Serve Those Who Serve

Some of the best business strategies come from the Bible.

One of my favorites comes from Matthew, starting in chapter twenty, when James and John tried to get Jesus to promise they could “rule” by his side. Jesus’ response is epic. He basically rebuked them and said: If you want to be a leader in God’s kingdom, the only way to do that is to take the posture of a servant. Jesus said that he himself did not come to be served, but to serve. He said, “The greatest among you will be your servant.” (Matthew 23:11)

Here is the universal business principle: success comes from understanding customer needs and serving them. If you want to succeed, you must become a servant. In this way, servanthood becomes an unmatched economic engine. One of my favorite Zig Ziglar quotes is: “Stop selling. Start helping.”

The faith and flourishing ecosystem is one of the most underserved segments in the world. Despite contributing more than $1.2 trillion to the U.S. economy annually—a figure rivaling the GDP of major developed nations—its technology and marketing capabilities often lag far behind. According to a 2022 study by Salesforce, only 12% of nonprofits, including faith-based nonprofits, consider themselves digitally mature, while the organizations with digital maturity are 4x more likely to achieve their mission goals. One study from Lifeway noted that 31% of pastors believe ministry keeps them from spending time with their families, and 47% say the demands of ministry are often greater than they can handle – issues that technology should most certainly be helping with – at scale.

This is where Gloo comes in. Gloo’s mission is to build the leading technology platform to serve the faith & flourishing ecosystem. Uniquely delivering on that mission with a principle of service, or as we say, to “serve those who serve.” Every day, we wake up thinking about the problems large ministries and churches are facing, and how we can mobilize to help solve those problems so they can amplify their impact and fulfill their mission. We help large ministries implement world-class AI capabilities as a force multiplier for their missions.  We help pastors and leaders leverage technology so they can spend more time in personal connection with their congregations and their families. We help nonprofits engage with their donors more effectively, so they can amplify their impact. Our mission is to help these organizations evolve their technology, all grounded in a heart of service - so they can have more impact.

What if the “greatest among us” is not necessarily the companies with the biggest competitive moat, the ones with the most highly educated executives (not opposed to highly educated executives, but you see my point here), or the ones with the biggest innovation budget, but the ones who truly understand why being a servant in business is the only path to true sustainable success?

“The greatest among you will be your servant." The deepest competitive moat in business isn't technology, capital, or talent. It's trust, and trust only flows through service. May we all become great by serving.