Measuring Success

From LifeDate Winter 2005.

Measuring Success

by Karen Frohwein, Director of Development, Lutherans For Life

This is the planning time of year for most organizations. Budgets have to be finalized, strategic plans reviewed, new goals set for the next year. It’s the time of year people and organizations “take stock” of where they are, and look forward to where they want to be in one, three, five, or even 10 years.

I am often asked what Lutherans For Life does at the national level. When someone gives a gift to LFL, they want to know their gift produces results! How can we measure our success and plan for the future? How many lives did we save? How many abortions did we stop? How many caring pregnancy centers did we fund? How many laws were changed? How many pro-life sermons were preached? How many people signed a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care this year? How many people chose life because of the work of Lutherans For Life? How do we know we have made a difference? Where are the numbers that document our success?

Goals and measures are key words for managers and for donors. Since the goal of the department of development is to secure the funds needed to carry out the overall mission of LFL, being able to document the success of the organization to our donors is very important. So, what can I tell you about the activities of Lutherans For Life?

In order to measure success, an organization has to go back to their mission statement.

Lutherans For Life’s mission is to “witness to the sanctity of human life through education based on the Word of God.” It’s what makes us unique from other pro-life organizations. It’s what joins you to us in this work. The organization exists to equip you to witness to the sanctity of human life based on the Word of God. Our work at the national level is not to fund caring pregnancy centers, although many of our members do just that. Our work doesn’t directly change laws, although many of our members are involved in the legislative process. Our work doesn’t provide direct services to enable us to count how many pastors observed Sanctity of Human Life Sunday in their churches, or how many women chose to continue an unplanned pregnancy and give their unborn child life, or how many people made God-pleasing end-of-life decisions directly because of the work of Lutherans For Life, but our members see those activities happening in their daily lives.

So, it sounds like I am saying more about what we don’t do than what we do at the national office. Is this just some type of fund-raising double-speak? Well, yes . . . and no. You see, the way LFL measures success is through YOU! As you look through this issue of LifeDate, you can see what national LFL is all about. Our mission is to help you grow in knowledge of life issues, but beyond that, our mission is to share God’s Word of LIFE with you. From there, we ask the Holy Spirit to step in and change hearts—your heart and the hearts of the people you in turn witness to about the sanctity of human life. National LFL may begin the work, but the real success story isn’t in what we do, it’s in hearts that are changed through the Gospel message we share.

There are numbers to tell our story: brochures distributed, staff speaking engagements, contributions received and used to further the mission of LFL, Sanctity of Human Life Sunday materials (see the full-color center section) leaving the office every day. But the story of LFL is not just in the numbers, it’s in your stories. Stories of how you grew “in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18 NIV), of how you shared that grace with your neighbor when they were faced with a difficult situation and needed to know what God had to say to them.

Recently we received a note of thanks from a donor. She wrote “I strongly believe this organization has touched many lives by informing and helping spread God’s love and forgiveness.” There’s the real story of Lutherans For Life. Our success has already been measured you see. God’s love and forgiveness, freely given, is the story we share. We are thankful that you share in this success with us through your time and treasures, and that you share the Gospel story with your neighbors. We can and will continue to measure our earthly achievements, but the victory has already been won, the real pro-life message is life eternal, through Jesus Christ. That’s the true measure of success.