Doing More With Less

"Less is more, and more is less"

Psalm 37:16 (MSG)

This is not the wisdom of our culture. Our culture preaches that more is better than less. More is the sign of success – more money, attractiveness, status, and attention.

There are a lot of churches today that are struggling to keep up with their past. They were once large churches with multiple programs and large governing structures.

Today they are one-third the size, have one pastor instead of three, and have a budget sixty-six percent less than 20 years ago. Yet, they are laboring for a past status by maintaining the program and governing constructs they inherited while grappling with irrelevancy and trying to create new ministries.

Does this sound like your church? Pastors, are you trying to do three times the work with a third of the resources? Are you emotionally and spiritually on the edge of burnout, trying to do more with less?

Many pastors today have stolen time from their families, community, personal growth, and sabbath rest to meet the demand for more. Church members are constantly trying to keep up with volunteer requests, financial stewardship, and the feeling that their church is a sinking ship. So what is the solution? It is to redefine “more.”

The church needs a sustainable model of ministry. We are stretched too thin. What if we redefined “more” as “better?” What if we defined a church’s success not by its membership size, number of programs, and staff count but by the quality of relationships, program, and service? Would we be doing more if we did less?

Most of the churches I served had mission budgets of less than 5% of the church’s total budget. Yet, they spread it out over so many causes, giving $100 here and $250 there, that $25,000 was not enough to make a difference in any of the causes they supported. What if they gave $25,000 to one significant local cause?

One church I know transformed its identity by redirecting its mission dollars from thirty-two mission causes to two, housing and food security in their neighborhood. In five years, they built the largest food pantry in their county, significantly impacting the number of people reached with healthy food sources. Members of the congregation became involved with their human resources. Instead of spreading out over thirty-two causes where their contributions didn’t make much difference, they were excited to be a part of something that made a significant difference. Quality, not quantity! Make an impact, not just check a charity box.

Pastors, the same principle applies to you. What do you do that makes a difference? Put your energy there and help your congregation let go of irrelevant, non-consequential programs, missions, and bureaucracy inherited from the past. Reclaim time for family, personal growth, and health, and you will be more effective by doing less.