Principles of Counting
Numbers 1:19
"As the LORD commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai."
You will notice that when God told Moses to count the children of Israel, He told him to count those who were "able to go forth to war." Were these the only people in the nation of Israel? Not at all! There were other men who could have been counted. There were women and children who were citizens of Israel who could have been counted. Did God not count the others because they were not important to Him? Not at all! Every person is important to God.
So, for what purpose did God only counted those who were "able to go forth to war?" God was showing that when counting you would be wise to know how many producers you have. The men who went to war were the producers for Israel. They were the ones who defended the land from their enemies. They were the ones who would plant crops in the fields. An organization or a country will fail without producers. Your producers will be the ones who will make or break your organization.
One of the mistakes I see pastors make when counting their church attendance is that they make a big deal out of their Sunday morning crowd. There is nothing wrong with this, but the fact is the Sunday morning crowd is not the crowd that produces. In all reality, the Sunday morning crowd is probably the crowd that takes. I am not saying this crowd is not important, but what I am saying is that this crowd does not show the strength of a church. I often tell pastors that the crowd they need to keep a close eye on is their Wednesday evening crowd. Most of the people who come to Wednesday night services are the ones who help strengthen the church. A pastor would be wise to make more of the Wednesday night crowd than their Sunday morning crowd. What is the benefit of counting the producing crowd?
First, it gives you an honest knowledge of the state of your flocks. Proverbs 27:23 says, "Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks,..." Every church leader would be wise to know how many producers he has in the church. A person who invests would be wise to know which investments are the ones that produce. An organizational leader would be wise to count their producers. This will let you know the strength of your organization. Your producers are the foundation of a church, organization or an investment.
Second, it shows where your focus should be. If you don't know who your producers are, then you could likely waste time on those who will waste your time. Those who are not producers certainly need time, but a leader should spend more time building the producers for they build that for which you are working.
Third, it motivates others to work harder. When followers know that you are interested in the producers, then that motivates them to become a producer themselves. It gives people a clear vision of what they should become.
If you are a leader, don't count to get the big numbers, but count to find your producers. The amount of your producers show the strength of your organization. If you are not in the producing crowd, then work hard to become a part of that crowd so you can help your church or organization. If you are part of the producers, then make it your goal to bring others into this crowd. This benefits you and the organization for which you work.