“Data is not a scoreboard. Every number you track represents real people.” — Kenny Jahng
About This Episode of the Church Tech Today Podcast
Most churches have more data than they know what to do with. The CHMS generates reports. The giving platform has a full dashboard. Planning Center logs every volunteer shift. And none of it is connected to a regular leadership habit.
In this episode, Kenny Jahng lays out a four-domain framework for the specific metrics every executive pastor and lead pastor should actually be tracking, and why the move from reactive reporting to a proactive data practice changes how you lead.
What You’ll Learn
- Why tracking in-person attendance and online viewers separately matters more than most XPs realize
- The one return-visit metric that reveals more about your church’s health than any guest experience survey
- What a lapsed giver report tells you that a giving total never will
- Why volunteer health is a leading indicator of congregational vitality, not just an HR concern
- How to know whether your digital ministry is a front door or a substitute
- The 5-number Monday morning habit that keeps you ahead of every board conversation
CTT Podcast Episode Highlights with Timestamps
[00:00] Introduction: The data problem most churches have You have access to more data than you know what to do with, but none of it is connected to a regular leadership habit.
[02:00] Framing: Data is not a scoreboard “Giving is not just a revenue report. It’s a pulse on the generosity and financial health of your congregation, and that can lead into pastoral care.”
[03:30] Domain 1: Attendance and Engagement Weekly head count, first-time guest count, 30-day return rate, and small group participation rate. Why you need all four and what each one tells you.
[05:45] Domain 2: Giving and Stewardship Beyond total giving: household participation rate and lapsed giver reactivation tracking. “A church where 30% of households give regularly has a very different stewardship culture than one where 65% give, even if the total dollar amounts look similar.”
[07:30] Domain 3: Volunteer and Team Health The most absent domain on church dashboards and why it matters more than most realize. “Churches where a small core of people run everything tend to develop burnout at both the staff and volunteer level, and eventually that shows up in your attendance and giving.”
[10:30] Domain 4: Digital and Outreach The crossover metric most churches never track: how many online viewers actually walk through the door. “That number tells you whether your digital ministry is functioning as a front door or a substitute.”
[13:00] Email open rates: A quick word If your weekly communication hits 20% open rates, 80% of your congregation isn’t reading it. What to do about it.
[14:00] The Monday Morning Habit Five numbers, 15 minutes, every Monday. The full system.
[15:30] When the numbers look bad “When a metric trends in the wrong direction for a month or two, it should trigger one thing: a focused leadership conversation about what might be driving it. Diagnose before you act.”
[17:00] Where to start if you’re building from scratch Start with one area. Attendance and engagement is usually the right choice.
The 5-Metric Monday Morning Dashboard
Every Monday, before the week starts, review these five numbers:
- Weekend attendance vs. the same week last year
- First-time guest count from the weekend
- Weekly giving vs. budget pace for the month
- One open volunteer position that needs attention this week
- One digital metric of your choice based on current focus
Key Takeaway
“What you measure moves. If you’re measuring the wrong things, you’ll get the wrong movements. If you’re not measuring at all, this is the time to start.”
Resources Mentioned
- Full article: “Church Data: What Metrics Every Executive Pastor Should Track” at churchtechtoday.com
- Tools referenced: PushPay, Tithely, Planning Center Giving, Google Analytics
Connect
Questions? Do you have specific metrics you’ve been tracking that have changed how you lead? Connect with @KennyJahng on Instagram.
More episodes and resources at churchtechtoday.com/podcast
