From Numbers to Names
Why God’s Perspective Matters in Measuring Ministry Impact
Valerie Ranton Wakefield
Every couple of weeks, I go to the Metamorphosis Rehabilitation Center construction site, the location of our new drug and alcohol rehab clinic set to open in the spring of 2025. And I am amazed at the progress that is being made. It is always obvious to me how much has been accomplished. I will share with my husband, Mark how awesome it is, and I can already envision teen boys being ministered to in the facility.
God will not use statistics to measure success, but names.
I love to measure the advances and what is left to be completed. Yes, we need more resources to complete the job, and God will provide. I worked for 13 years in a job that focused on productivity, efficiency, and statistics. I love measurement tools and being able to easily see and measure progress.
However, ministry in general is not that neat and tidy. We were talking with friends and family at an event where we shared an update on our ministry in Texas in May, I struggled as I heard people ask questions seeking our success rates. They sought a measuring stick to gauge our success. Raising children, doing discipleship and ministering to people in general, does not come with a physical quantifying stick. It is often impossible to know how much progress you have made, how much is left to be accomplished, and to know when you have completed your assignment.
- How do we know when we are successful?
- When are we doing well as a parent or a minister? Is it when all the kids grow up and get good jobs or when they are all saved and serving? God?
- Does their behavior reflect on me in some way? Can I take credit for their good behavior and not their bad behavior?
One thing that has been apparent to me in ministry is that God sends people to me, for me to minister to them. So, if they do not turn from their evil ways, am I a failure? No, God continues to pursue people even when He knows that they will continue running away until they die. He does not decide they are not worth the effort.
Ministry is doing what God directs you to do, and that always includes loving people.
This is a great concept for when it is one of our loved ones and we are praying God sends people to minister to them. But how much are we willing to invest to be the one that chases the lost?
- How far are we willing to run for God?
- Are we willing to invest years of our lives into children or youth who may never decide to come to Jesus?
- Are we willing to be robbed, abused, and taken for granted just to give someone the opportunity to make a decision for Christ in talking to missionaries living on a mission field.
I hear discouragement, missionaries like many pastors I know, say things like: “We have been doing this for so long.” “How do I know it is worth it?” “How do I know that we are making a difference?”
Even if we are not in fivefold ministry, we are called to be ministers of His love.
We are trained to look for that physical measuring stick; to set goals and achieve them and anything less is failure.
However, ministry is doing what God directs you to do, and that always includes loving people. We can try to put stats to it to show what we’d have “accomplished,” but true ministry is fulfilling God’s love to His people and doing what He guides us to do. Even if we are not in fivefold ministry, we are called to be ministers of His love. We will be judged not by the people we minister to or their success, but in our obedience to God.
Loving Him means loving all His creation. One day, we will stand before Him and be judged. What will His measuring stick be for us? I dare say He will not use statistics, but names.
Valerie Ranton Wakefield is the co-founder of Going Into All the World Ministries. After graduating from JSMI Bible Institute and School of World Evangelism in 1995, Valerie and her first husband, Jay Ranton, moved to Antigua, Guatemala, in 2009 to direct Casa del Destino, a children’s home.
Valerie oversees two children’s homes in Guatemala, Casa del Destino and Casa Ranton, dedicated to ministering healing and raising children to impact their nation for God. She holds ministerial credentials with Heritage of Faith Christian Center in Fort Worth, Texas, and has ministered in multiple countries across the globe.
Jay transitioned to Heaven after battling cancer in 2022. The Lord brought Mark Wakefield into Valerie’s life months later. She and Mark married in September 2023. Mark has served as the International Director for Zona Juvenil Ministries since 1999, living full-time in Guatemala, and parenting over 250 boys and young men over 25 years at the Youth Ranch Home in Huehuetenango, Guatemala. Mark is also the founder of the Metamorphosis Rehabilitation Center, a drug and alcohol rehab clinic set to open in Antigua, in the spring of 2025. Together, Mark and Valerie are integrating their efforts to serve and transform lives, continuing their mission to share God’s love and impact their community.