The 80/20 rule

In ministry, I’ve often heard people cite something similar to the Pareto principle. It goes something like this:

20% of the people do 80% of the work

The numbers vary, but the notion remains the same:

We 20%ers do all the work in this church, & 80% of our members are merely being served without serving themselves.

(Note the difference between this statement & the previous one!)

Let’s consider those 80%ers.

Believe it or not, God works in the world through avenues other than your congregation/ministry! Some of the 80%ers are serving God under auspices other than your church/ministry. You can probably name some of them. How many more are there that you do not know about? That you do not need to know about?

Some of the 80%ers aren’t ready to serve. God is preparing them for service, but they aren’t there yet. Perhaps you were once like them. I know I have been. I probably will be again.

Of course, people have free will. Some may never choose to serve. Yet, we are still called to serve them.

The 80/20 rule is the way the world works. It’s part of God’s plan. It is not a problem that needs to be fixed.

Most of all, however, I have to remember that I don’t know God’s plan. I don’t know what he has placed on someone else heart. I don’t know how others serve Him. And I don’t need to know these things. I need to know what he wants of me and to concentrate on that.