A few months into my first position as a Director of Christian Education, I was handed a form and told that I needed to complete it immediately as it was needed for our upcoming Charge Conference. The form asked a variety of questions about average attendance in Sunday school, numbers of classes, numbers of preparatory members (this was before the current designation of baptized and professing members), and so forth. This request sent me into a “tizzy” and required hours of locating lists and rosters, tallying attendance figures, and averaging numbers. A few days later I proudly turned in a form that accurately reflected the numbers involved in the educational ministries of First United Methodist Church.

I now realize that both my compulsive approach and her more casual approach had turned what could have been a powerful tool for ministry into a “hoop-jumping” exercise. I completed the task and missed the point. The value of keeping track of names and numbers was not so that I could turn in a fully completed, accurate form. Those Charge Conference forms were intended to help me and other church leaders who shared in the educational ministries of the church be accountable for the task that had been entrusted to us. The numbers that I was tallying should have raised questions and informed the conversation with teachers, members of the education committee, and other church leaders.  

Questions such as:

• Our Sunday School attendance for 8^th graders seems to decrease every year immediately after Confirmation Sunday. What does this mean about our system for faith formation?
  
• We know that there are increasing numbers of young adults in the area surrounding our congregation, and yet we only have one small group that focuses on young adult issues. What does that indicate about the way we are reaching out to newcomers?
  
• The preschool Sunday School class attendance is increasing at a rapid rate. Why is that happening? What does that mean as we think about facility needs in the next few years? 

I still believe that it is important to keep good records and that there is value in accurately completing Charge Conference reports. But the numbers themselves are not as important as the stories they tell and the questions they raise. Take a look at the records you are keeping in your ministry area. What trends are revealed? What surprises are unveiled? What questions are raised?

Deb Smith is Director, Evangelism, High-Potential Metro Churches, and Middle Adult Ministries at GBOD in Nashville, TN. 

United Methodist Membership Records Book (Abingdon Press). This hardbound record book is suitable for smaller congregations. 

2005-2008 United Methodist Membership Records Manual with CDROM (Abingdon Press) This manual provides ministry teams and others with the information and instruction needed to prepare connectional reports.