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Christian Nonprofit Founders, It's A Calling and You're Not Alone
Brian Kreeger • Dec 15, 2021
It is rare in my writing that I address such a specific role in Christian Nonprofits, but I feel that I must. There is such a uniqueness in the role of Christian Nonprofit Founder.
But, rest assured, what I address here also has application in the general leadership environment.
My articles say continually, “Leadership is hard.” The role of founder is hardest of all.
In the role of founder there is simply no precedent, there is no tradition, there is no record of past successes and failures, there are no guiding statistics, there is no this is the way we do it. Everything must be created. Plus, there are always naysayers who poke holes in your calling.
So I want to take one article to address some difficulties in founding leadership hoping founders will find comfort and encouragement in knowing they are not alone.
(This blog focuses on starting a conversation centered on preventing the fall of nonprofit leaders. I write it from a Christian perspective, but all leaders will benefit. Be sure to sign up to receive these articles via email every Tuesday at
briankreeger.com as well as taking a look at previous blog articles. In addition to receiving these articles two days before they hit social media, you will receive the article "5 Early Indicators of a Christian Nonprofit Leadership Fall" along with the Contents, Introduction and the Appendix (My story) of my book,
The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Nonprofit Leaders.)
Let’s start with this one piece of advice: founders, don’t expect everyone to understand what you are going through, and stop trying to “help” those around you understand. Whatever your calling is, assuming it was from God, is between you and God.
The people around you will definitely walk alongside you, encouraging you all along the way. They will do their best to understand what you are going through and will become inspired by what God is doing through you.
But they will not fully understand, and that can be disheartening. You are not crazy, this is normal.
The people on your founding committee or board will not understand. The community will not understand. Collaborators will not understand. Funders will not understand. And almost certainly, your spouse will not understand. The more you try to help them understand, the more they are driven away and alienated. Then the loneliness and isolation follow.
I can assure you they are giving you their best.
Stop it! God is the only one who gets it, because He gave you the calling.
I realized, as a founder, when I went to other organizational executives for support and compassion, they just didn’t get it either. Now that’s not to say that hired executives are not super valuable, have enormous hearts for the work of God and the ministry, and don’t sacrifice greatly for the mission, but it is quite different. I quickly realized that the only people who got it were other founders.
I found guidance and mentorship from other founders.
One of my mentors founded a private school in 1998, and over two decades later, the school has a budget over $3 million and serves more than 250 mainly urban youth. She understood what I was going through.
Many times I thought I was completely losing it, and she was able to give me some story from her past that delivered comfort and understanding at the right time.
Through her personal stories, she helped me to escape from isolation and to develop the feeling that I was not alone, that I was not nuts, and that God’s got this. Each time she shared insight with me, a portion of the burden lifted from my shoulders.
She continued to share stories on her journey of founding the school, but it wasn’t until the clinic was open and running that she told me the rest of the story. I found it to be a universal one that I’ve heard from other founders over the years. In her words:
“There were many circumstances that contributed to my 'breakdown.’ A thousand little things not going as I’d anticipated, people expressing their dissatisfaction with this and that, too much negative self-talk. I felt overwhelmed and alone. At the time, I felt responsible for the investment of every stakeholder, employees, donors, students, parents, and board members. Whether or not it was true, I perceived that as the founder and leader, the success or failure of the organization rested solely on me. The culmination of circumstances, my thoughts, and my emotions manifested in such anxiety and immobility that I required medical and spiritual/emotional attention. Looking back, I’d say that unrealistic expectations of myself as well as ego played a role, but foremost was the lack of wisdom in forming a supportive infrastructure to assist in practical ways in addition to providing perspective."
I related to every single word. I was taking on way too much of the responsibility myself, instead of leaning on God. He was the one that threw out the call (remember, our responsibility is to listen and be faithful and the rest is on Him).
Founders, your calling introduces you to the ultimate challenges in leadership. Your journey is arduous. I sit in awe of you and empathize with your plight.
But you are called. That is the key and needs to be your primary focus and source of comfort.
The free health clinic that God used me to found several years ago continues to be successful by many measures, even though I have not been there for a number of years. It should be clear to anyone that the clinic has become a testimony to a calling from God on a person who was an unlikely founder-a regular guy working in an industry that had nothing to do with providing health care. God could have used anyone, but He was going to make the clinic happen. And He did.
I already mentioned one thing
that kept me encouraged and kept me focused on the calling of God- the engagement of experienced founders. Besides keeping myself in God’s word and keeping my spiritual life healthy, I also framed several sayings and scriptures that I placed on my wall in a line just below the ceiling facing my desk. These allowed me to lay my head back in my chair during a time of discouragement in order to meditate on them. Among them were these:
-Greatness is Maximizing your potential for the glory of God and the benefit of others. -Tony Evans
-The second you are not feeling dependent is the second you have backed away from truly living by faith.
-Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
-My Kingdom is not about earning and deserving. It is about believing and receiving.
-Law of Priorities- Activity is not necessarily accomplishment. John Maxwell and Luke 10:38-42
You may have some inspiring scriptures, sayings, or quotes that will help you in times of discouragement. Take the time, and put them on your wall. This might be what takes you back to the confidence and boldness in the calling God gave you. They may take you beyond what the naysayers are saying, and the doubts in your own head.
They did for me. Many times, being still amid absolute craziness, laying my head back and meditating on these things eased the loneliness and isolation in the calling. Oh, I have many stories. This may work for you.
Founder, you are not alone.
(Feel free to send me an email....Brian@briankreeeger.com if you feel alone. We should talk. I love nothing more than encouraging founders with a calling)
Be Courageous!
Be Proactive!
Be sure to sign up to receive these articles via email every Tuesday at
briankreeger.com. In addition to receiving these articles two days before they hit social media, you will receive the article "5 Early Indicators of a Christian Nonprofit Leadership Fall" along with the Contents, Introduction and the Appendix (My Story) of my book,
The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Nonprofit Leaders.
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Executives -pastors or nonprofit executives in our context- are put on a pedestal. It’s not that the typical person necessarily believes they belong there or desires to put them there. But it is human nature that this happens. The general public often places much higher expectations on leaders than they do on themselves. Sometimes it is appropriate, and the leader has put themselves in that position. In some cases, it is simply scriptural. For instance, James 3 points out that those who teach will be judged more strictly, thereby heightening the expectations of those who lead and teach. But what about when we accept, and enact, those elevated expectations and forget the humanity of our leaders? Often a community heaps on a leader the expectation that they are to perform with the perfection of Jesus and not simply be a Jesus follower and disciple just like them, but with a unique calling and heightened responsibility. Too many times when a leader shows human imperfection, the respect we have for them is damaged. Leaders fall under strict judgment, and we forget they are no less fallible than us. The imperfection they have colors any positive experience we would have had with them otherwise. While most of us acknowledge this strict, hypocritical judgment and recognize it as not being how we want to treat our leaders, it is a difficult battle to fight in our own attitudes and minds. No matter who the leader is, they are not Jesus. But please allow me to reverently make some comparisons. (This blog focuses on starting a conversation centered on preventing the fall of nonprofit leaders. I write it from a Christian perspective, but all leaders will benefit. Be sure to sign up to receive these articles via email every Tuesday at briankreeger.com as well as taking a look at previous blog articles. In addition to receiving these articles two days before they hit social media, you will receive the article "5 Early Indicators of a Christian Nonprofit Leadership Fall" along with the Contents, Introduction and the Appendix (My story) of my book, The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Nonprofit Leaders. )
You are the community, no matter what formal role you play in a particular organization, or if you play any role at all. My blog articles typically focus on the roles the leader and the board have in preventing the fall of Christian nonprofit leaders. But I contend that the community that exists around organizational leaders and boards has a role as well. In fact, a community’s role can many times be much bigger. My next few blog articles will focus on the role of the community in preventing the fall of Christian nonprofit leaders. (This blog focuses on starting a conversation centered on preventing the fall of nonprofit leaders. I write it from a Christian perspective, but all leaders will benefit. Be sure to sign up to receive these articles via email every Tuesday at briankreeger.com as well as taking a look at previous blog articles. In addition to receiving these articles two days before they hit social media, you will receive the article "5 Early Indicators of a Christian Nonprofit Leadership Fall" along with the Contents, Introduction and the Appendix (My story) of my book, The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Nonprofit Leaders. )
