Okay, it’s been 3 months since my blog turned two years old. Each time I hit an annual landmark, I recapped the previous year’s accomplishments. This last birthday though I actually wrote down goals/predictions. Here’s what I put:

• 550 posts (that’s a post an a half every day… I want to hit 1000 posts by the end of year three)
• 1500 comments (I had twice as many comments as posts last year, so let’s see if I can triple it this year)
• 50,000 Unique Visitor (This should be doable, but we’ll see)
• 100,000 Page Views (This will be a bit of a stretch, but very possible)

So, three months in, lets see where I am at:

• 171 posts so far this year. At this rate I’ll author almost 700 posts smashing my 1000 posts by the end of year three goal. This takes some pressure off if things get busy or something.
• 417 comments so far this year. At this rate I’ll reach over 1600 comments which is just a little over my goal. Not bad.
• 7,089 Unique Visitors. At this rate I’ll be only a little over half way to my goal. I may have bit off more than I can chew. I do expect growth, but some amazing things will have to happen to make this goal.
• 19,556 page views. A this rate I’m not going to fall about 20,000 page views short. However, I’m expecting growth and I still think I’m going to get really close.

What’s the point. Whether 10 people visited my site or 10 million doesn’t really matter. I’m glad to share the information, ideas and my passion with others but the significance of this site isn’t the point. Tracking your progress is.

Do you set goals for your ministry each year? Do you write them down? Do you look at them regularly? Do you assess where you are mid year and make adjustments? You should. You really should. What you do this you learn an interesting balance of writing challenging goals that are pretty out there but still possible to achieve and learning how hard you have to bust your butt to achieve that goal you set.

Last week I heard Jim Wideman say, “you’re not going to lose any weight if you don’t get ont he scales every day.” Isn’t that the truth. Although it may be painful to look at, tracking our progress on a regular basis is the only way we’ll hit our goals.

Last year:

• 119 Posts
• 119 Comments
• 2,428 Unique Visitors
• 10,368 Pageviews
• Most popular post
• Visitors from 56 countries
• Visitors from 48 states (where are you Vermont and Montana?

This year:

• 330 Posts
• 651 Comments
• 10,566 Unique Visitors
• 28,851 Pageview
• Most popular post (funny thought, this post doesn’t have any comments)
  
• Visitors from 129 countries
• Visitors from all 50 states (Last year I hadn’t reached Vermont or Montana. Now I hit about all 50 states every month)

Yeah, year number two has been a big year for Children’s Ministry Online. Year three is going to be even bigger. Why? Well, I think it’s being consistant. I’d say that more of my posts are duds than hits. However, the more often I write, the more often I’ll come up with a good post. In addition, every post is another door to your site. The more decent content you can get on your site, the more opportunities you create to enter your site. This last year, I quadrupled the opportunity for people to enter Children’s Ministry Online, so it’s no wonder I saw so many more people come and visit. Blog growth can easily be exponential if the author is consistant.

So, I thought I’d add an interesting element for next year:

Year Three Predictions:

• 550 posts (that’s a post an a half every day… I wnat to hit 1000 posts by the end of year three)
• 1,500 comments (I had twice as many comments as posts last year, so let’s see if I can triple it this year)
• 50,000 Unique Visitor (This should be doable, but we’ll see)
• 100,000 Page Views (This will be a bit of a stretch, but very possible)
• Most popular post: Hmmm, I’m thinking about it right now…

Thanks for participating in this community. Although the numbers are fun to look at, the best part of Children’s Ministry Online has been connecting with other Children’s Pastors. I’ve made many new friends this year as a result of this blog. This year specifically, I’ve connected with a handful of other Childrne’s Pastors who I feel I’ll have life-long friendships with. This blog and network has become something that I’m passionate about and I feel that I’m a better person now becasue of it. So, thank you everyone for being a part of my life through this little blog!

Here’s to year three!

I can’t believe it’s been a year!

Today marks one year of blogging for me. What a wild ride. My only regret is that I didn’t take such long “breaks” in blogging when life got complicated. I’ve enjoyed all the new friendships and relationships I’ve made through this effort. Here’s some of the stats:

• 119 Posts
• 119 Comments
• 2428 Unique Visitors
• 10,368 Page views
• Most popular post
• Visitors from 56 countries
• Visitors from 48 states (where are you Vermont and Montana?

What fun it’s been! Looking forward to another great year!