We know the so-called "80/20" rule; we're told that in many cases, 20% of those involved in any endeavor perform 80% of the work.

This rule often applies to churches, non-profit ministries and businesses.

That's a discussion for another day, but it leads to a common ministry mistake. If we're not careful, we might find that we're pouring 80% of our effort and resources into areas comprising just 20% of our overall mission.

For instance, one pregnancy care ministry — after some soul-searching — found it was spending the huge majority of its financial and human resources on women whose original intention was carrying their babies to term.

Make no mistake, these women and families need our support as well. However, this ministry looked at its overall mission (in their case, providing positive alternatives to those considering abortion) and found most of its efforts were elsewhere. For them, it was time to make changes.

Maintaining balance

As board members, one of our key roles is to re-visit our mission statement often and make sure our budget, our staff roles and our programs reflect the goals of that statement.

To do this, we sometimes have to break down our ministry into its separate components, asking simply: How does this program fulfill the mission of this ministry? From there, we can ask how we can make that program more effective.

In the case of the ministry cited above, the board found that — in its view — an inordinate amount of time was being spent providing material goods for those who were excited about an out-of-wedlock pregnancy and were simply looking for ministries, organizations and government programs providing assistance.

The board had to make difficult decisions if the ministry was to shift its focus back to the abortion vulnerable woman. In the end, they found a balance between holding to the mission and reaching out to all who asked for services.

The good news

By finding this balance and re-focusing on the mission, the board found a previously hidden benefit: Staff were more excited about coming to work each day. As a result, burnout among staff members is almost nonexistent as ministry personnel find their hours are spent fulfilling the calling they envisioned when they signed on. As a board, let's look at the 20/80 rule and make sure we're not victimizing our ministry by flipping this rule on its head. It can make all the difference to those who serve on the front lines.

Letter reprinted by permission from LifeTrends. If you'd like to know more about the resources provided by LifeTrends that can be used to encourage your volunteers, educate your Board and reach your supporters, or if you're looking for a great speaker for your next banquet, contact Kirk Walden at kirk.walden@comcast.net. Kirk is Publisher of The LifeTrends Connection.