Portion Eight - Strategy, Operations, Growth

Home

Church Growth Operating Model (CGOM)

A discipleship-centered operating system for ministry growth,

built on measurable behavioral pathways.

Most churches track attendance, giving, and program involvement - but these metrics rarely reveal spiritual growth, discipleship progress, or momentum in engagement. Ministries often operate without clear next steps, predictable movement through discipleship stages, or actionable data for leadership.

I designed the Church Growth Operating Model (CGOM) to solve this: a clear, measurable framework that maps the journey from first contact → multiplying disciples, turning ministry activity into actionable insights.

CGOM demonstrates the kind of ministry-centric operational thinking Planning Center is uniquely positioned to support. It connects data, behavior, and discipleship into a unified system, giving churches the ability to move from activity → insight → transformation. This is the type of operational clarity I hope to bring to Planning Center’s analytics and ministry impact initiatives.

Metrics - Built for Churches

To make ministry measurable and actionable, CGOM includes three types of metrics:

Volume Metrics (M)

—

Is engagement happening?

Examples:

VM1: Awareness
VM2: Connection
VM6: Belong to Church
VM8: Serving in the Church

Conversion Metrics (CR)

—

Are people moving forward spiritually?

Examples:

CR1: % Awareness → Connection
CR4: % Conversations → New believers
CR6: % Completing foundational discipleship
CR8: % Leaders reproducing leaders

Performance Metrics (PM)

—

Is the ministry healthy?

Examples:

Growth Rate
Retention Rate
Ministry Health Score
Community Penetration Rate

Church Evangelism & Discipleship Bowtie — Metrics Mapping Sheet

Left Side (Acquisition / Pre-Conversion)

Stage	Ministry Equivalent	Volume Metrics (VM) — Reach & Activity	Conversion Metrics (CR) — Movement Through Funnel
Awareness	Exposure to Gospel or church	# of outreach events, # of people reached online/offline, Social media impressions	CR1: % of reached individuals who engage (Connection)
Connection	Engages with ministry or believer	# first-time visitors, # prayer requests submitted, # event sign-ups	CR2: % of connections entering Relationship stage
Relationship	Ongoing contact & trust-building	# in follow-up process, # joining small groups/events	CR3: % progressing to Spiritual Conversations
Spiritual Conversations	Gospel-centered discussions	# gospel conversations, # attending evangelistic studies	CR4: % deciding to follow Christ
Conversion	New believers in Christ	# professions of faith, # baptisms	CR5: Baptism rate per new believer

Right Side (Discipleship / Post-Conversion)

Stage	Ministry Equivalent	Volume Metrics (VM) — Engagement & Growth	Conversion Metrics (CR) — Progress in Discipleship
New Life	New believer foundation	# in new believer classes, # receiving mentoring	CR6: % completing foundational discipleship
Growing Believer	Actively maturing in faith	# attending Bible study regularly, # serving occasionally	CR7: % transitioning into Serving Disciple stage
Serving Disciple	Serving in ministry	# regularly serving, # mentoring others	CR8: % becoming Growth Leaders
Growth Leader	Multiplying leaders & disciples	# leading groups, # discipling others, # planting ministries	CR9: % of leaders reproducing leaders

Performance Metrics (PM) — Across Both Sides

Metric	Ministry Translation
Growth Rate	% increase in active disciples per year
Retention Rate	% of believers still actively engaged after 1, 3, 5 years
LTV:CAC Equivalent	Long-term spiritual fruit vs. cost of initial outreach
Rule of 40 Equivalent	Engagement growth + ministry health score

Church Evangelism & Discipleship Bowtie — Metrics Mapping Sheet

Left Side (Acquisition / Pre-Conversion)

Stage	Ministry Equivalent	Volume Metrics (VM) — Reach & Activity	Conversion Metrics (CR) — Movement Through Funnel
Awareness	Exposure to Gospel or church	# of outreach events, # of people reached online/offline, Social media impressions	CR1: % of reached individuals who engage (Connection)
Connection	Engages with ministry or believer	# first-time visitors, # prayer requests submitted, # event sign-ups	CR2: % of connections entering Relationship stage
Relationship	Ongoing contact & trust-building	# in follow-up process, # joining small groups/events	CR3: % progressing to Spiritual Conversations
Spiritual Conversations	Gospel-centered discussions	# gospel conversations, # attending evangelistic studies	CR4: % deciding to follow Christ
Conversion	New believers in Christ	# professions of faith, # baptisms	CR5: Baptism rate per new believer

Right Side (Discipleship / Post-Conversion)

Stage	Ministry Equivalent	Volume Metrics (VM) — Engagement & Growth	Conversion Metrics (CR) — Progress in Discipleship
New Life	New believer foundation	# in new believer classes, # receiving mentoring	CR6: % completing foundational discipleship
Growing Believer	Actively maturing in faith	# attending Bible study regularly, # serving occasionally	CR7: % transitioning into Serving Disciple stage
Serving Disciple	Serving in ministry	# regularly serving, # mentoring others	CR8: % becoming Growth Leaders
Growth Leader	Multiplying leaders & disciples	# leading groups, # discipling others, # planting ministries	CR9: % of leaders reproducing leaders

Performance Metrics (PM) — Across Both Sides

Metric	Ministry Translation
Growth Rate	% increase in active disciples per year
Retention Rate	% of believers still actively engaged after 1, 3, 5 years
LTV:CAC Equivalent	Long-term spiritual fruit vs. cost of initial outreach
Rule of 40 Equivalent	Engagement growth + ministry health score

Church Evangelism & Discipleship Bowtie — Metrics Mapping Sheet

Left Side (Acquisition / Pre-Conversion)

Stage	Ministry Equivalent	Volume Metrics (VM) — Reach & Activity	Conversion Metrics (CR) — Movement Through Funnel
Awareness	Exposure to Gospel or church	# of outreach events, # of people reached online/offline, Social media impressions	CR1: % of reached individuals who engage (Connection)
Connection	Engages with ministry or believer	# first-time visitors, # prayer requests submitted, # event sign-ups	CR2: % of connections entering Relationship stage
Relationship	Ongoing contact & trust-building	# in follow-up process, # joining small groups/events	CR3: % progressing to Spiritual Conversations
Spiritual Conversations	Gospel-centered discussions	# gospel conversations, # attending evangelistic studies	CR4: % deciding to follow Christ
Conversion	New believers in Christ	# professions of faith, # baptisms	CR5: Baptism rate per new believer

Right Side (Discipleship / Post-Conversion)

Stage	Ministry Equivalent	Volume Metrics (VM) — Engagement & Growth	Conversion Metrics (CR) — Progress in Discipleship
New Life	New believer foundation	# in new believer classes, # receiving mentoring	CR6: % completing foundational discipleship
Growing Believer	Actively maturing in faith	# attending Bible study regularly, # serving occasionally	CR7: % transitioning into Serving Disciple stage
Serving Disciple	Serving in ministry	# regularly serving, # mentoring others	CR8: % becoming Growth Leaders
Growth Leader	Multiplying leaders & disciples	# leading groups, # discipling others, # planting ministries	CR9: % of leaders reproducing leaders

Performance Metrics (PM) — Across Both Sides

Metric	Ministry Translation
Growth Rate	% increase in active disciples per year
Retention Rate	% of believers still actively engaged after 1, 3, 5 years
LTV:CAC Equivalent	Long-term spiritual fruit vs. cost of initial outreach
Rule of 40 Equivalent	Engagement growth + ministry health score

Powered by Planning Center

The CGOM maps directly onto:

Lists → measuring movement between stages
Forms → first-time visitor capture
Groups → relational + discipleship indicators
Workflows → automated next steps
Pages → content delivery and engagement
People → static + dynamic attributes

Example:

Registration triggers Connection → assigned to Relationship workflow
Small-group join triggers Relationship → Spiritual Conversations
Gospel conversation triggers Conversion workflow
Baptism triggers New Life stage
Serving onboarding triggers Serving Disciple
Leadership pathway triggers Growth Leader
Everything becomes measurable.

Home