How Do You Measure Success?

"Was your program a success?"

This is the tricky question that I have to answer everytime I write a Grant Follow-up Report.  Funders want to know if we accomplished what we set out to do with their money.  And if we did, how did we measure success? 

It's a tough question to answer.  Sometimes I want to say, "Just trust me. We're doing great things with your money!  Spend one day at The GreenHouse and you'll see what I mean!" 

That's easy for me to say - I get to see the programs in action and the many positive changes that are happening everyday in the lives of our youth.  But, it's much harder for me to write about in an objective or numerical way, which is what the funders are looking for.  

Often, I can skate by on this answer by reporting on the requisite "goals and objectives."  I can easily find attendance records, behavior records and percentages of accuracy on math, reading or vocabulary activities and report that yes, once again, we've met our annual goals and objectives (or that we've come close).  And, it's true.  We have done those things.  But does that really tell you about the "success" of our programs?  Do those percentages tell of the lives that are being utterly and irreversibly transformed from the inside out by God's love and grace?  Do they tell of relationships formed, confidence restored, or dreams ignited?  

I think that a better measure of success is found not in numbers, but in stories - in the testimonies of those who have been and are being transformed by God, right before our eyes. 

So for the next few weeks, I'm going to try to share a few of the stories that are currently unfolding right now at The GreenHouse.  It's a pretty darn exciting place to be these days!  Hope and Grace are putting on some amazing performances. 

May these stories remind me of the Big Picture especially on a week like this one which will be fraught with small details.  May they remind us all that it's never too late for Hope (we never run out of second chances).  And may they give Glory to the One who is powerful enough to redeem each one of our stories.      

(now if I can just find time to sit down and write them.  stay tuned!)