Finish Well: How to Let Go of the Ministry You Love
Ministry work is never finished. There is always another person to serve, another donor to thank, another problem to solve. That is part of what makes it so meaningful. It is also part of what makes it so hard to leave.
Robin Fuller spent more than 23 years in pregnancy center ministry, work God called her into after her own abortion at age 20. She loved it. It was fulfilling and, at times, soul crushing. And like many leaders, she slowly discovered that the ministry had become her identity.
"When all of a sudden that is stripped away," Robin asks, "what remains?"
Only 10 Percent Finish Well
Years into her leadership, Robin was burned out and ready to quit. A friend connected her with a coach named Don, who worked with a ministry whose tagline was helping ministry leaders finish well. Don told her that in his estimation, only about 10 percent of ministry leaders really finish well.
Something clicked. Robin prayed, "Lord, I want to be part of the 10 percent," and asked her coach what she needed to do.
Lifting the Mantle
On sabbatical, Robin sensed God beginning to draw her away. She also saw something uncomfortable: she was the center of the ministry. She ran the board, the staff, and nearly everything else. If she did not step out of that messy middle, her successor would inherit real problems.
So she came back, stood before her board, and symbolically lifted the spiritual mantle of the ministry off her shoulders. She told them she was not carrying it alone anymore and that God was calling her away. That process took four years, and because she loved the ministry so deeply, she wanted it to keep going without a blip.
The "Things I Do" Document
Robin's first step was not complicated. She opened a Word document and asked, "When my successor comes in, what do I do on a daily, weekly, monthly, and annual basis?" She called it "Things I Do."
The document kept getting longer, and the light bulb went on. She loved designing the newsletter, but why was the highest paid employee spending hours on it? Over time, tasks came off her list. She and her board also realized her role was really two jobs, so they split it into two positions.
Matt Davis sees the same thing with leaders at Ministry Transitions. Often the first step is simply looking at the job description, which many leaders have not read in years.
What Will Be Missing When You Are Gone?
Robin also asked harder questions. What do I bring to this ministry? What are my gifts? What will be missing when I leave? And what does this ministry really need?
Finances were not her gift, so the board looked for a successor who was strong there. He navigated COVID and a four million dollar capital gift that could not touch operating costs, and Robin is grateful she did not have to.
Her successor was a 31-year-old introverted man. Robin was a 55-year-old extroverted woman. Finishing well sometimes means handing the ministry to someone completely different from you.
Why Leaders Stay Too Long
In Robin's experience, founders have the hardest time with succession. The ministry is their baby, and pride quietly whispers that nobody else can do it the way they do. But it is not theirs. It is the Lord's.
The second reason is financial. In many ministries, a poverty mindset means aging leaders cannot afford to leave, so they stay and stay, to the detriment of the ministry. Robin had no retirement plan herself and had to wait until God released her.
The answer starts with a mindset. Robin led her board to adopt a compensation philosophy rooted in honoring people with a fair wage. A board committee researched pay at similar ministries, and the board added about $85,000 to the budget for raises. It was costly, but it was right.
Stepping Away Well
Robin thought her handoff went perfectly. She drove for a month while her successor observed, then they switched and she served as an executive advisor. A week after she left, she stopped by the office to make a copy, and everyone was thrilled to see her.
A day or two later, a board member called: "Robin, we need for you to stay away for a minimum of six months." She has mostly stayed away ever since, and the ministry is thriving under its new leader.
Now she encourages every leader she coaches to stay away for at least six months so the successor can get their bearings. She also asked each staff member to commit to staying six months to give the new leader a chance, and they all did.
Stepping away also means facing pride. When a donor says, "We all miss you so much," or a staff member texts to complain, it can stroke the ego. Robin had to redirect people to the new leader and bring that pride before the Lord over and over.
The Loneliness Nobody Talks About
Transition brings heartbreak and loneliness. The team you did life with, the board you loved, the churches, the babies she got to hold who had been scheduled for abortion: all of it was suddenly gone. Some days it was just Robin, her dog, and her cat.
"I just think we don't talk about that enough," she says. Every leader needs a plan for their own soul care after they leave.
A New Calling
Don's coaching changed Robin's life, and she heard God whisper, "You could do that." She began her coaching education before she left her role. Her plan was to become a high-end corporate coach and fill her retirement coffers. God had other plans. Today she coaches ministry leaders, boards, and even the successors of the leaders she once helped.
Finish Well: The Book
Robin's new book, Finish Well: Succession Planning for the Ministry You Love, is for ministry leaders and board members, especially those who know they need a plan and do not know where to start. It includes a succession planning quiz and 12 practical steps you can take in any order, built around four areas:
• Preparing yourself: letting go and discovering your new identity
• Preparing the organization: sound policies, training, and job descriptions
• Strengthening the board so it can take on its full role
• Strengthening and preparing the staff, because succession is for everyone
None of us stay in our role forever. Finishing well does not happen by accident. It begins with surrender, long before the last day.
You can find Finish Well, Robin's coaching, and her succession planning mastermind groups at robinfuller.coach. If you are navigating a ministry transition, Ministry Transitions is here to help.
Matt Davis served as a Teaching and Executive Pastor for more than two decades in Orange County, California. After going through his own pastoral transition out of ministry, Matt learned the difficulty of this season. He helped start Ministry Transitions, a ministry committed to helping ministry leaders navigate transitions with grace. As President, he seeks to bring healing a reconciliation to churches and their people.
