Most of us didn’t get into youth ministry to chase numbers. But often, over time, we adopt a scoreboard for our youth ministries that Scripture never gave us. I struggled with this for quite a while. When I started youth ministry, the ABCs of my success were: Attendance, Buildings, and Cash.
In my insecurity, I felt like my credibility came from hitting certain numbers.
In my competitive nature, it was always in the back of my mind whose youth ministry was bigger, who had the better building, and who had the most cash to spend.
In my pride and arrogance, I just wanted to have the most.
Paying attention to the numbers wasn’t the issue in and of itself. My prideful motives were.
When secondary measurements become primary metrics
In the selfish pursuit of this version of success, I lost sight of what really mattered: the mission God called me into. I focused on what was easy to count, not what was eternal. I celebrated what was visible but not necessarily valuable. If we’re not careful, we can build impressive ministries that look good on the outside but produce very little fruit in the lives of our students.
What I began to realize was this:
When secondary measures become primary metrics, mission drift is inevitable.
The things I was measured were never going to deliver the results I truly needed to see. I learned that:
- attendance can reflect attraction but not transformation.
- facilities can impress students but not shape them as disciples.
- budgets can provide capacity for activities but not necessarily spiritual impact.
From building a crowd to sending a mission force
I needed to shift my focus from building a crowd to sending a mission force. From running excellent programs to making an eternal difference. Thank God that, in His grace and kindness, He helped me turn a corner in my youth ministry.
You see, Scripture does give us a scoreboard worth tracking. It’s just not the one I had gotten caught up in pursuing. Measuring things isn’t wrong if we’re measuring the right things. That realization changed everything.
I still kept an eye on the ABCs, but I also began celebrating:
- salvations.
- baptisms.
- Gospel conversations.
- spiritual growth indicators, such as daily quiet times and Scripture memorization.
- mission trips and students serving.
The bottom line: If Heaven celebrates it, we should too.
…there will be more rejoicing in Heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Luke 15:7
Celebrating what Heaven celebrates
When I finally understood the importance of measuring the right things, we made it a point in our ministry to celebrate the things that mattered as often as we could. Instead of celebrating attendance numbers, we celebrated when a student put their faith in Jesus or was baptized. We put up balloons, we brought out a cake with their name on it, we made it festive—and it was fun.
Most importantly, it caught on.
Over time, I realized we weren’t just marking moments—we were shaping culture. Our students learned what we truly valued, and they started championing those same things.
Key truth: What you celebrate, you normalize. What you normalize, you multiply.
Culture-shaping metrics that actually matter
Not everything that counts can be counted, but many things that count can be celebrated!
Take time with your team to identify the culture-shaping metrics you want to track. Then decide creative ways to celebrate milestone moments made by those metrics. Here are a few ideas to help you begin brainstorming:
- Let students share testimonies of sharing the Gospel.
- Deliver handwritten notes from leaders.
- Create wall displays for salvations.
- Dedicate a photo wall for baptisms.
- Hold salvation- or baptism-anniversary celebrations.
It doesn’t need to be fancy or elaborate, just intentional and consistent.
This is exactly why Energize matters!
This is one of the many reasons I believe you should attend the Energize Youth Ministry Conference.
It’s Dare 2 Share’s national gathering of like-minded youth leaders who are focused on the right things. You’ll learn from leaders who are modeling this kind of ministry, share best practices, reset your priorities, and be refreshed as reestablish the focus of your calling.
I hope to see you there!
