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FAITH INTEGRATION PAPER: WISDOM IN BUSINESS ANALYTIC
Faith Integration Paper: Wisdom in Business Analytics
Tiffany Burgi
School of Business, Liberty University
Author Note
Tiffany R. Burgi
I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Tiffany R. Burgi.
Email: [email protected]
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FAITH INTEGRATION PAPER: WISDOM IN BUSINESS ANALYTIC
Abstract
Leadership in the church has a lot of input and influence. Church leaders not only have to answer
to God and what His desires are for the church, but they also have to answer to the congregation
they are serving. With that much responsibility, there is high importance to make sure the leaders
are doing right by both God and those they serve. Other aspects that can be aid in understanding
the changes in attendance, such as who stays in the church and who may be leaving, are business
analytics. In addition to attendance changes, the needs of the church can also be realized using
business analytics. Business analytics can also assist with making sure the church is staying
current and up to date with the needs of the community. This paper will look at those issues and
others to make sure that the church is using business analytics in the best and most beneficial
way possible.
Keywords: Business analytics, leadership, congregations, attendance, donations
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FAITH INTEGRATION PAPER: WISDOM IN BUSINESS ANALYTIC
Faith Integration Paper: Wisdom in Business Analytics
Business analytics can be explained as something "to add value and to support/drive
decisions for businesses, these tools and techniques statistically and quantitatively analyze a
huge collection of data sources, and are collectively called business analytics (BA) nowadays"
(Aydiner et al., 2019. p. 228). When we look for aspects that have patterns or trends, then we can
then take the information and show what may come, both positive and negative. Having this
information may also help with what steps we may take in a project to have a favorable outcome
(Ahmed & Khan Pathan, 2019). When assessing this from the church's perspective, there are
ways business analytics can be used. The church has leaders in every aspect and department.
Because the church's success depends on the leader's abilities, it would be helpful for them to
understand business analytics and utilize them in the church.
Business Analytics
When assessing the leadership of the church, leaders cannot be expected to know or have
the answers to everything. God will always be there to help, but there are areas or people that
leaders still need to learn from. "Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success"
(Proverbs 15:22-32, New Living Translation). We see in this verse that we can fail if we do not
take or seek advice from the right places or ignore it altogether. However, as leaders, we should
be seeking out the best advice and information in order to succeed. The church should be using
business analytics to utilize the church's resources wisely. Using business analytics will enable
the church to see what areas may be lacking and it can also provide insight into where there are
opportunities for growth, such as an increase resources, and funding.
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FAITH INTEGRATION PAPER: WISDOM IN BUSINESS ANALYTIC
When Christian leadership uses business analytics, it will provide them with different
methods to sustain the church. One way could be a trend showing that the congregation is
divided on supporting. The church leadership could ask the pastor to provide sermons to help
bring unity in the division. For example, leaders could host town hall meetings in the church to
see what the root issue that is dividing the congregation (Bartlett, 2013). When Christian
leadership keep up to date with the feelings, expectations, and situations in the congregation and
the church administration, they are better equipped to intervene when needed (Kraus et al.,
2020). Using business analytics is one method leaders can use to monitor the congregation and
overall health of the church.
Using business analytics in the church gives the church the ability to gather information
on the demographics of the congregation. It can provide them insight into the events of the
church and how they are succeeding or failing to meet the needs of the church. The church can
also see where the congregation's mindsets are with what is going on with them. With the
information they receive using business analytics will allow them to make improvements,
changes, and end potentially negative situations or disagreements in order to benefit the church
(Conboy et al., 2020). When church leadership uses the data to benefit the church, it can alleviate
issues that could bring strife to the congregation. Additionally, business analytics helps church
leaders to understand those they are leading (Bartlett, 2013). Knowing this information also
provides leadership the knowledge of what congregants’ interests are and enables them to see
what areas the church could meet by aiding in finding a resource for the areas they are not able to
meet. Using business analytics for a length of time will continue to positively build and show the
leadership's commitment to the health of the church.
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FAITH INTEGRATION PAPER: WISDOM IN BUSINESS ANALYTIC
Using business analytics can show the ebbs and flows of donations. There are predictable
times when donations may be higher than normal such as holidays like Christmas, Easter, and
other times when there typically is an increase in the attendance. However, there could be other
times when they are higher than normal, which would be seen by using business analytics. There
are also churches that may have more in attendance in specific times than the typical church,
which are considered cabin country. Cabin country is the area where people go on the weekends
or in the summer. In those cases, the donations could be up in the summer and less in times when
other churches see an increase. Business analytics is a useful tool to help see the patterns with
attendance and donations so they can make plans according to how to use the funds in the best
way possible.
When you look at business analytics from a perspective of discipleship, we can use it to
make sure we are connecting with those outside of the faith. If we wait too long, some may
become unattainable. If the number in the congregations were to drop, the use of business
analytics could show why the attendance dropped and it could also show how to reach more
people to disciple. Leadership cannot simply assess an overview of a year because it will not
provide as detailed information, and aspects could be overlooked. Money is a wise way to use
business analytics, but it is not the only way because nothing functions on money alone.
Business analytics can improve the church as a whole and keep the congregation as a priority at
the same time (Krishnamoorthi & Mathew, 2018).
Conclusion
Church leadership can use business analytics in many ways to improve the church as a
whole and in more minor ways that are also beneficial to a church. In many ways, business
analytics can provide church leaders tools to make decisions to help create a church where
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FAITH INTEGRATION PAPER: WISDOM IN BUSINESS ANALYTIC
disciples are being made. Business analytics may provide leaders answers to areas or aspects that
need to change, enlighten them on areas that have been looked over, or provide insight on
aspects that are working. The knowledge that business analytics can provide church leaders can
be powerful when used correctly. Christian leaders want to stay wise in their leadership in order
to be the best disciples they can be and utilizing business analytics is a method that can better
equip them for their calling.
References
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Conboy, K., Mikalef, P., Dennehy, D., & Krogstie, J. (2020). Using business analytics to
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FAITH INTEGRATION PAPER: WISDOM IN BUSINESS ANALYTIC
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