Data is so important to everything that goes on in the life of a church. As church leaders, you analyze your data to make important decisions. It’s important that you have up-to-date information as well as the information you need to make the right decisions. Let’s check out some information that you need to help you make the best decisions for your church.
Basic Congregant Information
Gathering data, such as the following, will help you know your congregation:
- Number of people in your congregation,
- number of people attending,
- ages of your congregation,
- marital status,
- contact information for your congregation, etc.
This type of information enables you to pull data from which to make decisions for your church. It also allows you to reach out to people with information regarding upcoming events and opportunities they may be interested in as a participant or volunteer. You’ll also be able to check in with your members.
Congregant Hobbies/Interests
Ask your congregants to answer questions like these:
- What do you enjoy doing?
- What are you interested in learning?
Information like this allows you to know where to place volunteers within your ministry. When volunteers are placed properly they will enjoy what they are doing and continue to volunteer in the future.
Giving Trends
Run giving reports to evaluate giving trends:
- Comparison of yearly giving trends across multiple years,
- comparison of monthly giving trends,
- giving in different funds, etc.
Keeping track of the giving trends in your church is essential. Easter and Christmas are always bigger giving times than other times during the year. But you still need to keep track of other months as well to make sure your church is growing. Comparing the numbers from last year to this year helps you know what ministries are doing well versus the ones you may need to spend more time developing.
These are three data points that you need to keep track of in your church. Knowing this information will help you make sound decisions based on data. You’ll know your congregation and make the best decisions to grow your church.
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