, prayer is a part of our ministry at EPC, but it's time we step it up a bit with a public prayer service.  In January, we'll offer a Concert of Prayer to pray for specific ministry needs, healing needs of our members, and other issues that the church should be focusing on.  If you've never been a part of such an event, it is very powerful.  I'll tell you more about it in the coming weeks.