In my last post, we covered the 1st 2 Metrics in regards to Side Door Metrics. [See that post if you missed it].

Today, let’s start looking at the most common metrics that measure Connection Rates. In other words, of those attending worship, how many are taking next steps in their discipleship journey?

For your church, these most likely are:

1. Connecting with a Small Group
2. Connecting by Serving Others
3. Connecting by Giving Financially

So let’s dive in. Let’s talk about the 1st one in this post.

Connecting with a Small Group

Track Weekly/Accumulate Monthly:

1.# of 1st Time Guests – It’s critical to see on a macro level how many new people are moving from Worship Attendance to a Small Group. This is your lifeblood.

Take advantage of this and take the time to send them a thank you note. Ask them to meet for coffee or lunch. Or, a meeting in their home. This could be a Pastor, Small Group Leader, a Deacon, etc. The goal is to build on the new relationship that began when they were a 1st time guest in your Worship Service. Hook them up with people who share common interests or point them to ministry/person that can help with a common struggle. The more touches you have early on – the better.

2. # in a Small Group – Measure how many are plugged into a small group community by tracking attendance. This yields your growth rate of Small Groups over time.

In addition to the two above, add these monthly:

3. % 1st Time Guests as % of On Campus Attendance (OCA) – is this staying the same, is it trending up or down in relation to attendance over time? You may be getting more people in worship but proportionately less making a move towards Small Group.
4. % in Small Group as % of OCA – While the # in a Small Group may be increasing, it may or may not be increasing at the same rate of overall attendance.
5. % Students and Adults in a Group – What % of Middle Schoolers and up are in a group as a % of Worship Attendance? Top 10% Churches are 82% or higher according to Tony Morgan of the Unstuck Group.
6. Attendance Rate – Overall % People Attend – the 1st thing you have to know is; of those coming, how often do they come? Have a progressive process in place for when people miss or go MIA.

Again, you need to determine what is ‘active’. (For example, in terms of overall attendance Sunday and mid-week, the definition of ‘active’ used to be attending church 3 times a week, now it’s more like 3 times a month). In terms of just Small Groups however, you’ll need to determine how many times a month is active. Let’s say you determine active as being in Small Group is 3 times a month, it means your Attendance Rate goal is 75% . Focus on those who are less than that.

Quarterly:

1. I like to look at the 6 above compared to the previous quarter, the same quarter last year and the YTD current year vs. YTD last year. Are you progressing or regressing? In addition, I like to compare these to Internal Goals and Available External Benchmarks.
2. Connection Rate – What % of guests end up joining a small group? Measure by those still active or somewhat active over a certain period of time. Take those 1st time guests that are still attending 3 or six months later for example. Yes, you’ll have to define ‘connected’ in terms of time.

In addition, take a look at:
3. # of Groups – are you creating new groups at an appropriate rate? Related to this is average class/group size and available space. Always good to keep this in front of you.

In closing:

These are just ideas. No hard and fast rules. Do what works for you and your church.

From a Senior Leadership perspective, at a minimum track and look at:

>Growth Rate (attendance)
>1st time guests and
>Connection rate.

Push all other metrics down to staff and lay leaders of small groups.

A lot of times, metrics bring up more ‘why’ questions…but that’s kinda the point. Metrics provide the facts, then it’s up to church leaders to answer the why questions. Pray, seek counsel, then make strategy or tactical changes in order to improve so you can reach more people.

People come to what’s working. Use metrics to determine what works. Lives are at stake.

In my next post, we’ll take a look at Metrics related to Serving. [See that post]

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