(FORTUNE Magazine) – FIRST-TIME VISITORS to ServiceMaster's annual meeting last month could be forgiven for thinking they had stumbled into a revival. Held in a large tent, the gathering featured a Scripture reading, a prayer of thanksgiving, and an oration by a 45-year company veteran who referred to his career as a ''life ministry.'' Then the meeting got down to business. And what a business this is. Founded in 1947 by Marion Wade, a minor-league catcher who became a devout Christian and a major-league businessman, ServiceMaster just produced its 21st consecutive year of record revenues and profits. For businesses and institutions, this ''ministry'' mops floors, washes laundry, scours toilets, and runs lunchrooms. For homeowners, its sundry subsidiaries kill pests (Terminix), fertilize lawns (TruGreen), clean homes (Merry Maids), and insure appliances (American Home Shield). ServiceMaster shows how to prosper while taking on two of America's most stubborn challenges: increasing service productivity and developing the potential of ordinary workers. To increase efficiency, it invests heavily in labor-saving tools for even the most mundane tasks. Using ServiceMaster's pump-activated soap-dispensing sponge for washing walls and a lighter-weight mop for floors, workers can clean a hospital room 20% faster than they could just three years ago. But the company's major investment is in people, whom it trains meticulously. Moppers learn to stand straight, pull the mop toward them, and trace an S-shaped pattern on the floor. Good workers can go a long way: The company aims to draw 20% of its managers from the front lines. ServiceMaster preaches a sometimes jarring mix of capitalism and Christianity. Top managers use religion to infuse the organization with a sense of humanitarian purpose. Chairman C. William Pollard, 54, is as likely to quote Jesus Christ as Peter Drucker. Says he: ''When you have people identifying with the mission of the organization, when they see something beyond a paycheck, then they are motivated to do a better job.'' Pollard says the company does not exclude non-Christians, and some are in management. Many people ServiceMaster motivates don't actually work for it. When the company signs on to clean a hospital, it provides managers, tools, and supplies; the hospital furnishes the labor and signs the paychecks. The hospital gets the job done cheaper than it could do it itself. The best workers get a shot at jobs with ServiceMaster. Carma Ernster, 39, started 15 years ago as a cleaner at St. Luke's Methodist Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. ServiceMaster hired her three years later and eventually promoted her to assistant manager of the hospital's 90-person environmental services department. Although the company's roots are in hospitals, its future may be in homes. Budget pressures in health care and education have hurt the management services subsidiary, where net income edged up just 9%, to $54 million, last year. In consumer services, by contrast, net leaped 67%, to $31 million, aided by acquisitions. The company's goal is to sell more than one service to harried homeowners. A TruGreen worker fertilizing your lawn, for example, might suggest using Terminix to kill your termites. In May, ServiceMaster added ChemLawn to its menu of offerings, acquiring the nation's largest lawn care operation from Ecolab for $104 million. But getting customers to accept the notion of ServiceMaster as an all-purpose provider won't be easy. Homeowners often choose suppliers based on the recommendation of a neighbor, not brand loyalty. Another headache for ServiceMaster: controversy over the safety of lawn care pesticides. Still, analyst Lawrence Rader of Merrill Lynch predicts another record year in 1992. Wall Street also endorses the company's plan to transform itself -- by the end of 1997 -- from a limited partnership (an organization whose tax advantages are being phased out) to the corporate form, which is more appealing to institutional investors and should boost the stock. Praise the Lord, and pass the profits.

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