burnout in ministry Archives - Church Operations Toolkit

How to Protect Church Staff from Burnout

As leaders, sometimes we need to protect our team members from themselves. The individuals who regularly stay late to wrap up a few tasks, who take on the toughest assignments, and practically live at the church need your help. While their dedication and work ethic is admirable – ministry is a marathon, not a sprint. Running at a sprinter’s pace will keep team members from being able to stay healthy and strong over the long haul. Thankfully, it doesn’t require significant costs or efforts to protect church staff from burnout. Here are seven tips to protect church staff from burnout: Tip #1: Set clear expectations If not, they’re trying to guess what you want and what success looks like. It’s really hard to hit a target you can’t see. Don’t make them guess. Document a job description and include key measurements or examples of what you expect to see. Tip #2: Check in regularly Conduct a weekly one-on-one meeting with those who report to you. Tip #3: Go home on time Here’s the deal: Your staff members probably feel like they can’t leave the office until you do. He’ll think I’m not willing to put in the hours. She’ll think I’m slacking off if I leave at 5pm. Go home and save your team from feeling like they have to stay late. This also sets an example for them that spending time with family is more important than finishing up another task. They’re watching how you manage your time including how you prioritize your family and your own health. Set a positive example for them to follow. Tip #4: Ask questions When you assign a task or new project to a staff member, ask a few questions before you let them go. Also, if you’re making a last-minute change, please ask about the impact of that change. Some staff members will start working on it without telling you how much additional effort is required because they don’t want to come across as questioning your decision. However, you may not realize that what you just asked him to do will take five hours of rework with an already full schedule before the deadline. If it’s still important enough to make the change, then let him know why it’s important. If that change isn’t worth several hours of rework and staff staying late at the office, then discuss other options to achieve the goal without wreaking havoc on the team. Tip #5: Create a culture where it’s okay to ask for help and raise concerns Make sure your staff members know that it’s safe to say, “I’m drowning over here and need help!” Now, of course, they should manage their time wisely and work hard while at work. Assuming that’s the case, realize they’re taking a risk when asking for help. Will he think I’m not capable? Will this make her question my dedication to the church? Address their concerns and let your team know you’d rather them ask for help before they fall behind schedule or burn out. Tip #6: Don’t send messages after hours I know it’s convenient to send off a quick text message or email at 8pm when you think of a question for your youth pastor. However, that sends a subtle message that you expect a response right away. Do you want your team responding to messages late at night OR spending time with family? Instead, enter a note on your phone or write it down somewhere so you won’t forget the question. You could even draft the email but wait until the next morning to send it out. Also, consider the message this sends to your team. Even though you may have had a quick thought about work before bedtime stories with your kids, they don’t know that. They may think you’re working late on a regular basis. Then they’ll think they should be working those hours as well. Tip #7: Provide training Your team may need training on how to manage their time and energy more effectively. They may need training on certain skills needed for their job. Training can equip someone to be more efficient and produce higher quality results. We all feel inadequate for an assignment on occasion. By offering training and guidance as needed, you’re supporting a team who’s working to support you and the vision of the church. While your staff members are responsible for how they approach their work and manage their time, you can have a significant impact on their longevity in ministry. Use these tips to protect church staff from burnout and help them thrive in ministry for the long haul.

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What Causes Ministry Burnout?

Jake Douglas

We tend to think ministry life will consist of serving God faithfully, seeing people come to Christ, and stewarding a growing church. Unfortunately, serving on staff at a church can often become stressful, overwhelming, and all-consuming. For many people, this leads to ministry burnout. If you’ve wondered how much longer you can last in ministry, you’re not the only one. A quick search on “ministry burnout” turns up over 3.5 million results. From Carey Nieuwhof to Ed Stetzer and others, more church leaders are openly discussing the issue of burnout (many with their own experiences). Most of the resources I’ve found focus on the burnout of pastors. As the senior pastor is the key leader in a given church, if he burns out there’s a significant impact on the entire staff and congregation. Pastors also have the burden of “the buck stops here,” which contributes to their potential for burnout. However, there’s also the danger for church staff and even volunteers to burnout. While there are unique challenges that only the senior pastor faces, there are several common issues that can lead to burnout for anyone working in ministry. Factors that contribute to ministry burnout: #1 – Working for God…not always with God #2 – Unrealistic expectations #3 – Isolation #4 – Lack of Vision Clarity How to Prevent Ministry Burnout Tip #1: Delegate Delegate to whom? Great question. Even if you don’t have any staff reporting to you, you still have delegation options. You may have individuals within your congregation who could help a few hours a week with administrative tasks. Delegate the easier stuff first – tasks that take up your time but don’t require much training to pass on to someone else. Another option could be a virtual assistant. You can contract out specific tasks and pay for the hours you need. Another option is to find online tools or resources that offer shortcuts to the information or processes you need to implement. The Church Operations Toolkit includes templates, how-to guides, and expert interviews that can save you time and money. Tip #2: Prioritize Review your calendar for the last few weeks. What does that tell you about what’s most important? After all, what we schedule tends to be what gets done and therefore shows what’s most important to us. Does your calendar align with what you say is most important to you? While it may feel like it, not everything is urgent and important. End each day by creating a to-do list for the next day. You close out that day’s work and set yourself up for a solid start the next. Recognize upfront that you’ll never really get to the end of your to-do list. This isn’t accepting defeat; it’s facing reality. Prioritize your list and work on the highest impact, most valuable tasks first. Tip #3: Leave Work and Disconnect How many evenings did you work late last month? Your relationship with your family plus your physical health will take a hit if you’re working late too often. There will be busy seasons, but those should be seasons, not every day. This is much easier to say than do, but it’s important to say “no” to work (even church work), so you can say “yes” to your family. I like how Eric Geiger puts it in his post, Four Reasons Burnout Is More Prevalent in Ministry Leadership: “In most roles, overwork feels sinful and neglectful. In ministry, overwork can wrongly feel holy. After all, you are “doing all these things for the Lord and for people.” Some leaders struggle to say no because doing so would feel like denying ministry to people. Leaders can justify all the hours in their minds, the neglect of their own souls, and the neglect of their families. Ministry can attract workaholics and give them a reason to justify their addiction.” Turn off your cell phone and stop checking email after a particular time each day. You need a few hours each evening to decompress, spend time with your family and friends, and recharge. Let your colleagues know what you’re doing and who they can call in case of an emergency. By the way, you probably need to define “emergency” as “the church is on fire” or “someone passed away.” Tip #4: Invest in Your Relationship with God We all need time with God for the sole purpose of listening, learning, and enjoying His presence. It’s easy to try and justify not having personal time with God if you’ve already spent several hours preparing for a message. While I’m sure you benefitted personally from that time, it can’t fully replace time invested in focusing on your relationship with God. Take one day a week to do absolutely nothing related to your job. Play with your kids, take your spouse out on a date, go for a jog, sleep in, etc. Rest and invest in activities that restore your mind, body, and soul. You’ll be more effective and productive later as a result. Tip #5: Reward What You Value What do you praise or reward with your team? Working long hours or productivity that comes from planning ahead, making long hours unnecessary? Work with your team to plan, hold each other accountable to deadlines, and streamline processes. Tip #6: Leave Breathing Room Do you have any time scheduled (as in a meeting on your calendar) with yourself to think, plan, or dream? If not, start carving out time for this activity. This is time for you to consider the projects and tasks ahead in the light of the vision/mission of your church and considering whether you’re working on the right things that will help you achieve that vision. It’s time to think about your staff and volunteers…to consider how you’re leading them and what to encourage or correct. This time looks like the opposite of productivity, but this is where the magic happens. It’s where you realize you’re running in the wrong lane and need to make a course

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