January 2025 | 5
Completing Annual Church Profile Benefits SCBO Churches Each year Southern Baptist congregations are asked to report several statistics about their church in a doc- ument known as the Annual Church Profile (ACP). But why should SCBO churches complete the ACP? There are many good reasons. Here are just a few: It is good to stop and see the condition of your flock
Jesus frequently gave illustrations about shepherds and sheep. The shepherd only knows they have all their sheep if they count them. When one is missing, they leave the others to go get the one. Church lead- ers have this same responsibility to keep a count. It is good to share your numbers with someone else Near the end of his earthly life Jesus had a conver- sation of this type with the Father. He reports that he had been given a dozen men “entrusted to him.” He gave a report that he had kept them all except the son of destruction (John 17:9-12). Jesus was willing for John to publish those numbers! Yes, we can have this accountability discussion with God, but the transparency of sharing them with some- one else keeps us from pretending with others that things are different than they are. While we want to set a positive tone, this transparency shows our hope is not dependent on being bigger, better, or without setbacks. It is good to maintain a historical record The people of Israel did not always know that some- thing they had just experienced was beyond amaz- ing, and that it would change multiple generations. To drive this point home sooner rather than later, God would tell them to place markers or standing stones to mark that occasion. They would refer back to that point in time to remember God’s provision. We don’t often get such immediate prompts today. So, the markers are often contained in our church’s history. When we look back and see a year with a large number of baptisms, that is a standing stone. When we see a season where God provided despite
lean finances, that is a marker. We only have such in - dicators if we track such trendlines. It has practical benefits As new staff members come to your church, they need to see the trendlines of activity, hardships, and blessings your church has experienced to better lead you in the future. If your church ever seeks financing, a lender should always trust annually reported numbers shared with a third party over your best estimates of that history now. The ACP is a short set of questions to record the con- dition and activity of your flock. This history is acces - sible for you online in SBCWorkspace. And it is shared with your association, state convention, and national entities to tell the condition of our shared work in a common mission. There’s still time to submit the 2024 Annual Church Profile. Please visit SCBO.org/ACP and take 1-2 min- utes to complete your church’s profile today. Original article courtesy of Lifeway Research
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