Last week Lyngine observed: “. . . the focus isn’t on numbers, but on living out one’s faith in a particular way and then inviting others to share in that if it fits them.”

It made me think of how certain trends and even established ideas in the wider Christian community can be a trap for OC/IC missions and projects creating a damaged image of “success”. Not only are we judged by others according to these measures, but we also judge one another using these metrics.

“Success” in contemporary ministry is largely measured by the number of participants, and/or the amount of money collected per worship service. I have lost count of the number of times that I have been interrogated by ministers in other denominations about our membership numbers, and finances. “Mega-churches” artificially imposed monstrosities, products of demographic studies, marketing campaigns, and pollsters have popped up like unwanted dandelions. They are not the cause of the problem, rather they are the synthesis of the streams of ill-concieved ideas of what it means to be faithful. They are indeed “successful” but is this model of “church” really a reflection of faithfulness?