“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.”
1 Corinthians 3:6
One of the struggles I face in leading this ministry is how to evaluate and measure the effectiveness of our training. Just counting the number of pastors and leaders we train is fairly meaningless because it does not capture the impact of the training on each individual that receives it. Additionally, just because someone attends our training does not necessarily mean that they put what they learned into practice and that it has positively impacted their ministry in a tangible or measurable way. Consequently, the impact of any training is very difficult to quantify and measure in an objective manner.
So, how do we evaluate the effectiveness of our training? The only option left is to try and evaluate it subjectively by surveys, focus groups and testimonials. While this is certainly not comprehensive and only represents the views from those willing to participate, it does reflect the impact that the training has had on those individuals. And that limited amount of feedback does provide guidance to our training development and delivery and gives us insight into what participants find useful, practical and meaningful for their ministry.
In our 17 years of teaching our Management for Church Leaders™ training we have learned from our participants and trainers several things about our training. First, we continually hear that our training is very basic, Biblical, and easy to understand. Second, it is often mentioned that our training is very practical and something they can readily implement. Third, many participants like the fact that our training is comprehensive (includes a lot of what the Bible says about management) and is put together in one document which they can reference when necessary. This was our original intent and affirms what we set out to accomplish. And these comments have come from virtually every part of the world where we have trained.
But this feedback does not really answer the question as to the impact of the training. It’s one thing for participants to say they like our training and quite another for them to actually put it into practice and test its merit. For that type of feedback we ask for testimonials and stories from individual participants of how our training was actually used. That information is often harder to obtain because we do not have the ability to contact individual participants several months after they have attended one of our training conferences. So we must rely on our global network of trainers to provide that type of feedback for us when they can.
Recently I contacted seven of our key contacts and trainers around the world and asked them if they felt our training was effective and if so, how they knew. All of them said our training was effective and they knew that because of their personal contacts with some of the participants and the testimonies that they were receiving from them. They also mentioned being able to witness changes in the lives and ministries of those they had trained. Again their observations are limited and subjective but do provide evidence that there is impact from our training.
But I believe that the greatest testimony on the value and effectiveness of our training is that we have a network of 64 pastors and leaders around the world who have invested their time, resources and energy in teaching it to others on our behalf. I do not think they would do that unless they felt that the training was effective and important. While that is not conclusive evidence on its own, it does represent a significant indicator of the potential impact that our training is having.
Finally, I want to share with you a recent testimony that I received from Pastor Wilson Esambe from Cameroon. He is one of our MCL Trainers and has taken our training to many nations in West Africa on our behalf. He wrote, “I give thanks to God for FaithLife Ministries for bringing out the value that was hidden in me. Every month, I make it a habit of reading the manual and teach my church leaders also. Today, they understand the vision of our ministry through training using this manual. This year, we have a target of 60 church plants, as a Senior Pastor, I am relaxed but we have been able to plant 4 churches already. Thank you Mentor Barry. God bless you. Because of the goodness and practicality of the material I am prepared to go anywhere to teach others and sleep anywhere. Nothing is more important than having an organized and well managed church.” While this is only one testimony, it is very encouraging for what we do and shows the kind of impact our training can have!
I know that I will not truly understand or know the full impact that our training has had until I am in heaven. The Bible reminds us in Isaiah 55:11 that “so is my Word that goes out from my mouth; it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” I trust that the Lord (who called me into this ministry 17 years ago) is using each of us who teach our training to impact others and together we will expand His Kingdom on this earth!
So, as a laborer in the vineyard of the Lord, and one who trains others, I am constantly aware that “neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” (1 Corinthians 3:7) Our duty and responsibility is to be obedient to God’s call, teach others what He has taught us, and to trust that God will provide the impact and effectiveness according to His desire and purpose!
Amen! Thank you Lord!
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