I’m an unabashed fan of numeric measurements of momentum in the church.
They don’t tell the whole story of God’s activity, but they provide a lot of clues.
We don’t just scrutinize the attendance numbers. At Elevation, we measure according to all 4 of our Gs.

We just wrapped up a Fall vision series on our 4 Gs based on Acts 2, 3, and 4, themed with 80s (and early 90s) rock covers… and the results have been pretty remarkable.

Growth:
Average attendance during this series: 2522 (!!!)
This represents 274% increase from our Fall kickoff series last year. If percentage increase means nothing to you, that equates to a jump of 1847 in attendance. Wow!
Confession (of our lack of faith): Our year end goal for 2007 was to have 2500 people in a worship service one time, maybe around Christmas. God’s plan was bigger and faster… and He allowed us to realize and exceed that goal over 4 months early.

Gifts:
We added over 200 folks to our volunteer teams during this series. As of today, this means 744 people are serving in a volunteer role at Elevation. That’s more adults plugged into volunteering than the total attendance at Elevation (adults and kids) a year ago. Praise God.

Giving:
In the 2 weeks following our challenge to bring the tithe, our weekly tithes and offerings have increased by 44% above our 10 week average.
I’m so proud of all of you who are stepping out in faith to begin the 10% journey. You will be blessed. God is good.

Groups:
380 (just got the final report, it’s 407!) new people got plugged into Community Groups Sunday night at our GroupLink event. Holly, Elijah, and I drove through for a little recon, and man, the joint was jumping. A tunnel of volunteers outside cheering to celebrate the people who had just joined a group? That’s over the top. And I love it.
Here are some pictures:

There are a few intangible metrics of momentum that I’m picking up on as well. Like the way the people clap and cheer before the Word of God is preached. Like the way the folks cheer for the offering. Yes, I said cheer for the offering. Like the expectancy and intensity I’m starting to sense as we sing together. Like the increasing proportion of people who are coming to our experiences who are truly far from God.
Our less than 20 month old church is starting to get its own little personality, and it’s a lot of fun to witness. This is the church I always dreamed I could be a part of.
With the grand opening of our new Butler campus this Sunday, which will result in the opening of hundreds of seats at optimal service times, the possibilities surrounding this Fall are limitless, almost terrifying. I hope I can keep up.

Every week of this vision series we challenged the people in a hardcore way.
Every week they responded.
The Gospel works.
The Church works.
And God is working at breakneck speed here in Charlotte. Glory to His Name!