Should we have an Evangelism Target? EN

I realise that I am probably a lone voice on this in evangelical circles in Australia (and a lot elsewhere).  I may be wrong….but I had to say this….the emphasis on targets is in my view at best a distraction….and at worst dangerous…This is my latest article for Evangelicals Now.

Should we have an Evangelism Target?

Remember the old adage – if you don’t have a target, you will miss it? Or, if you aim at nothing you will hit nothing? It’s an interesting feature of many contemporary evangelical churches that they have strategies, plans, goals and mission statements. And some have even adopted specific percentage goals.

When I first came to Australia to work in evangelism, I was asked to state what my “KPIs” were. This was somewhat difficult, given that I didn’t know what a KPI was! I know now. Key Performance Indicators. I didn’t know what to say. More people praying? People becoming Christians? Preaching the word faithfully. What were they looking for? They wanted facts. Percentages. Measurable outcomes. Figures. Apparently, this is what funders look for.I remember consulting with one church pastor who told me that their aim was to grow their growth groups by 63% in a couple of years. Why I asked 63%? Why not 64% or 62%? I think he got the point.

I have raised this issue several times with people who I admire and who I regard as fine Christian leaders and strategic thinkers. And they always give the same answer. It’s good to have a measurable target to aim at – it gives purpose, encouragement and meaning to our leaders and people. This year the moderator of the New South Wales Presbyterian Church endorsed a proposal from the Gospel Coalition to aim for a doubling of reformed evangelicals in the next 20 years by seeing a 5% conversion growth rate in each of our churches. The Anglicans – at least Sydney Anglicans – are completely on board – as are many others.

It is argued that we go for 5% because it is imaginable, achievable and measurable and it is not beyond us.

But therein lies the trouble. Of course it is beyond us. It is not Biblical to say that whereas 50% is beyond us, 5% isn’t. We cannot convert anyone. We cannot and should not target people. We do not know whether God will save or not. How then can we set targets?’

To argue thus is not to argue that we should not care about people being converted, or that we should do nothing. It is precisely because the Lord cares, and He has called us and provided us with the means that His Spirit uses (the preaching of the word), that we should do so. But we never seek to convert people. We seek to proclaim Christ in order that people may be converted. The distinction is subtle, but important. “When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honoured the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed” (Acts 13v14).

In 2009 Sydney Anglicans set a bold target of 10% of Sydney’s population attending Bible-believing churches. It was missed. By a mile. Over the period 2013–2023, the total Sydney Anglican adult attendance declined 7%, or 14% against the rise in population. Two-thirds of churches declined.

The Sydney Anglican target has now moved from a goal of half a million to a target of 1,750 per year (5% of the 35,000 adult attendees). It’s not enough. And the Presbyterian target of doubling 17,000 attendance to 34,000 in a state with 8.5 million people is not exactly visionary either.

I have been preaching through the book of Acts for the past year in the context of a small church that desperately needs revitalisation. I can honestly say that it has been ten times better than all the books on church planting, missional churches and evangelism that I have read (and there have been a lot). Why? Because one thing that Acts teaches us is that it is not our strategies, plans or targets which work. Paul’s strategies, insofar as he had them, often failed, were changed or were forced into quick adaptation. What works is the Spirit of the Lord. “So, he said to me, ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the Lord Almighty’” (Zech. 4v6).

This is not to say that we don’t have strategies or aims, but we should aim to ensure that they are Biblical. My fear is that much of our strategy is determined more by sociology than theology. Forget the 5% – let’s go all out for the glory of God… and wait to see what He will do.