The Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom the master will put in charge of his servants…” (Luke 12:42 NASB). Part of being a faithful steward is preparing our businesses to go on, even if we become ill or die suddenly.

A part of our humanness will want to deny this reality, but we cannot do that. We all know that people die unexpectedly or become incapacitated, and that includes business owners! Those who follow are left with either the mess or blessing of the situation. One reason I believe the Lord may limit a business growth is the leader’s failure to consider future succession. The Lord would know a large, growing business is a waste of His resources should everything fall apart in the future.

Peter gave us a model, “And I will be diligent that at any time after my departure you may be able call these things to mind” (2 Peter 1:15 NASB). Peter understood that after planting churches he would need to move on and leave the work to others. Likewise, we need to be diligent in preparing the way for others.

Begin with by maintaining orderly files now so that others can A) understand what you have done and B) find key documents. When our organizational administrative assistant, who also did all our ministry accounting, died unexpectedly, I was able to go through the files and find everything necessary to continue. Simple clear labeling and a master list of all key files, documents, computer passwords, and computer navigation will allow others to pick up the pieces.

Discuss with your spouse what steps would need to be taken in an emergency. A physical therapist suffered a stroke and was unable to communicate for a few weeks. His wife was able to accesses his appointment calendar, reschedule clients to other practices, process customer and insurance company invoices, thus avoiding taking additional losses. Also, their accountant was able to locate necessary files and process other financial work as needed.

If you work with employees, take the step of ensuring they understand how to best work if you are unpredictably absent. Leave instructions and guidance so they can continue working. Confidential information, passwords, and copies of file keys can be left with a spouse, accountant, or other trusted individual to avoid improper access to confidential data.

Don had a business representing several industrial hose manufacturers. When he had a massive heart attack and died suddenly, his wife, Connie, was left with the business. The customer billing was not up to date. As a result, about $15,000 was lost due to the inability to figure which customers should be billed for what merchandise. In addition, most customer information was in Don’s head, not in computer or file records. His computer was password protected and valuable time was lost gaining accesses to the information.

A family friend tried to help Connie organize the business and find a buyer. Sadly, no buyer was interested given the poor situation of the company. Prospective purchasers did not want to buy something without a clear understanding of what they were getting. A possible $100,000 to $150,000 sale of the business was lost, and these funds could certainly have greatly helped the family.

The prophet Isaiah told the king, “Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live” (2 Kings 20:1 NASB). About half of large public corporation lack effective succession planning, and my experience has been that over 80% of small businesses are deficient in planning for their departure.

Ideally, we will be given advance notice when we will meet the Lord and be ready spiritually while having our earthly affairs in good order. However, we may receive no advance notice, so putting our affairs in good order now is a critical part of our legacy.