Numbers 3:16
And Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded.
A criticism of those who build churches is that they are all about numbers because they count and publish their numbers. Soul winners who count the number of souls are often accused of just being after numbers. If you listened to these people, you would think that keeping a count is a horrible sin. However, God told Moses to number the people. If counting your attendance and publishing it is bad, then God is bad because He commanded Moses to number the people, and He published those numbers. Oh, God must only be after numbers! In reality, counting and recording the numbers is far more critical to the LORD’s work than what those who criticize us for counting actually realize. There are several purposes I would like to share as to why it is critical to count and publish your numbers.
First, counting helps you to organize. You cannot be organized without counting. Jesus counted the people when He fed the five thousand so that He could group them into groups of fifty. You cannot be organized without having a count of what you are doing.
Second, counting helps you to plan. You have no idea of what to plan for if you don't count. I often have big days at our church, and the only way to plan for those days is to look at the records of our past counts so that I can plan for the upcoming big day. Counting makes planning much easier.
Third, counting helps you to set goals. You never want to set a goal that you cannot reach. Some set foolish goals because they don't know what they have done in the past because they did not count. I can just about tell you what I will have on a big day by looking at my records of our past numbers. Counting helps you in setting higher and reachable goals so that you don't defeat the spirit of your church.
Fourth, counting gives you an overview of the health of your organization. How will you know if your church is growing or dying if you do not count? Counting helps you know where your church is suffering and what area you need to give attention to. Though counting is not the only parameter to the health of a church, it is a big part in telling you the health of your church. God wants church growth, but you will only know if your church is growing by counting and recording those numbers.
Fifth, publishing your numbers puts pressure on you to do better the next time. When you let everyone know what you had on a big day, it puts good pressure on you to do better the next time. Pressure is not a bad thing if you use it to motivate you to do more for the LORD.
There are only three reasons people don't want to count. They don't want to count because they are either careless with the ministry, lazy, or they are failing and don't want to know how close they are to dying. You cannot allow these groups of people to shame you into the failing model they have taken by not counting. They may criticize and say you are about numbers, but every number is a soul that will either go to Heaven or Hell, and the reason we want to stay healthy and grow is so we can reach more souls for Christ. Keep counting, and never let the failing crowd shame you into a failing model of not knowing the health of what you are doing for God.
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