Small Group World

09.08.10

My Interview with Boyd Pelley, Small Groups Analytics II, Saving Your Ministry Money

One of my favorite guys in the small group space is Boyd Pelley. Boyd spearheads Churchteams.com, an on-line analytics website for churches doing groups. I once mentioned to Boyd just how important his role in the small group world was. I said it this way, "Without record-keeping we wouldn't know what was really going on." Over the next few minutes Boyd schooled me on the difference between "analytics" and "record-keeping." When he had finished I realized that every small group ministry that wants to flourish needs a strategic plan for gaining information about every group and using that information to reach optimal effectiveness.

Yesterday Boyd told us why analytics are essential. For many of us, if they save us money they become an essential. Check this out…

Rick: In order for a small group pastor to know what is broken and what needs to be fixed, they must first be willing to find out what is present reality. Why do you think some small group pastors are hesitant to do what is necessary to gain that information?

Boyd: Historically the logistics to collect the kind of data we're collecting today just wasn't there or it cost too much to do. Most small group pastors think the idea of trying to get weekly feedback from leaders is crazy and impossible. I know. I was one of them. We do a simple version of this for Sunday School, but the idea of doing it for decentralized ministry was overwhelming.

A second reason is that most pastors don't have the training, personality or spiritual gifting it takes to put together data in a truly meaningful way. This is where we come in. Software is really good at that stuff. Using today's technology, we automate for pastors both the logistics and the collated information they need.

Thirdly, there has always been a discussion about numbers in the church and using business systems. We've relied way to heavily on attendance and giving as spiritual indicators and intuitively most pastors know there is more to the story. So, there is legitimate skepticism that these metrics are telling the full story.

Rick: Okay, here's the deal. I'm working with hundreds of small group pastors, time is always an issue for these very busy pastors. So… how many days a week would it take for a small group pastor to gain the information, analyze the information and utilize the information that Churchteams will give them?

Boyd: The few churches that are trying to do it, with as few as 20 groups, hire part time staff just to make all the phone calls and manage their accounting-based info systems. We completely automate all of that for you by empowering leaders to communicate well and in the process provide the necessary info updates and summaries. If I were going to put a number to it, I would say you would need to hire someone an hour per group per month and provide them training in analytics to be able to put together equivalent feedback … maybe.

Rick: So you're saying then, with churchteams, that a church won't need to hire part-time staff yet they can still acquire and utilize the information as if they had taken on additional staff?

Boyd: Exactly. All the small group pastor has to do is open up his inbox and he can pray over the groups that met the night before and reply to the leader or forward to coaches and staff. We provide 4 steps to set up the system and a video on how to train leaders. Then the software is designed to run itself and to collect that information. Not only will it save them staff hires, it will also help them use their limited time most effectively.