Metrics and Targets
Metrics and Targets

How would you respond if someone asked you, "How's your ministry doing?" If you're like most people, you'd evaluate the success of your ministry by how the previous Sunday went. Did your volunteers show up? Were kids smiling? Did parents make any comments?

While all of those things are valid, they can be misleading because they only tell a small part of the story. It's important to find ways to objectively measure the effectiveness of your ministry. That's why we have identified some vital signs for your kids ministry. These are the things we celebrate most often, talk about regularly and include on our "scoreboard".

Think about it like a medical professional. When you check in to the doctor's office, they could operate a whole battery of tests on you ー but they don't. They start with a handful of tests to check your vital signs and based off those results, they may probe further.

We operate the same way. Are these the only things that matter to us? Of course not. When evaluating the effectiveness of your ministry, these are the first things we are going to look at. If something seems off, we'll dig a little deeper in that area to find the root of what's really going on.

Check out the content below to learn about the five vital signs in our kids ministry.

Attendance

We measure the average weekly attendance for each month and compare it to the same month the previous year.

Why is Attendance important? While numeric growth isn't our primary goal, it's an indicator that's worth paying attention to. It tells you what kind of momentum your ministry has and how contagious your environments are.

How to translate attendance numbers:

In any given year, attendance will be like a wave. There will be higher points than others, specifically at the beginning of the school year and the beginning of the calendar year. That's why comparing your numbers in March to your numbers in January isn't very helpful. The most helpful comparison will be to the same month the previous year.

Your target is 5% or more. That's an indication that your ministry is growing.

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Return Rate

We measure how many of our first-time kids join us a second time. This is measured on a monthly basis. Like attendance, Return Rate has a "wave" where the percentage is higher at the beginning of the school year and new calendar year.

Why is Return Rate important? This is the most direct indication of what kids and families think of your ministry. The only reason people come back is because they had a positive experience. This measurable gives you an idea what their first impressions were and how welcoming your environments are.

What's a good score? Check out the grid below to see what a strong score looks like.

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Volunteer Coverage

We measure the percentage of your volunteer roles that are filled each weekend. Each room/environment will have a target number for the ideal amount of team members per service. We'll compare that number to the actual amount of those spots that are filled.

Why is Volunteer Coverage important? The amount of volunteers you have has a direct effect on 1) how safe your environments are, 2) the quality of your programming and, most of all, 3) the level of care that kids experience in our ministry.

What's a good score? Check out the grid below to see what a strong score looks like.

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Faith Decisions

We measure how many kids choose to follow Jesus and how many choose to be baptized.

What's a good target? Generally speaking, you should shoot for at least 10% of your average weekly attendance. For example, if you average 70 kids on the weekends, your goal would be to help 7 kids start a relationship with Jesus this year. Theoretically, your baptism target would be the same number, since your hope is that baptism would be the next step for each of those kids.

Surveys

We gather measurable feedback from each of our target audiences. We send surveys to kids, parents and volunteers twice a year. We send surveys to staff monthly.

What's a good score? All surveys are based off a 1 to 5 scale. The higher the number, the better the score. Check out the grid below to see what a strong score looks like.

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