Churches that are growing typically hear some version of this charge, “All you care about is numbers.” We are no exception to this charge which has made me think a lot about this allegation. Here are my thoughts (at this point in the journey)…

1) We are “all about numbers” because every number has a name! Last weekend we
    had 711 people attend our weekend worship services. The number was 711 – but that
    means 711 names/people/souls were exposed to the good news of Jesus Christ! Which
    one of those 711 people should we have stopped at the door by saying, “Sorry, we
    already have too many”? We count numbers because we can’t count names but
    we do not lose sight of the fact that every number has a name!

2) We are “all about numbers” because our mission demands it! Our mission is to
    “Bring people to Jesus and to build them up in that relationship.” Quite frankly, it is
    hard to “Bring” an empty seat to Jesus, and even with a Craftsman drill you cannot
    “Build” an empty seat up in that relationship! If we are going to accomplish our mission
    then we must be about numbers!

3) We are all about numbers because the Bible has a book called Numbers (OK, kidding on
     that one!)

All right, let me say a word about the content of those numbers…

1) The number should be growing because more unsaved/unchurched people
    are being brought to Jesus! I DO NOT WANT TO GROW AT THE EXPENSE OF
    ANOTHER CHURCH(s)!

2) As the “Bring” number increases so should the “Build” number! In other
     words, the more people we bring to Jesus the more conseqent discipleship connections
     (e.g. ABFs, small groups, etc.) should be created.

3) I believe that it is possible to have a LOT of people and still have a loving
     environment! Why do I believe that? Check out this worship scene for starters!

Looking forward to the conversation on this one!