Setting goals and pacing

Goals are what turn your dashboard from a rear-view mirror into a steering wheel. Once you set a goal for a metric, MinistryStats shows your pacing against it — whether you're ahead, on, or behind — every week, not just at year-end.

Who sets goals

Goals are managed by an administrator on your account, in the admin area under Goals. Most of your team just sees the pacing on their dashboards; a smaller group sets the targets.

Two kinds of goals

MinistryStats supports two ways to set a goal, depending on the metric:

• A goal value — a straightforward target number. "We want to average 1,200 in weekend attendance," or "reach 85 groups." You type the number and you're done.
• A formula goal — a target that's calculated from other numbers rather than typed in. Useful when a goal is really a ratio or a percentage of something else (for example, a percentage of attendees in a group). MinistryStats works the target out for you.

There's an About Goals helper in the goals area that explains the options as you set them up.

How pacing shows up

Once a goal is set, you don't have to do anything else — the goal automatically appears as pacing on the relevant dashboards. Wherever that metric is shown, you'll see how you're tracking against the goal: on pace, ahead, or behind. That's the payoff — the goal follows the number everywhere it appears.

Good goals to start with

If you're new to this, don't try to set a goal for everything at once. Start with the two or three numbers your leadership actually talks about — usually weekend attendance, groups, and giving — and add more once pacing becomes part of your weekly rhythm.

If something looks wrong

• You don't see the Goals area — setting goals is an administrator function. If you need a goal set or changed, ask an Owner or Admin on your account. See Managing users and roles.
• Pacing looks wrong — check that the goal value (or formula) is set the way you intended, and that the underlying numbers are being recorded. Pacing is only as good as the goal and the data behind it.
• Still stuck? Email support at ken@ministrystats.com.