by Sam Brock

Annually my kids cannot wait for January 1 to roll around—not because of the new year, but because they get to stand up against the measuring tape we have mounted on the hallway in our home and find out how much they grew the previous year. My wife and I have our suspicions about who grew the most, but it is fun for us to chart it out. We mark lines and dates and names; my two oldest were especially excited when they passed up mom’s height. The changes happen so slowly that we don’t notice them on a daily basis, but we do record how much change has happened in a year.

Often changes in your ministry will happen at the same, slow pace. Figure out how to notice the changes in your ministry. They may be happening in such small steps that you will not notice them unless you take the time to chart the growth. Following are a few practical suggestions to help you notice growth.

Once a year, sit down with your entire team and list anything that God has given you. What do you have now that you did not have twelve months ago? Every year there are things that I did not even know about. We include the list in our board report. At the end of the meeting, we thank the Lord for what He has done.

Chart anything. We have had fun charting camper days, budgets, surveys, volunteer hours, sales, maintenance items fixed, sick days, electricity bill, dogs on property, and utilization. Keeping those numbers from year to year can be just like a growth board.

Be excited about every change that someone attempts. Mention it in a meeting; thank them in a note. Change is not easy and those willing to work at it should be encouraged to keep trying.

Show pictures from the past. It is amazing how much people change in just a few years.

List favorite changes of the past thirty-six months. Sometimes right now all we can do is focus on the problems we are dealing with. We forget that
things do change and that our ministry has had some good changes in the past.

List all the changes that are in process. Chances are that you’ll have a hefty list of things that your team is trying to change currently. This reminder helps your staff to be patient as the changes are new to all of you.