If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that I’m a believer in measuring things.

In fact, we like to keep track of all sorts of measurements at The Journey – from Connection Card completion rates to how many first-time guest books are given away each week.

So, it seems natural that one of the questions I’m frequently asked about Small Groups is:

How do you measure the weekly attendance of your small groups?

And it comes as a shock to many when my answer is… we don’t!

(take a deep breath – it’s OK – still with me?)

Let me qualify.

The best measure of the health of your Small Groups system is Leader Retention (how many leaders come back and lead again and again).

With that in mind, we don’t add one more task to the weekly routine of our group leaders by having them count, record and send in their group attendance every week.

We check in with group leaders throughout the semester to assist and encourage them and to find out how their groups are going.

And as the semester draws to a close, we ask each group leader this question:

On a good week, what was your average attendance?

And that, combined with the feedback we’ve been collecting throughout the semester, gives us a good gauge of the health of that group.

Hope that helps!

P.S. If you’re ready to develop your semester-based Small Groups System to its maximum potential – and involve 100% of your church in groups – check out The Small Groups Intensive!

© Nelson Searcy. All Rights Reserved.

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.