4 Indicators That Your Church Is Making Progress
August 7, 2012 
5 Comments
Courtesy of Google Images
“Progress is everywhere.” - Sports Illustrated’s Peter King after visiting the San Francisco 49ers training camp
Is your church making progress? Other than attendance and giving numbers, are there other indicators that progress is being made? More importantly, would the people sitting in your congregation each week feel that your church is making progress? How would they know?
Sports Illustrated’s Peter King is my favorite sports writer. Recently, King visited the San Francisco 49ers training camp. He walked away extremely impressed and feels the team is positioned for a great year.  You can read his glowing report by clicking here.
As I read his article, I was fascinated by four signs of progress that excited King about the 49ers.  I immediately thought about my own local church. Do I see these very same signs when I attend each week (I do by the way)? Do you see these signs at your church?
- Great Leadership At The Highest Positions - Churches that are making progress have gifted and extremely talented individuals in all senior leadership positions? 49ers CEO Jed York recently hired Facebook’s Gideon Yu as the team’s new president.  This is on top of his acquisitions of general manager Trent Baalke, who trained under Bill Parcells, and, of course, head coach Jim Harbaugh.
- Facilities Matter - Churches that are making progress understand that excellent facilities matter. A leaking roof is a sign to chuch members that something else is leaking. Old carpet and paint is a sign that the ministry is also out of date. The 49ers have started construction on their new state-of-the-art stadium. They are also constructing a multi-million dollar weight training facility. All the turf has been replaced with sod and a team Hall of Fame facility is planned.
- Top Talent Is Retained – Churches that are making progress retain their top talent. A loss of talent causes concern, insecurity, and a loss of momentum.  All 11 members of the team’s top-ranked defense remain intact. This rarely happens because of NFL free agency.
- Upgraded Talent In Under-Performing Areas - The answer to every problem is a person. Not only do churches that make progress retain top talent, but they also constantly upgrade under-performing areas. While the 49ers had the NFL’s best defense, their offense was pedestrian at best. During the off-season, the team added talent and speed at key positions in Randy Moss, Brandon Jacobs, and LaMichael James.
Great Leadership In The Highest Positions. Facilities. Top Talent Is Retained. Upgraded Talent In Under-Performing Areas. How is your church doing in these four areas? Are you making progress?
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What an important aspect of moving forward. It’s essential to find, develop, and allow talented people to use their talents. Great post!
Dan,
Thank you for the comments. I know you read a lot of leadership material. This is quite a compliment coming from you. Have a great night my friend.
Brian
Wow, if the 49ers improve just a bit…my Giants barely got by them in the championship game. They were good enough to win the Super Bowl last year without question.
Should they be favored in the NFC this year?
Love the stuff you put out but this is a bit of a stretch. This is Western Christianity at it’s finest. It applies in suburban America, but you couldn’t take this message to Haiti, Africa, Asia, or really most of world. First of all never forget the church is not an organization, it’s a living organism the body of Christ. The church is not defined by facilities but people who are growing closer daily to the image of Christ. This post has its place but we need to be careful about defining the movement called the church by non biblical standards. If the 49ers don’t improve as players, it won’t matter if they get a new facility or even have great upper management. Ask the Browns! Top Christian leaders should understand this as well, and realize that we’ve been called first of all to make disciples.
Brian, all excellent indicators.
B has always stuck out to me, in churches and in business. How do you expect people to look at your church or business as outstanding and doing well if you’re unable to keep things looking good.
Burnt out lights, letters missing from your signs, ripped up carpet. All show a lack of excellence.
Now it’s not the be-all-end-all sign of excellence but it gives the opinion someone doesn’t care.