Every pastor and ministry leader eventually wrestles with the same tension.
-How do we grow without losing who we are?
-What makes a ministry story compelling enough to draw people in?
-And how do we discern if our growth is actually healthy?

These are not business questions. They are deeply spiritual questions that sit at the intersection of mission, identity, and impact.

A while back, I sat across from a ministry leader who had been leading his church for nearly twenty years. The numbers on his dashboard looked good. Attendance was up. Giving was steady. A few programs were expanding. Yet he had a quiet concern. He said, “I cannot tell if we are actually healthier or if we are just busier.”

That sentence stayed with me. Because in ministry, the signs of health look very different than the signs we use in business.

Why Ministry Growth Is Different

In business, growth is clean and linear. Sales, revenue, customers, subscribers, headcount. Numeric markers that rise or fall then reveal the story.

Ministry is different. The real currency is transformation.
-A marriage restored.
-A teenager discovering who God is.
-A volunteer stepping into their calling.
-A family returning to hope.

These are the stories that reveal if a ministry is healthy, but they are harder to quantify, easier to overlook, and simpler to replace with convenient numeric substitutes. Most ministries start with a simple heartbeat. A calling. A conviction. A few people praying in a living room or gathering in a rented space. No board. No staff. No strategic plan. Just passion and a desire to see God work.

Somewhere along the way, the dashboards grow more crowded. More meetings, more expectations, more things to track. None of these are bad, but they can quietly shift a ministry’s focus from life change to scorekeeping.

When Numbers Hide the Truth

Let me share an example. I once worked with a church that had nearly 3-years of operating expenses saved. The assumption everywhere was that the church was strong and healthy. But the truth was harder. Their attendance was declining. Their programs had stalled. Their impact in the community was almost nonexistent. The savings were impressive, but they only represented previous generations of faithful generosity, not present-day spiritual vitality.

Another church down the road had very little in reserve. Everything they received went straight into discipleship, community outreach, benevolence, and restoring broken families. Their bank account never looked comfortable, but their people were growing. Their impact was undeniable. They were not reckless. They were simply committed to investing directly into people.

Which of these churches was experiencing healthy growth? The answer is clear.
This is why the word healthy matters just as much as the word growth.

Three Reminders for Every Ministry Leader

As you think about the next season of your ministry, here are three things worth holding onto.

1. Growth is not always numeric.
Sometimes the most important growth is spiritual, relational, or emotional. A healthier staff culture. A more united elder team. A deeper hunger for Scripture. A renewed posture of prayer. These may never show up on a dashboard, but they absolutely show up in your ministry story.

Before asking how your ministry is growing, ask how your ministry is becoming healthier.

2. Stop comparing your ministry to the one down the street.
Even if two ministries look similar, their calling, community, culture, and story are different. What looks like rapid growth in one location might be unhealthy in another. What looks slow or small in one ministry might be faithful, steady, and deeply effective in another.

Comparing ministries is rarely an apples to apples exercise. Most of the time it is apples to oranges. Do not let someone else’s metrics define your mission.

3. Talk with your team about what health truly means.
Whether your team is two people or fifty, clarity is powerful.
-What does life change look like for your ministry?
-How do you measure spiritual fruit?
-How do you keep individual transformation at the center of your story?

These conversations help create a shared definition of growth, one that aligns with Scripture and your sense of calling.

The Real Question

Healthy growth is not just about getting bigger. It is about becoming more aligned with the mission God gave you. More intentional. More prayerful. More focused. More transformed. When you keep transformation as the anchor, the numbers find their right place. They are tools, not trophies.

So take a moment. Look beyond the spreadsheets. Look beyond the pressure to keep up with other ministries. Look at the stories God is writing among your people.
That is where true growth begins.