What kind of Return is expected?

When working with people in ministry, many don’t understand all the accountability and processes that need to be in place. The favored comment is …”Oh, that is just bureaucracy, and it just gets in the way!” That is not the case and is one of the biggest reasons why many ministries limp along or fail. Let’s talk about accountability and processes today.

Anyone that volunteers or donates to a ministry is investing in the organization and that investment comes with expectations. The want a return on that investment. This return is realized in the case of many ministries by serving, helping, and training those in need. Yes, many want to help people, but helping inefficiently is not providing the optimal return on the gifts that God has provided.

Many people want to feel good about their work and the concept of “Optimizing Ministry” is not something that they even thought about. They donate their time and resources and create a “feel good” sense of accomplishment. The question then becomes, if the expense of providing services is 3 times that of another ministry is it a good return on the investment? In the end, the decision is up to you, but we believe it is resources that could have been better used and have been multiplied to serve more people. The better we get at doing what we do, the more people that can be served.

That being said, the entire ministry team must be aligned and working together to optimize the process and get the best return possible. Those that support the ministry need to also receive regular updates as to the services being rendered that in turn can provide the comfort to continue to support the effort. This calls for open communication and transparency in the process. The team at the point of the spear needs to be executing what the international team is representing to those that may be interested in supporting the programs. Every role is important.

In the end, every single process, resource, and execution strategy must continually be evaluated and communicated to the entire team. We must strive to be people of excellence in all we say and do. The return on the investment is the bottom line.