growth indicators

The paper was bright orange. The printing was faded, originating in pre-photocopier, Gestetner days. There were two sheets. I still have them, somewhere in those boxes two metres from me…

As a young pastor these sheets of paper captivated me. Developed by what was called the Association of Church Missionary Committees (ACMC), they described a series of barometers by which a local church could measure its progress towards being an effective missionary-sending church. Maybe eight barometers, with each one articulating the series of steps a local church could take from ‘just beginning’ to ‘being effective’.

I work in a ministry called Langham Preaching. We are about nurturing indigenous, grassroots movements of biblical preaching. About seven years ago we started playing with a series of our own ‘maturity barometers’. We identified seven areas, each with their own five descriptors, as we looked to articulate the journey from ‘just beginning’ to ‘self-sustaining’.

With input needed from around the world, this exercise took time. The words keep evolving. Now we call them ‘growth indicators’. We plan to refresh the descriptors again next year. However, slowly and surely, they are embedding themselves into the life of our preaching movements, enabling them both to audit how far they’ve come and provide a vision of where they still need to go. The plan is that in each year, each preaching movement will pause to complete this exercise…

A few weeks ago I was in Ethiopia, observing the work from across sub-Saharan Africa, as 75 leaders from 30 preaching movements gathered for a week together. 

There was a session on the growth indicators. 

It was fantastic.

For the record, the seven ‘growth indicators’ cover Leadership; Finance; Clubs (different words are used in different places, but these are the small groups where the transformation takes place); Facilitators, or trainers; Diversity; Impact; and Resources.

nice chatting

Paul

Archive

Receive new posts to your inbox

I’d love to keep you updated with my latest news and posts.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

About Me

paul06.16

the art of unpacking

After a childhood in India, a theological training in the USA and a pastoral ministry in Southland (New Zealand), I spent twenty years in theological education in New Zealand — first at Laidlaw College and then at Carey Baptist College, where I served as principal. In 2009 I began working with Langham Partnership and since 2013 I have been the Programme Director (Langham Preaching). Through it all I've cherished the experience of the 'gracious hand of God upon me' and I've relished the opportunity to 'unpack', or exegete, all that I encounter in my walk through life with Jesus.

2 Comments

  1. Heather on December 11, 2022 at 10:41 am

    Everyone is looking at them so intently! Striking to see.

  2. the art of unpacking on December 11, 2022 at 3:54 pm

    Exactly, that is what captured me as well!

Leave a Comment





This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recent Posts

true, but not true enough

February 5, 2025

“What is a Christian?” A ‘follower of Jesus’ is the standard response. And it is true, but it is not true enough. Let’s think about this for a minute. So I have this encounter with Jesus. Maybe at a camp of some kind. In the singing and the speaking he becomes so real. It is…

yay! it’s you

January 27, 2025

We had been on holiday in Queenstown. Barby had to come back early to go to work. I stayed on for a couple more days with our daughter, Alyssa, and her family. When I did fly back, Barby had the car and so the easiest thing for me was to get an Uber home—and so…

expect an exception

January 24, 2025

I know I’ve mentioned this one before, but I am not really a flag-in-church kinda guy. All those years ago, as a student in the USA, it was a shock to see the flag up there in the same neighbourhood as the pulpit, the Lord’s Table and the baptistry. “What is going on?” “Have I…

transforming friendship

January 15, 2025

Just when I thought that it could not be possible to have another first-hand account of the impact of John Stott’s life (d. 2011), along comes this book by his close friend, John Wyatt. I am always ready to learn more about John Stott, but also about friendship. It fascinates me. It keeps coming up…

handa leads the way

December 29, 2024

Reading stories to grandchildren over Christmas reminded me again of how powerful they can be. They are so compact and simple in presentation, and yet so clever in construction. There are just so many features at work in an effective story. It is some years since I taught narrative preaching, but when I did I’d…

elchristo, elmina—and beyond

December 19, 2024

Today is Day 56—and on Day 57 we board a flight for home. There has been so much to absorb as Barby and I have encountered the people of God in different places. el-christo, in bolivia A few days before we left NZ, I discovered that I had five sessions to give in Pakistan. Yikes.…

cadeca art

November 20, 2024

The little chapel at Cadeca Casa del Catequista, a retreat centre on the fringes of Cochabamba (Bolivia), caught my eye on an earlier visit in 2017. Lots of photos… I was thrilled to learn that there would be a return visit, this time with Barby—and with lots of video. Enjoy. A 360 view Some Old…

the emus

October 19, 2024

Apart from the eight years in which we were based overseas, Barby has been working at the Refugee Resettlement Center in Auckland since 2002. This year she is a ‘release teacher’, spending one day each week in three different classrooms, with three different age groups. Impressive—and demanding. One day is spent with 11-13 year olds—from…