Summary
There are moments in ministry when careful, incremental steps are no longer faithful—and decisive action becomes an act of stewardship.
Churches and nonprofits are often taught to value restraint: small budgets, lean staffing, and cautious growth. These instincts are usually wise. But history—both sacred and secular—teaches that there are critical moments when incrementalism fails, and leaders must act boldly, visibly, and decisively to protect the mission and serve people well.
In those moments, organizations reach—often reluctantly—for what we might call a “Big Bertha” response. Not a weapon, but a mission-defining commitment of resources, leadership, and resolve that changes the trajectory of a ministry.
The Origin of the Metaphor—and Why It Still Matters
The phrase Big Bertha originated in World War I as a nickname for an enormous artillery piece designed to breach fortifications that ordinary tools could not. Over time, the term left the battlefield and entered the common language, becoming shorthand for decisive scale when smaller efforts fail.
Historian John Keegan observed that the defining lesson of that era was not brilliance, but capacity:
“Modern institutions learned that survival often depended not on elegance, but on scale.”
For churches and nonprofits, the lesson is not about force—but about faithful response to real-world constraints: zoning laws, capital costs, healthcare regulations, housing shortages, or community needs that exceed the scope of small solutions.
A Ministry Translation: When Small Is No Longer Faithful
Scripture consistently affirms stewardship and prudence—but it also affirms bold obedience.
- Noah did not build a canoe.
- Nehemiah did not patch a single wall.
- Joseph did not store “just enough” grain.
There are moments when faithfulness requires capacity, not minimalism.
Theologian N.T. Wright has written:
“Faith is not opposed to planning. It is opposed to presumption.”
In ministry, presumption is assuming smallness is always virtuous. Wisdom is knowing when capacity itself becomes the ministry.
Free Sacred Trinity Church: Scale in Service of People
For Free Sacred Trinity Church, particularly in its involvement with low-cost housing and SB‑4–related development, the challenge is not theological—it is structural.
The California Housing Ministry is not a volunteer-scale endeavor.
It requires:
- Legal sophistication
- Entitlement processing
- Expert consulting
- Capital stacking
- Long-term operational capacity
- Regulatory endurance
Attempting to address systemic housing scarcity with under-resourced efforts often results in burnout, stalled projects, and missed opportunities to serve.
Historian Barbara Tuchman wrote that large systems collapse not from bad intentions, but from insufficient capacity:
“The failure lies not in purpose, but in preparation.”
For churches engaging housing, adequate scale is not mission drift—it is mission protection.
Optimum Health Institute: Capacity as Compassion
The Optimum Health Institute of San Diego operates in another highly regulated, high-stakes environment: health, wellness, and restorative care.
Health ministry faces unique pressures:
- Compliance and liability
- Facility standards
- Organizational Culture
- Staffing credentials
- Continuity of care
Here, under-resourcing is not humble—it can be harmful.
Medical historian Charles Rosenberg observed:
“Institutions devoted to care must first be capable of sustaining themselves.”
For organizations like Optimum Health Institute, investing in infrastructure, reserves, and professional depth is not corporate thinking—it is pastoral responsibility extended through systems.
Why Decisive Action Often Feels Uncomfortable in Faith Communities
Churches and nonprofits are rightly cautious about:
- Debt
- Large capital campaigns
- Professionalization
- Growth that feels “corporate.”
Yet discomfort alone is not a moral guide.
Historian Martin van Creveld, writing about institutions under stress, noted:
“Organizations fail not because they aim too high, but because they prepare too little.”
In ministry, hesitation often masquerades as humility. But chronic under‑capacity can quietly undermine the very people a mission exists to serve.
Reframing “Big Bertha” for Ministry
For churches and nonprofits, a “Big Bertha” moment does not mean aggression or dominance. It means:
- Building reserves rather than living paycheck‑to‑paycheck
- Hiring professional expertise rather than overburdening volunteers
- Owning facilities rather than remaining perpetually precarious
- Structuring projects to survive leadership transitions
- Designing ministries that endure beyond founders
Sociologist Max Weber warned that missions fail when charisma is not institutionalized:
“What begins in vision must eventually live in structure.”
Structure is not a lack of faith. It is faith made durable.
When Ministries Must Act Decisively
Church and nonprofit leaders tend to reach these moments when:
- Regulatory complexity exceeds informal governance
- Community need outpaces volunteer capacity
- Property or zoning windows are time‑sensitive
- Liability risk threatens mission continuity
- Donor confidence requires institutional credibility
In these moments, over-preparing is often wiser than under-responding.
Historian Eric Hobsbawm observed:
“Institutions endure when they adapt symbols into systems.”
Faith must eventually become form.
The Stewardship Lesson
The adapted lesson of Big Bertha for the ministry is simple but counter-cultural:
There are moments when faithfulness requires scale.
At those moments:
- Reserves are not hoarding—they are protection
- Professional staff are not bureaucracy—they are care
- Capital projects are not ego—they are legacy
- Decisive action is not fear—it is responsibility