If you are paying someone to plant churches
If you are paying someone to plant churches…
…and asking for a report on their progress in planting churches…
…and in any way tying the money to the report…
…and you do not have some kind of independent way of auditing or verifying the report…
…problems can ensue.
Data can be better if no payment is involved, but multiple sources are still obviously useful for confirmation.
We need to accept that we will never have a 100% precise picture. Missionary statistics are always more a Monet portrait than a black-and-white photograph, as David Barrett was fond of saying. But we need to be sure even if it’s a portrait, it’s a true portrait.
Roundup
What happened to the unreached this week?
Each Friday I send a newsletter to over 2,400 mission activists, advocates, managers, field workers, and pastors - about what happened among the unreached, and what could happen next. Each issue comes with a curated list of nearly 100 links, and note why each is important. You can get on the list for free.