How to Measure Spiritual Vitality

People often ask me: How's it going downtown? My short answer is that things are going well. God is good!

My long answer follows in this e-letter. How's it going downtown? It depends on what you want to know. Churches often speak of attendance numbers and offering totals in order to answer the "How's it going?" question. While those are valid ways to assess where we are, they only tell us so much. In answer to the 'numbers' questions: Sunnyside Downtown people have been giving in such a way that we slightly exceeded budget during the previous quarter. Sunday Downtown worship attendance over the past six months was anywhere between 34 to 82 people, and during the month of September the average number of people in morning worship services was 54. What I see as I look at these numbers is evidence of faithful people giving and gathering in the name of Jesus. I also see future possibility and room to grow.

The numbers tell us a little, but not a lot, about spiritual vitality at Sunnyside Downtown. I think we need better ways to answer the question, "How’s it going downtown?" I recently came across a Leadership Journal article that introduced "a new way to measure spiritual vitality". I approached the article with some suspicion but found it held helpful wisdom to aid us in answering the question "How’s it going downtown?" The article referred to a measurement tool, the APGAR score, used by nurses at 1 and 5 minutes after the birth of a newborn to rate the health of the baby. Having worked as a Registered Nurse, with some experience in labour and delivery, the article resonated with me. Each letter of the word APGAR stands for an aspect of health: Appearance (colour), Pulse (heart rate), Grimace (reflex irritability), Activity (muscle tone), and Respiration (breathing). The baby is assigned a score of 0 (low), 1 (middle), or 2 (high) for each of the five aspects of health. When I had my own children, my first was born 6 weeks early and at 1 minute after birth had an APGAR score of 6. She was whisked away by the nurses for stimulation, warming and suctioning. Soon her APGAR score climbed to 10 out of 10. My ears heard the music of her cry and my eyes saw her skin colour change from bluish to pink. My second child had an APGAR score of 10 from the beginning. He entered the world loud and vigorous and has been talking ever since!

I think Sunnyside Wesleyan Church can agree that we want to see each of our 3 congregations at two locations living as vital, thriving communities of believers. As we consider our newest addition Downtown, my question is this: "What is 6-month-old Sunnyside Downtown’s APGAR score?" The APGAR test has been modified by Pastor Kevin Miller to measure spiritual vitality in the church, based on Acts 2:42-47.
(Miller, Kevin A. (2010). Your Church’s APGAR. Leadership Journal, vol. 31(3), 72-76.)

Apostolic Teaching and Worship ("They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.")

• Little or no devotion to these practises = 0
• Moderate devotion to them = 1
• Strong devotion to them = 2

Power ("Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.")

• Few or no "wonders and miraculous signs" of God at work = 0
• Occasional "wonders and miraculous signs" of God at work = 1
• Many "wonders and miraculous signs" of God at work = 2

Generosity ("All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.")

• People give, but with little sacrifice involved = 0
• People give, with some willingness to sacrifice = 1
• Sacrificial generosity is frequent and characteristic = 2

Association ("Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.")

• Little meeting together and sharing of meals beyond "church services" = 0
• Occasional meeting together and sharing of meals = 1
• Frequent and regular meeting together and sharing of meals = 2

Reproduction ("...praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their numbers daily those who were being saved.")

• Rare or no addition of those who are being saved = 0
• Occasional addition of those who are being saved = 1
• Regular addition of those who are being saved = 2

So, "How is Sunnyside Downtown?" I'd say our "APGAR score" has room to grow. (If I said we were a '10' you'd say I'm lying and you'd be right!) We are alive and we have opportunity to become even more spiritually vital. Our strongest suits are Generosity and Association as defined above - simply put, we love each other well. I think we are still learning about the importance and value of gathering together in worship. We are open to growing experience of the power of God and have seen His movement through weekly fasting and prayer times. We pray that U of O students, people in the Sandy Hill neighbourhood, and those who are poor (in spirit or otherwise) will trust Jesus as Friend and Saviour.

Our hope-full God has even more abundant life in mind for us and I see many individuals in our congregation hungering for the 'more' that He offers. The great news is that it is God's pleasure and desire to respond to our asking and seeking for Him. We are in good hands and we have hope and a future.