The Numbers Game

I’ve found myself in a complex internal conflict about how to measure success. We easily find ourselves trying to play the numbers game to measure what constitutes a strong congregation. What defines strength? I have realized that success isn’t so easily measured. Consider Gideon and his plight. He was from the weakest household in all of Israel, and of that household he was the weakest (Judges 6: 15). Gideon was charged with a great task, but was so unsure that he constantly required signs to ensure that this was really God. The food consumed by fire and the sign of the fleece were reminders that God wanted Gideon to carry out these battles against the Midianites.
God goes on to do something that from a military aspect would be considered suicide. He tells Gideon to diminish his forces. God told Gideon that he had too many men, and that if God delivered the Midianites up to them then he would not receive the praise that was due him. He wanted to show Gideon that great things could be done with a few people. God carried on showing Gideon what men to take, and by the time he was finished an army of 32,000 men of strength to a mere 300 men to take on the enemy. With simple instructions from God, Gideon led the 300 men to victory.
What can we learn from this? First, God can take the weakest person from the weakest home and make them a great and mighty leader if they are willing to play by His rules. Gideon was quick to admit that he was insignificant compared to those around him. God saw potential in him that he did not see in others. We play the comparison game with congregations. We look at other churches and convince ourselves that because we do not have 1000+ people or 5 figure contribution that we cannot make an impact on our community like they do. Gideon was smart enough to realize that when God calls, that it is possible for Him to provide success for those who will let him.
Second, Gideon realized that God had control over the situation and trusted Him to deliver what he promised. The numbers game forces us to believe that we have lost, that our success is dependent on ourselves wholly, and to forget that we have God on our side to bear our burden and strengthen us. We fall into a trap of pride and arrogance that merely sees God as an object to be praised and not as a participant in the battle. We must realize that God is participating and active. We have to factor him into our actions to measure true success.
We came become obsessed with numbers and believe that is truly a hindrance to success in the church. However, we must realize that success for us is not measured by number or action, but the spiritual maturity and willingness to listen to God that each of us strives for. Do not fall victim to the numbers game, but work towards developing a congregation of believers who are spiritually strong. Do this and in time the numbers that we can become so preoccupied with will come.
-Kyle