#101 - 115,000 Beliefs Tracked | Matthew Ward

Most Christians know that they believe — but far fewer can clearly articulate why. Matt Ward, founder and CEO of BeliefTrack, built a free web-based platform to change that — and what started as a personal faith inventory has grown into a powerful discipleship and leadership vetting tool for churches. In this episode of Ministry at Scale, Chad Williams sits down with Matt to explore how a simple question — "What do I actually believe?" — became a tool that has tracked over 115,000 individual Christian beliefs.Key TakeawaysA personal faith journey sparked a ministry-sized tool. Nearly 10 years ago, Matt began wrestling with his own beliefs as a young adult — not what he was taught, but what he could confidently own. That process of honest self-reflection became the foundation for BeliefTrack's nearly 300 theological questions, spanning beginner to advanced doctrine.The confidence rating is one of BeliefTrack's most disarming features. Rather than simply asking "do you believe this?", users rate their confidence on a scale from 1 to 10. It's a simple mechanism that creates honest self-awareness — and opens the door to deeper study, better conversations, and more confident outreach.BeliefTrack has nearly 800 registered users and has tracked approximately 115,000–116,000 individual Christian beliefs — a number Matt says far exceeded his expectations, driven by people's genuine hunger to go deeper with their theology.Churches are using BeliefTrack as a leadership vetting and discipleship tool. The recommended church rollout starts with the pastor crafting their core beliefs, then having leadership go through the same process — creating a transparent, side-by-side comparison that surfaces theological alignment and gaps before someone steps into a teaching role.The platform reveals a surprising reality: congregations aren't as theologically aligned as pastors assume. Matt's experience with users from across denominations shows that even within a single church, meaningful doctrinal diversity exists — particularly on topics like eschatology and inerrancy. BeliefTrack helps pastors see those gaps clearly and respond with targeted discipleship rather than assumptions.AI played a supporting role in refining the platform's questions. As a software engineer, Matt used AI tools to help audit his question bank for unintentional bias — ensuring that users are genuinely guided toward reflection rather than nudged toward a predetermined answer.BeliefTrack is free — and Matt wants to keep it that way for small churches. Church accounts are available now, and the long-term vision is for small churches to always have free access to the platform as a discipleship resource.Does Your Church Know What It Believes?If you've ever wished you had a window into what your congregation actually believes — or if you're a ministry leader wanting to equip your people with tools for deeper theological engagement — this episode is for you. BeliefTrack is the kind of simple, mission-aligned tool that could transform the way your church approaches discipleship. Listen now, then head over to BeliefTrack.com to set up your church account and see it for yourself.RESOURCESConnect with Matthew — [email protected] Ward, Founder and CEO — BeliefTrackBeliefTrack YouTube Channel — https://www.youtube.com/@BeliefTrackBook Recommendation: Living on Target — a discipleship book Matt's church is currently using; focuses on prioritizing relationship with Christ, family, church, and the world.Online Resource: Gavin Ortlund / Truth Unites YouTube channel — accessible theological discussions on a wide range of topicsFive Q Launch AI — Ready to turn AI experimentation into real ministry impact? Learn more at fiveq.com/launch