Pew Foundation, ServiceMaster, and Mission Drift By Becca Spradlin

Is Your Organization Vulnerable to Mission Drift?

Mission drift is an unseen force that pulls organizations away from their founding mission, often without intentionality or recognition until it’s too late. Whether you’re a nonprofit dedicated to Kingdom impact or a business founded on faith-driven principles that desire to honor God, the gravitational pull away from your higher purpose is unrelenting. Without uncommon intentionality, even the most purpose-driven organizations can lose their way.

While mission drift is often discussed as a threat to nonprofits, it also occurs in faith-driven businesses.

Case Study: The Pew Foundation

In 1948, J. Howard Pew and his siblings created the Pew Charitable Trusts. Through these trusts, the heirs of Sun Oil Company (now called Sunoco) gave to various charities, often anonymously.

In 1970, J. Howard Pew donated resources to help establish the Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary and committed to giving annually to its operations. A year later, Pew passed away.

Fast forward twenty years. In a story on the Pew Charitable Trusts, this was reported:

The Pew Charitable Trusts gives millions of dollars to Princeton University and other Ivy League colleges today. They have cut off the annual funding to the Gordon-Conwell Seminary. They also join in partnerships with the government-supported programs that J. Howard Pew despised it.

Case Study: ServiceMaster

ServiceMaster began in 1929 as a humble mothproofing business founded by Marion Wade. Over the decades, it grew into a globally recognized service company, providing cleaning, maintenance, and restoration services. At its peak, ServiceMaster was a Fortune 500 company widely respected for its financial performance and unwavering commitment to honoring God in the workplace.

ServiceMaster was built upon four guiding objectives that shaped its corporate culture for decades, even after going public:

1. To honor God in all we do
2. To help people develop
3. To pursue excellence
4. To grow profitably

Service Master was an early model for how faith and business could coexist in a way that benefited employees, customers, and investors alike. For decades, the company sustained its mission while growing profitably, yet today, “honoring God” is no longer an objective.

What happened? How did these organizations make 180-degree turns from the founder’s original intent?

Unintentional Drift

Often, a lack of intentionality in preserving the mission rapidly unravels a firm’s God-honoring ambitions. Sadly, any company is one misaligned decision away from losing its higher purpose. For nonprofits, one misaligned board member, employee, or donor with influence can take an organization off course.

Not all transitions result in such rapid shifts. Value erosion, culture decline, or any other form of mission drift can happen gradually and quietly. Specific stakeholders may even celebrate the shifts as a sign of progress. Regardless of the rate of drift, deterioration is the natural course. When left alone, corporate cultures and values will erode over time.

Go Deeper

Be sure to read another of Becca’s CLA Higher Thinking Blog posts, Faith-Driven Mission Drift, to learn more about how mission drift happens and how to prevent it.

She is also the author of Lead On Mission: Advance Faith at Work. Avoid Mission Drift. Build a Legacy of Eternal Impact. The book shares case studies and practices businesses use to create, cultivate, and perpetuate a higher purpose while avoiding mission drift. It includes stories of Faith Forward companies and cautionary case studies of those who drifted.

 Visit www.leadonmissionbook.com to learn more and order your copy.

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Becca Spradlin is the founder of On Mission Advisors, and she helps Christian CEOs and boards define, protect, and champion what matters in light of eternity. She is the author of Lead On Mission: Advance Faith at Work. Avoid Mission Drift. Build a Legacy of Eternal Impact. She also coauthored the Mission True Workbook with the authors of Mission Drift. She writes and speaks on how companies can define and align their firms around faith and avoid drift.

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Connect and learn more from Becca Spradlin!

Becca Spradlin will facilitate a “Lead on Mission for Eternal Impact” session on April 29 during CLA’s Outcomes Conference in Dallas, Texas.  This interactive session is for all levels of leadership and board members.

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The Spring Term Enrollment is Open through April 7, 2025!

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