Why the Church Doesn’t Have a Mission Problem—It Has a Measurement Problem

The Question We Don’t Want to Ask

There’s a question that has followed me for years—through different churches, roles, and seasons of ministry:

Why is it that we have more churches, more resources, more teaching, and more access to Scripture than ever before… and yet it often feels like we are producing fewer fully devoted disciples of Jesus?

I’m not interested in criticizing the Church. I love the Church. I’ve given my life to it. I still believe, as Bill Hybels once said, “The local church is the hope of the world.”

But honesty matters.

Somewhere along the way, we’ve gotten very good at doing church without always becoming the kind of people Jesus called us to be.

We’ve built systems.
We’ve created environments.
We’ve filled calendars.
We’ve learned how to gather a crowd.

But if we step back and ask the harder question—

Are we actually making disciples who are being transformed into the image of Christ?

—that answer gets uncomfortable.

The Real Problem Isn’t the Model

For a while, I thought the issue might be the structure.

Maybe we needed a new model.
Simplify things. Rethink everything. Start over.

There’s some value in that kind of thinking—but I’ve come to see something deeper:

The problem isn’t the model.
The problem is what we’re measuring.

We’ve been measuring:

• Attendance instead of transformation
• Activity instead of obedience
• Participation instead of surrender

And when you measure the wrong things, you produce the wrong results.

So let me say it plainly:

We don’t have a mission problem. We have a measurement problem.

And that leads to this:

We don’t need a new model—we need new life within the one we already have.

My Confession

Before I go any further, I need to start with me.

For years, the driving question of my ministry was simple:

How do I grow the church?

I told myself it was about the Kingdom…
But if I’m honest, it often looked like:

• More people in the pews
• More dollars in the plate
• Bigger buildings

Those became my measuring rods.

By those standards, I felt successful.

But after 35 years in ministry, I’ve come to a different conclusion:

Success is no longer my goal. Faithfulness is.

The problem is—those old metrics don’t disappear easily. They still whisper. They still shape how we think.

And that’s why we have to ask a better question.

The Question That Changes Everything

Not:
“How do we grow the church?”

But:
“How do we make disciples of Jesus Christ?”

That’s not a new idea. It’s the mission Jesus gave us in The Gospel of Matthew 28:19–20.

We print it.
We preach it.
We claim it.

But here’s the tension:

If disciple-making is the mission… why are we measuring everything but that?

The Measurement Problem

Here’s the challenge:
Real discipleship is hard to measure.

We’ve tried substitutes:

• Small group attendance
• Bible study completion
• Mission trip participation

Those measure activity.

They don’t necessarily measure transformation.

And transformation is the goal.

Dallas Willard pushed this further. He suggested we should be asking questions like:

• How are we handling anger?
• Where is cynicism showing up?
• Are we growing in honesty?
• Are we gaining freedom from sin?

That’s not abstract theology.
That’s everyday discipleship.

And it starts with us.

You Can’t Lead Where You’re Not Going

If leaders aren’t being transformed, congregations won’t be either.

Which means we have to ask hard questions:

• Where is sin still shaping me?
• Where am I resisting obedience?
• Where is Jesus calling me to change?

And we can’t answer those alone.

That kind of transformation requires honest, accountable community—the kind John Wesley built through small “bands” where people told the truth about their lives.

Without that, we settle for:

The Problem with “Greenhouse Christians”

I once read about a tree-growing contest.

One man brought a flawless oak tree—perfect shape, lush leaves, grown in a controlled greenhouse.

Another brought a smaller, rougher tree—crooked trunk, scarred leaves, clearly weathered by storms.

On appearance alone, the greenhouse tree won.

But when the roots were examined, everything changed.

• The greenhouse tree had shallow roots
• The other had deep, resilient roots

When storms came, one snapped.

The other stood.

And I can’t help but wonder:

Have we been growing greenhouse Christians?

Comfortable.
Impressive.
Active.

But shallow.

Because real discipleship doesn’t happen in controlled environments.

It happens in:

• Struggle
• Obedience
• Community
• Surrender

That kind of growth is slower. Messier. Less impressive on paper.

But it lasts.

Three Shifts That Change Everything

If we’re serious about making disciples, we don’t need something flashy.

We need something faithful.

1. Personal Transformation (Start With Yourself)

Before we measure anything else, we start here:

• Where is God changing me?
• Where do I need to obey?

Not guilt-driven—but Spirit-led.

2. Deeper Community (Not Just Bigger Crowds)

We don’t just need more people in a room.

We need smaller spaces where people are:

• Known
• Honest
• Accountable

Real transformation requires real relationships.

3. Practiced Obedience (Not Just More Information)

Jesus didn’t say:

“Teach them everything I commanded.”

He said:

“Teach them to obey everything I commanded.”

That’s the shift:

• From knowing → to doing
• From agreement → to obedience

Because information fills our heads…

But obedience shapes our lives.

This Isn’t Comfortable—And That’s the Point

I’ll be honest.

Part of me would rather:

• Build something impressive
• Launch great programs
• Watch visible growth

I know how to do that.

But this?

Calling people to transformation…
Creating accountable community…
Measuring obedience…

That’s harder.

And if I’m honest—it scares me a little.

But every time I drift that direction, I’m reminded:

Faithfulness—not success—is the goal.

The Question That Remains

At the end of the day, this isn’t about strategy.

It’s about identity.

What kind of disciples are we becoming?

Because that will determine what kind of church we become.

So here’s the question I’ll leave you with:

Where is Jesus asking you to move from knowing… to doing?

Not someday.

Not theoretically.

But right now.

Because if we keep the main thing the main thing…

He will build something that actually lasts.

Final Thought

We don’t need a new model.

We need new life.

And that begins—with us.

If this resonates with you—if you’re tired of surface-level faith and hungry for real transformation—I’d love to hear from you. Let’s walk this road together.

Until next time, keep looking up…