Measuring Effectiveness

I recently got hired to be the Jail Coordinator for the McLennan County Jail. My boss and I were talking about how to encourage the volunteers we have and how to get more volunteers. And two of the questions that we covered were: How do you measure effectiveness? Specifically, how do you measure the success of a jail ministry?

As I reflected on this question it occurred to me that I couldn’t measure my success based on the response of other people or I’d be sunk before I got started. You can never base what you do or don’t do, what you say or don’t say, by what someone else wants or doesn’t want. However, if I know why I’m doing something, or who it is that I’m doing it for, in other words, what am I responsible for? … well, then I might be able to come to a reasonable answer.

Why am I going to jail? Because I believe that God sent me to jail. I believe the word of God when it says to not forget those who are in prison; when it says to love others the way you want to be loved. And whoam I doing it for? I’m doing it for Jesus, only Jesus, my reason for living. Scripture tells me that I prove my love for God in the way that I love others. I’ve heard it said that the health of a country is best evaluated by how it treats its lowest citizens. I believe the health of the church can also be evaluated by how we treat those who are weaker than we are, those in jail, or prison, those who are marginalized. What am I responsible for? Loving God and loving others.

I asked some of our jail volunteers how they would measure their effectiveness in jail. I was so blessed by their responses and I hope you will be as well.

·         George: It’s like the farmer; he goes out and works hard planting all the seeds, then he goes home and rests. He’s done. The rest is up to God; to bring the sun and the rain and to give it life. I am responsible to sow the seed. Therefore I must get the seed … I must spend time in His word so that I have seed to sow.

·         Edmond: I am here because of the love of God. It was the love of God that saved me and made me whole. It is the love of God that moves in the heart of men to change them. I am responsible to share the love that God has given me to others.

·         Marvin: I’m obedient. God tells us to go, so I must go. He does the work.

·         Mary: I listen to the Spirit. The closer I listen the more effective I am. The Spirit is the One who gives me words to speak the moment I go back there. My job is to make sure that I spend time with Him daily so that I recognize His voice.