Beyond the Numbers: Measuring Success in the Long Game of Ministry

What if true success in ministry isn't about the numbers you see on Sunday but the unseen impact over a lifetime? Join me, Todd Rhoades, as we unravel this concept, inspired by Paul David Tripp's insights from Christianity Today. We challenge the quick win mentality and explore the profound idea of measuring success through faithfulness, long-term investment, and the often overlooked spiritual growth that happens in quiet, everyday moments. Discover how redefining success, embracing the unseen, celebrating the process, and finding encouragement from those who've walked the path before can transform your approach to ministry.

In this episode of the Healthy Church Staff Podcast, we tackle the marathon of ministry with practical steps to maintain enthusiasm and purpose, even when outcomes aren't immediate. The journey of spiritual transformation is gradual, and celebrating those small victories can be a game-changer. Listen in as we share personal stories and strategies that emphasize the importance of patient, faithful investment in people's lives. Let this episode inspire you to find joy in the long game of ministry and build a legacy of lasting impact.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:07

Well, hey there, good morning, good afternoon, good evening whenever you're listening, welcome to the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. My name's Todd Rhodes. I'm one of the co-founders over at chemistrystaffingcom and I'm really honored to be here with you each weekday, monday through Friday, or whenever you listen to your podcast for're crying out loud right here on the interwebs and I'm really happy that you have joined us today. Today we're going to be talking about how to measure success in kind of the long game in ministry. Right, ministry is a marathon, not a sprint, and we all love to see the numbers grow, don't we? Baptisms and attendance and giving, and it's really easy to get caught up in the metrics of ministry. It's easy to feel horrible on Monday when your attendance was down by 20 or 200. It's easy to feel kind of euphoric if you had a great Sunday. But let me ask you this what, if true success isn't always reflected by the immediate scoreboard?

Speaker 1: 1:08

I was reading an article recently over Christianity Today from Paul David Tripp, and he really challenges church leaders to what he calls playing the long game in ministry and he reminds us and I think it's something that we need to be reminded of. He reminds us, and I think it's something that we need to be reminded of. That lasting impact often happens below the surface, through that patient and faithful investment in people's lives, and even when we don't see immediate results. Tripp warns against the dangers of playing the short game and that whole mentality. We crave those quick wins and those visible transformations and those measurable outcomes but honestly, it can lead to frustration and burnout or even a distorted view of ministry successes when you don't see those all the time. So how can we shift our focus from the immediate to the eternal? How can we embrace the long game, find joy in the journey, even when the scoreboard, for a time anyway, appears to seem stagnant?

Speaker 1: 2:12

I've got four things for you today that I want you to consider. First of all, maybe you just need to redefine your success. Tripp urges us to move beyond the numbers and focus on the faithfulness more. Are we being faithful? Are you being faithful to God's calling? Are you investing in relationships? Are you pointing people to Jesus, even if you don't see the immediate fruit from it? So maybe you need to just redefine your success from more of a short-term success strategy to a long-term success strategy. So that's the first one. The second one embrace the unseen Again. Urge you to move beyond the numbers and to focus on faithfulness. Are we being faithful to God's calling? Are we investing in those relationships and are we pointing to people to Christ, even when we don't see it? We just talked about that.

Speaker 1: 3:02

But so much of this ministry, the ministry that you do day in and day out, happens behind the scenes, in quiet conversations, in those quiet prayerful support times, in the daily grind of discipleship. And yeah, discipleship can be a grind sometimes. But these unseen seasons, these unseen moments, they're not going to make the headlines and they don't show up on a scoreboard at least the scoreboard that most of us are keeping but they are the building blocks of really lasting transformation in people. First of all, redefine success. Second of all, embrace the unseen. Third, celebrate the process. Tripp reminds us that growth takes time. It's a process of sanctification, of gradual transformation by the Holy Spirit. So let's celebrate those small victories, those little incremental steps of faith and the little glimpses of God's grace that he provides to us along the way.

Speaker 1: 4:03

I just received an email this morning that helped me to celebrate the process, the kind of the slow grind work that I am engaged in, and it was a huge game changer for my attitude. This morning and it was just taking the time Somebody reached out to me and gave me an encouraging word, and it helped me to celebrate the process. Even when I don't see things show up on the scoreboard, I know that God is using it. Okay, so that's the third thing Celebrate the process. Fourth and I love this, find encouragement in the cloud of witnesses. Hebrews 12 speaks about this great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us, those that have persevered in their faith despite the challenges and all the setbacks, and their example really inspires us at least it should to keep running the race, even when it's long and it's difficult.

Speaker 1: 4:58

Okay, so here's your bottom line for today Ministry man. It is all about playing the long game. It's about faithfulness and perseverance and trusting God's timing, even when we don't see those immediate results, even when the results don't show up on our scorecard. So let's shift our focus this week, today, from the scoreboard to the souls that are entrusted to our care and find joy in that journey of discipleship. And, as always, if you're feeling discouraged or weary in your ministry journey, you need some coaching, some mentoring. I'd love to be able to talk with you and see how I might be able to offer some support and encouragement there. Contact me anytime. Podcastchemistrystaffingcom. I'd love to hear from you and feel free to give me any kind of feedback on the podcast as well. Again, podcastchemistrystaffingcom. All right, that's it for today. I hope this was helpful to you. Remember measure your success in the long game, not the short game. We'll talk to you tomorrow.