How do you know if your ministry is actually accomplishing what it’s intended to do?
Attendance numbers only tell part of the story.
In this episode of the Disciple Making Leader Podcast, Ben Borgman and Craig Etheredge continue their coaching series by tackling one of the most overlooked leadership disciplines in the local church: evaluation. They discuss why every disciple‑making church needs clear objectives, honest feedback, and consistent rhythms of evaluation to ensure every ministry is moving people toward spiritual maturity.
Craig shares practical tools used at CrossCreek Church and through discipleFIRST Coaching, including how to define a ministry’s “win,” why every event should have a recap meeting, and two simple evaluation frameworks that can be applied to any ministry, event, or program. Along the way, Ben and Craig address common challenges like defensiveness, unclear objectives, and confusing activity with effectiveness.
If your church wants to build a healthier disciple‑making culture, this conversation will help you evaluate your ministry with greater clarity, confidence, and purpose.
Overview:
- 00:00 Evaluating program effectiveness
- 03:33 Evaluating events and handling feedback
- 08:33 Evaluating Ministry Effectiveness
- 11:10 Evaluating program effectiveness
- 13:38 Evaluating and pivoting church events
- 19:09 Evaluating ministry success and impact
- 20:21 Evaluating with stop-start-continue method
- 23:32 Evaluating and improving sermon series
- 27:38 Planning and evaluating events
Discussion Questions:
- What are some common reasons churches struggle with honest evaluation of their programs and events?
- How does clarifying the purpose of an event or program influence how its effectiveness is measured ?
- Why do you think people often become defensive during evaluations in church settings?
- In what ways can a church develop a healthier culture around regular evaluation and feedback?
- According to the episode, why is it important to set a clear “win” or objective for every ministry initiative before it happens?
- Discuss the example Craig shared about Mission Colleyville. What did the evaluation process reveal that changed the church’s approach?
- How do the tools “Stop, Start, Continue” and “Good, Bad, Missing, Confusing” help leaders improve their ministry effectiveness?
- What might be some challenges in moving a long-standing church program from one “purpose phase” to another?
- How can regular, honest evaluations actually foster growth and alignment within a ministry team?
- What “baby steps” were suggested for churches just starting to introduce evaluation rhythms, and how might these be practically implemented in your context?
