Without any clear benchmarks for change, it’s almost impossible to measure whether change is happening. What is transformation? What does it look like? Would you recognize it if you saw it?
Here are the 10 signs of change used by the ministry I visited in Mexico last month:*
SIGN 1: WEALTH CREATION AT THE BOTTOM: Increased access to the economic tools that allow people to provide for the basic needs of their families
SIGN 2: LEARNING THAT EMPOWERS: Education leveraged as a powerful tool that can help people out of poverty
SIGN 3: HEALTHY HABITAT FOR ALL: A healthy environment, clean neighborhoods, beautiful spaces, dignified housing, and access to decent, affordable health care
SIGN 4: MENTAL FREEDOM: Increased freedom from addictions, pain & emotional trauma, alongside increased spiritual and psychological health
SIGN 5: ENGAGED AND REPRODUCING COMMUNITIES OF FAITH: Reproducing and growing faith-based groups actively involved in the change process alongside NGOs, government and business
SIGN 6: WHOLE FAMILIES: Freedom from domestic violence, sexual abuse, divorce, teen pregnancy, and other destructive patterns.
SIGN 7: STRONG CIVIL SOCIETY: Local residents actively involved in the improvement of the community
SIGN 8: DEEPENING RECONCILIATION: between the poor and the non-poor and also between the poor and other poor.
SIGN 9: SYSTEMS THAT WORK: Larger systems and structures transformed for the benefit of the people
SIGN 10: HEALTHY REPRODUCTION: The proliferation of sustainable, scalable and reproducible ministry
*Used by permission of Jean-Luc Krieg of Comunidad Mosáico
Take some time today to write out ten signs of transformation in your ministry setting. If God were at work where you are, what would you be seeing?