One habit I brought from the corporate world into ministry leadership is a tendency to measure things. Throughout my career, my daily routine revolved around budgets, strategic plans, key performance indicators, sales targets, and financial reports.

Even today, I believe measurement has its place. Good stewardship requires accountability, and faithful leaders must pay careful attention to the resources God has entrusted to them.

Yet, the longer I serve in ministry, the more God reminds me of a truth that simply cannot fit into a spreadsheet or dashboard: some of the things that matter most cannot be measured.

The Call to "Taste and See"

Recently, I was reflecting on David’s words in Psalm 34:8:

"Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him."

What struck me is that David doesn't tell us to count God's goodness. He doesn't ask us to quantify it, analyze it, or prove it. Instead, He simply invites us to taste and see.

God’s goodness is not an outcome to be evaluated. It is an ongoing experience as we walk with Him.

As leaders in churches and Christian nonprofits, it’s easy to evaluate God’s blessing almost exclusively through visible results: growing attendance, successful fundraising campaigns, balanced budgets, new organizational partnerships, and expanding programs. I thank God for every single one of those milestones; they are genuine signs of His provision.

But if I am honest, the moments when I experienced God’s goodness most deeply were rarely when everything was going strictly according to plan.

Often, those moments came when the path ahead was completely unclear: during difficult organizational transitions, in board meetings where opinions differed sharply, when funding seemed uncertain, or while waiting for clear direction, taking single, hesitant steps forward in faith.

Looking back, I realize that God’s goodness is frequently found not at the destination, but in the process of following His leading day by day.

Sometimes His goodness showed up through a conversation that occurred at the exact right moment. Other times it was a team member offering wisdom I hadn't considered, a closed door that graciously prevented a poor decision, or an unexpected sense of peace in the middle of unchanged circumstances.

None of these moments show up in an annual report, yet each bears profound witness to the character of God.

The Things We Cannot Count

This reality becomes even clearer when I reflect on life outside of my organizational role.

As a father, I don't measure my love for my sons by their achievements or tally their successes and failures. My love for them isn't a calculation. It's a relationship.

The same holds true when I serve alongside staff, mentor young adults, or journey with ministry leaders around the world. We can count meetings held, training sessions conducted, projects completed, and funds raised.

But how do we measure trust? How do we measure growth in character? How do we measure encouragement given at exactly the moment it was needed? How do we measure the confidence a young leader gains when someone believes in them?

So many of God’s greatest gifts resist quantification. His love for us is infinitely greater still. As Paul writes in Ephesians 3:18–19, may we have the power:

"...to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge."

The Father’s love is immeasurable precisely because it transcends calculation.

What Truly Counts

Please don't misunderstand me: I still believe in governance. I still believe in strategic planning, detailed budgets, clear metrics, and robust management practices. Healthy organizational structures create space for ministries to flourish.

However, over the years I have learned an essential distinction: we must never confuse what can be counted with what truly counts.

Jesus demonstrated this radical perspective when He left the ninety-nine sheep to search for the one that was lost in Luke 15:4–7. From a pure management efficiency perspective, the decision makes little financial sense. From God’s perspective, it reveals the priceless value of a single human soul.

This constantly challenges my heart as a leader:

• Budgets matter — but people matter more.
• Results matter — but obedience matters more.
• Growth is important — but faithfulness is essential.

Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 4:2, "Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful." He doesn't say required to be successful, famous, or impressive. Just faithful.

Goodness Beyond Measure

When I look back over my own journey, I couldn't possibly count all the ways God has guided, protected, corrected, encouraged, and sustained me. The opportunities He opened, the mistakes He redeemed, the colleagues He brought alongside me, and the lessons He taught through both success and failure are far too numerous to log.

Perhaps that is the point. God never intended His goodness to be measured; He intended it to be experienced.

So yes, let us steward well, manage responsibly, and measure what needs to be measured. But let us also slow down enough to recognize the gifts we can never quantify: God’s presence, grace, guidance, and unshakeable love.

At the end of the day, the greatest treasures of ministry leadership aren't found in our performance metrics. They are found in the daily privilege of walking with our Heavenly Father, whose goodness truly is beyond measure.