Clearly numbers do not tell the whole story of a local church, annual conference or denomination. There are stories of life change that are more important than raw data. One of the challenges of collecting stories is how to report them. It is far easier to look at a graph of worship attendance at our church over time and seek to draw conclusions over time. How do you look back over time and compare stories that have been collected?
- Number of stories?
- Category of stories?
- Stories of visitors?
- Community impact?
How do you collect stories of people and tell them in a way that builds up the body of Christ both at the time and will be able to used in a meaningful way in the future?
Related articles
- Why Numbers Matter in the UMC – Naming Reality (1 of 3) (andrewconard.com)
- Why Numbers Matter in the UMC – Learning (2 of 3) (andrewconard.com)
- Why Numbers Matter in the UMC – Community (3 of 3) (andrewconard.com)
Rev. Andrew Conard 