It happened during an interview for a diagnostic consultation.

I was interviewing a public elementary school teacher who had recently been given an open door to ask how many students in her class had heard of Jesus. Of the 30 students in her class only 10 raised their hand. 20 of the 30 students in her classroom had never heard of Jesus!

Does this surprise you? It shouldn’t. Church growth professionals have been teaching for some time now that America has become the third largest mission field in the world. This is based on the sheer number of people who by self-declaration have no affiliation with Christianity. The almost 67% of this teacher’s classroom who had not heard of Jesus is statistically in line with the numbers we pulled for the county in which our client church - and this elementary school - are located.

With that said, however, the numbers are inconsequential. What really matters is what the numbers represent.

The lesson learned from this teacher’s experience puts every Christian on notice. Behind the numbers live real people. Real people who matter to God. Real people for whom Jesus died. Real people whom Jesus has charged every Christian with the responsibility to reach.

For this teacher it goes beyond the numbers. For her, every number has a name and a face. Who are the names and faces that make up your numbers?