Six Scorecard Flips to Renewal

There is no doubt ministry has shifted. This means the scorecard has as well. Churches find themselves in a fog, frustrated, trying to figure out a fresh way to worship again. In the past, we had standard scorecards that made leaders aware of how their organization or church was doing. However, COVID and 2020 have flipped those scorecards upside down. Here are areas of the scorecard to pay close attention to.
  
1. Worship Attendance Flip: It was easy to count heads as people walked through the door, but now it is much harder to identify how people attend worship services or gatherings. A church must engage differently with online campuses, social media platforms, and generations in the church. There are so many choices for people to engage in, and keeping track of that engagement is difficult.  Pastors are struggling not knowing the exact number of people they are reaching.  A large crowd would encourage the pastor, but now the groups are smaller.  In churches in New England, Pastors often preach in almost empty rooms with empty chairs, making it difficult to bring the same energy level to their preaching.  When churches meet on campus, the energy level is different because of protocols and restrictions, and the inner culture is not the same.  Instead of focusing on the large crowd, band, and lights, maybe it's time for a more simple, acoustic feeling with intimacy and connection as the focus.  
  
2. The Financial Flip: The method and timing of giving have changed. The days passing the plate or bucket on Sundays seem to be gone.  People don't just give on Sunday's anymore. Rather, they give all throughout the week in different ways. For our churches to survive and thrive, multiple options for giving must be available.  Statistics tell us that the average person gives between $30-38 dollars a week to their local church. Encourage the people in your church to step up their giving and donations and to give through digital platforms. If the church is going to remain, the people in the church must be willing to give sacrificially. Extravagant givers will keep their church open, their pastor encouraged, and their impact on the community continual.
  
3. Connection Flip: The days of classes and programs have ceased for a season.  Real connection is happening on a micro-level with small groups of people.  A micro-church setting with 20-30 people gathering at home to watch a church service online, giving, praying, doing outreach together, and talking about the Bible in a smaller setting is becoming more popular. Connection to one another is crucial, especially in a socially distanced world.  Micro-churches and micro-groups are the keys to caring for people in the future.
  
4. Conversion Flip: Instead of corporate church efforts for evangelism and altar calls, conversions in the future will depend on the people's obedience in their daily lives. Individuals having gospel conversations with people where they eat, work, shop, and play will be how people come to know Christ.  The emphasis has flipped to placing the responsibility on church members and attenders to share the gospel and then report the conversions to the local church. If the conversion flip does not happen, the church will lose its purpose for existing and its momentum for the future.
  
5. The Ministry Flip: Ministry on the church campus has been limited, and where we eat, work, shop, and play have become the focus. The ministry scorecard is based on moving the ministry off campus and into the community. Low involvement in the community leads to low engagement in the church.  Increase your community service outreach, encourage discipleship and groups to happen off campus, and engage the community in ways you have never done before.
  
6. The Accountability Flip: It was easier to keep people accountable when they walked into a room but harder on video. Body language, tone, and connection can feel distant through digital platforms with its formality and set time constraints. The challenge is to make sure that people do what God has called them to do, making disciples. Meeting together does not mean just a focused mission centered around the Gospel. The accountability flip focuses on being clear with a process to discover, develop, and deploy people to do the work of the ministry, to be participants and not just spectators.  
  
No doubt, the scorecards have changed in the local church, but the good news is that Jesus is still building His church. Even though the scorecards have been flipped, the mission remains the same to stay focused and make disciples who make disciples. This will begin renewal.