REPORTING AND ACCOUNTABILITY

A vital part of the Reach4Life programme is keeping a good record of what you have done. Reporting is essential for 4 reasons:

1 . It provides a written record of the quantitative and qualitative impact of the programme.

2 . It is a form of monitoring and evaluation, helping us see what we are doing well and how we can improve.

3 . It assists with reporting to ministry investors what the spiritual return is on their investments.

4 . We can share compelling stories that will attract new ministry investors and ensure the long-term sustainability of the programme.

The exact system of reporting and accountability will differ from one organisation to another, but it is vital that there is a system in place. Group leaders need to report their activities to designated coordinators; coordinators need to collate the information, and this needs to be fed back to Biblica at regular intervals.

Reporting should be both quantitative (numbers) and qualitative (stories). Quantitative reporting keeps track of things like how many young people are actively engaged in the pro-gramme, how many have given their lives to Christ, and how many have made commitments to purity. Qualitative reporting keeps track of how young people are responding to the pro-gramme, ideally in their own words.

Stories or testimonies can be done formally (ask group members to write down what Reach4Life has meant to them and what difference it has made in their lives), however, sometimes what is said without having been asked to share can be even more compelling. For example, a group member might say, ‘I’m so happy I learned that God loves me. It helps me now that my sister is very sick. Now I know that I am not alone.’ Write this down as soon as possible in a notebook so that you don’t forget. Also record the name of the person who said it. Lastly, always ask permission to share people’s testimonies and whether they are happy for you to include their name.

Photographic reporting is often even more powerful than just a written testimony. This is because us humans were visual creatures long before we invented symbolic, written language. A well-taken picture can communicate more than pages of descriptive writing.