byIn my seven to eight years in the ministry (as of the time of this writing), there are many things I have learned on the journey, especially concerning church work. Many people jump with excitement when they get an appointment to serve in the ministry, especially if they haven’t had such an opportunity before. But years into it, they tend to realise that it is more than a privilege; it is full of work that is even more demanding than that of many secular workplaces.
The stress of church work
Every minister with substantial years of experience in the ministry will attest to the fact that ministry requires a lot of sacrifice and work under pressure. Unfortunately, some people aren’t able to bear this, and that leads them to work depressed. According to Pastoral Care Inc., about 35% of pastors battle depression, fear or inadequacy. Think about this!
I think this statistic goes beyond pastors to include other church workers, like administrative secretaries, financial secretaries and media workers. The stress is real because ministry is a spiritual atmosphere and requires more than physical strength to work effectively. If you’ve been in ministry for a while and thought of giving up, know that you are not the first person to have that thought. Many people have had it. But the most essential thing about this is how you deal with it.
Invest in taking care of your spiritual health
In Romans 12:11 (NIV), the Bible says,
“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”
From this verse, it takes a lot of work to keep your spiritual fervour (fire) as a minister so you can serve the Lord. Once you neglect this work and prioritise ministry over it, then the stress and burnout begin to happen. To invest in taking care of your spiritual health, I recommend a few things from scripture to you, which, when you implement them, will help you immensely.
#1 Have daily quiet time with God
The first thing I’ll advise you not to joke about is your daily quiet time with God. Most people like having this time early in the morning, but it shouldn’t be restricted to that time. In fact, you can do it any time within your day, but doing it early morning is best because you are freshly awake and need to connect with God before setting out for the day.
The ministry work never ends. So instead of working so hard to get a burnout, take some rest intermittently to refresh.
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#2 Spend time with God before going to church
Many of the stress several ministers face can be minimised when they spend time with God before going to church. That is recommended for those who work in some areas of the ministry where, under pressure, they cannot participate fully during the church service. Examples are the protocol and media team. If you serve in this area, the church will be seen as a workplace instead of a worship place in no time. So, be wise and spend your time with God separately at home before coming to church.
#3 Consume church media content after church
If you lose a lot of concentration during church service because of your area of service, listening to the media content (such as sermon podcasts and videos) in your free time after the service is recommended. This is especially important for the media team, which usually gets so busy during every church service where there’s streaming.
#4 Take intermittent rests and fasting
Sometimes, the best thing to do to reset your zeal for kingdom service is to take enough rest and fast for a few days. It helped Elijah to battle with depression in the Bible (see 1 Kings 19:5-18), and it can help you. Remember that the ministry work never ends. So instead of working so hard to get a burnout, take some rest intermittently to refresh.
I hope you were blessed.
