If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the sheer scale of needs in your community, you’re not alone. Churches often face pressure to do it all—feed the hungry, house the homeless, provide counseling, host job fairs, and the list goes on. While this desire to meet every need comes from a good place, spreading efforts too thin can ultimately make your ministry less effective.
Howard Stevenson, Executive Director of Thrive Colorado, offers a powerful reminder: focus on doing one thing exceptionally well. Thrive’s success lies in its ability to provide job readiness and coaching with unmatched excellence. For churches, this is a lesson in impact: less can be more.
The Value of Focus
When Stevenson took over Thrive, he quickly recognized a common pitfall in many organizations—trying to do everything. He knew that real change would require clarity and focus.
“We want to be deep, not wide,” Stevenson shared. “We want to do what we do really well and be a piece of the puzzle for others—not the whole solution.”
For Thrive, that meant concentrating on job readiness and long-term coaching instead of trying to solve every need a participant might face. By narrowing their focus, they were able to:
- Develop expertise in job coaching.
- Train volunteer coaches to walk alongside participants for 6 to 12 months.
- Build systems that consistently deliver results, like a 75% employment rate among participants.
Imagine if your church embraced this mindset! Rather than attempting to tackle every challenge, you could focus on one specific area of ministry. By dedicating your time, talent, and resources to it, you’ll create a space where your community knows just where to turn for support in that need.
Trust Takes Time: Building Partnerships That Work
One of the greatest lessons Stevenson learned at Thrive is that collaboration requires trust—and trust takes time to build. Ministries and churches often hesitate to share responsibilities because they’re concerned about losing connection to the people they serve.
Stevenson shared a pivotal moment when partnering with another local ministry. Initially, the leaders hesitated to work with Thrive. “They were worried that handing off job coaching meant we’d take their participants and they wouldn’t be ‘their people’ anymore,” Stevenson explained.
But when he clarified Thrive’s role—“We don’t want them to become our people. They’re still your people. We’re just here to fill one key piece of the puzzle”—everything changed. Trust grew, and the partnership flourished.
This kind of trust-building is key to effective ministry partnerships. It doesn’t happen overnight, but it’s how the church was always meant to operate—through humility, collaboration, and a shared commitment to loving others well.
Stevenson encourages churches to take the time to build trust by:
- Clarifying Roles and Expectations: Be clear about your strengths and focus. Let partners know you’re there to support their ministry, not compete with it.
- Staying Accountable: Stevenson emphasizes the importance of transparency, saying, “We track everything and report back to our partners regularly—where participants are in the program, what progress they’ve made, everything.” Accountability builds trust.
- Being Patient: Trust grows through consistent actions and clear communication. Don’t expect it to happen overnight.
Building trust reflects the gospel. Jesus calls us to humility and unity, reminding us in John 13:35: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Ministries collaborating with trust and transparency show the world the beauty of Christ’s love in action.
Being a Piece of the Puzzle
It’s tempting to believe that more equals better when it comes to ministry. But doing too much can lead to inefficiency and burnout. Churches aren’t meant to be the whole solution—they’re part of the larger body of Christ.
Just as Thrive focuses on job coaching while partnering with others for wraparound services, your church can play a specific role while trusting others to meet additional needs. Ask yourself:
- What is our church uniquely equipped to do?
- Who else is already serving in this space, and how can we partner with them?
Stevenson’s story of partnering with another ministry is a powerful example. Thrive’s focus allowed them to add value to the partner ministry without overstepping boundaries. This approach transformed not just the participants but also the organizations working together.
When ministries focus deeply on their strengths and collaborate with trust, the impact multiplies.
Start Small, Go Deep
If you’re wondering how to focus your church’s efforts, start here:
- Identify the Need: Look around your community. What’s the greatest need your church can address? Is it job training, mental health support, or mentorship?
- Leverage Your Strengths: What does your church do well? Are there volunteers with specific skills who can lead the charge? For example, Thrive’s coaches are small business owners and HR professionals who bring real-world expertise.
- Partner with Others: Collaborate with organizations already meeting other needs. Play your role and trust them to play theirs.
- Commit to Long-Term Impact: Build systems and relationships that allow you to serve effectively over the long haul.
Why It Matters
As churches, we’re called to serve with excellence, not exhaustion. Focusing on one key area of ministry doesn’t mean you’re doing less—it means you’re doing better. When you lean into what God has uniquely equipped your church to do and trust others to do the same, the result is transformed lives and a stronger, more unified community.
Stevenson’s story with Thrive Colorado reminds us that deep, not wide, is the way to have a lasting impact. Trust takes time, focus requires discipline, and collaboration reflects the very heart of Christ.
So lean in. Start small. Build trust. And watch how God uses your church’s unique strengths to change lives—one need, one relationship, and one partnership at a time.
To learn more about Thrive Colorado’s focused, collaborative model, visit thrivecolorado.org.
This article was written in collaboration with Howard Stevenson, Executive Director at Thrive Colorado. If you want to continue the conversation, you can contact him directly at howard_stevenson@thrivecolorado.org.
