The Great In-Effectiveness

I recently came across some statistics about the cost-effectiveness of church ministry and baptism outcomes.  I know it's a bit strange to look at baptism this way, but I believe it is critically important to look at how we steward our resources and methods.    Below are a list of countries and their costs of ministry divided by number of baptisms per year, The numbers below are frankly shocking.  I wonder if this is the cost of building churches rather than making disciples; creating programs for people to come to rather than simply going out and baptize, and investing and depending on professional leadership rather than raising up laypeople to be a "royal priesthood."  I wonder if this is the cost of a Consumer Christianity that  infects so many congregations in the West and is now being shipped out world-wide.

We love to talk about missions and evangelism, but fail to equip the saints to do it.

It is estimated that Christians worldwide spend around $8 billion dollars per year going to more than 500 conferences to talk about missions.  That's more than half the total spent doing missions.  Lord, have mercy. 

I wonder if this is a case of perhaps doing the right thing in the wrong way.  And we need Jesus and His Spirit to (re)-teach us how to live out what He commands in the Great Commission.

Cost per baptism in India - $9,803 per person.

Cost per baptism in China - $15,800

Cost per baptism in Mexico - $147,100

Cost per baptism in the USA - $1,551,000

Cost per baptism in Japan - $2,721,000

Source: Stats from “An AD 2001 reality check: 50 new facts and figures about trends and issues concerning empirical global Christianity today.” (from Table 1-1 and elsewhere in World Christian Trends, William Carey Library, David Barrett & Todd Johnson.)  For more statistics, you can also look at page on the Fellowship of the Martyrs.