My perception: Ministries rarely think through efficiency when
determining their goal for size.
Seriously how do you know if you ministry is the right size? Do you compare it to your organizational standards (i.e. 'the average size of a Campus Crusade ministry is X, we have X+100, therefore we are "big"), country standards, global standards?
I watched an interview (scroll to 1:16:00 minute mark if you click) on YouTube that provided me with a helpful tool to evaluate organizational size.
Facebook: 134 million unique views per month, 1,000 employees = 134,000 pageviews per employee
Craigslist: 49.4 unique views per month, 30 employees = 1,235,00 pageviews per employee
Facebook is larger (by A LOT) but Craigslist is more efficient (by A LOT).
Ask yourself how big you want your ministry to be, then ask yourself how that number would effect your efficiency. Spending some time getting clearer on this relationship between size and efficiency will be extremely valuable to you and those to whom you minister.
It is extremely valuable to pursue numerical growth because it forces leaders to take steps of faith, pray, and empower others to lead. However often times when numerical growth occurs efficiency drops significantly.
Tactically speaking here are some ways I evaluate my own ministries efficiency:
- 41%: Percentage of attendance at large events relative to overall size: this year we brought 50 students to a regional winter conference, and our overall size was 120.
- 20% (estimate): Percentage of emerging leaders relative to overall size--this is a great number to look at because it shows how healthy you WILL BE in two years, not just how healthy you are RIGHT NOW.
- 10%: Percentage of students interning or joining staff with Campus Crusade relative to overall size.
