The mission of the church is clear: make disciples. From Jesus’ Great Commission to the example of the early church, this has always been our calling. Yet, while the mission is straightforward, measuring success can feel profoundly challenging.

How do you measure something as personal and intangible as spiritual growth? What indicators reveal that discipleship is happening, and how can you be sure your church is helping people grow in their faith?

For many pastors and church leaders, the tension is real. We’re adept at tracking attendance, giving, and volunteerism, but discipleship often feels elusive. However, what we measure communicates what we value. If we don’t measure discipleship, we may unintentionally signal that it’s secondary to other goals.

Here’s the question I wrestle with: Are you confident that your church is effectively making disciples?

6 Strategies Measure Discipleship

1. Define What You’re Measuring

Discipleship is multidimensional. It encompasses knowledge of God’s Word, spiritual practices, relationships within the body of Christ, serving others, and sharing the Gospel. Before you can measure it, you need to define it.

Ask yourself: What does a disciple look like in our church’s context? Common dimensions of discipleship to measure include:

• Spiritual Practices: Bible reading, prayer, fasting, and other personal habits of faith.
• Community Engagement: Participation in small groups, mentoring relationships, or serving teams.
• Missional Living: Actively sharing the Gospel, inviting others to church, and contributing to Kingdom work.
• Christlike Character: Evidence of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

You create a framework to assess spiritual growth by clearly defining these areas.

2. Use Stories as Metrics

Numbers are important, but they can’t fully capture the work of the Holy Spirit. Stories provide a powerful and qualitative way to measure discipleship.

Encourage members to share testimonies about how they’re growing in their faith, stepping out in obedience, or experiencing transformation. Stories make abstract concepts like faith tangible and inspire others to pursue growth. They also give your leadership team invaluable insight into the impact of your ministry.

3. Track Participation in Pathways, Not Just Programs

A discipleship pathway is a series of intentional steps designed to help people grow spiritually. Examples include moving from a seeker to a student, a student to a shaper, and ultimately a steward. I use the categories when working with churches as they define and refine their pathway.

Instead of focusing solely on program attendance, track how individuals progress along your discipleship pathway:

• Are people moving from small groups to leadership roles?
• Are they taking significant steps, like baptism or leading a Bible study?
• Are they growing into stewards who disciple others?

Tracking pathways helps you measure movement and spiritual development over time.

4. Ask Great Questions

Sometimes, the best insights come from asking the right questions. Regular surveys or one-on-one conversations can help reveal where people are spiritually.

Here are a few examples:

• How have you grown in your relationship with Christ this year?
• How have you seen God work through your life at home, work, or in your community?
• What’s one area of your spiritual life you’re working on?
• Who are you discipling, and how are they growing?

These intentional questions provide valuable qualitative data and spark deeper conversations about faith.

When I help pastors evaluate discipleship in their church, we survey attendees and interview leaders to uncover these questions (and plenty more).

5. Create Discipleship Dashboards

While spiritual growth can’t be fully quantified, a discipleship dashboard can help visualize key metrics. Consider tracking:

• The number of baptisms.
• Percentage of attendees in small groups.
• Growth in serving team involvement.
• Stories of life change shared during services or online.

A dashboard provides an at-a-glance summary of your church’s progress in fostering discipleship.

6. Evaluate Programs with Discipleship in Mind

Churches often measure success by attendance and money, but these criteria do not equate to spiritual growth. Evaluate each program or ministry by asking: Does this help people move people along a discipleship journey?

If a program doesn’t contribute to discipleship, it may need to be reimagined or replaced. A laser focus on discipleship ensures every ministry aligns with your mission.

Conclusion

Measuring discipleship is challenging but essential. By defining discipleship, tracking movement along pathways, listening to stories, and asking intentional questions, you can begin assessing the spiritual growth within your church.

Ultimately, discipleship is the work of the Holy Spirit, but our role as leaders is to create the conditions and pathways for growth.

What steps will you take today to measure what matters most?

One More Thing…

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Leading With You,
Dr. Gavin Adams