This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission from purchased products at no additional cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
The small church culture of burning people out for Jesus needs an overhaul. It’s not healthy and it’s not biblical. We need to start prioritizing rest in ministry.
If it’s been a while since you’ve had a break, and maybe you don’t think that’s even possible, please keep reading. If you lead a team of volunteers, I implore you to lead the way by example. We need more healthy people in small churches. Exhaustion and burnout don’t need to be a part of serving. In fact, they’re a sign of unhealth.
This blog post is for you if:
- You want to lead better.
- You want permission to take a break.
- You’re curious about what rhythms of rest could look like.
- You think taking time off doesn’t fit into your story.
The Importance Of Stepping Away
The act of stepping away will look different for everyone, but one thing will always remain the same regardless of the person. We all have to step away to stay healthy. Jesus modeled this throughout His life, and it’s our job to do the same. This is our first responsibility and is one of the only things that no one else can do for you. You are the only one that can take a moment to take care of yourself and rest.
We don’t have to burn ourselves out for God. In fact, He doesn’t want that for us. He wants us to be healthy, and to be able to serve Him from a place of peace, strength, and health. If you want a healthy ministry, a healthy church, and a healthy life, the change starts from the inside out.
God intentionally created us with limitations. Our biology demands physical, psychological, and spiritual rest. Because of this, when you take a step away regularly, you’ll not only think more clearly, but you’ll have the ability to make better decisions, and you’ll be flooded with more creative ideas and solutions than you ever thought possible when you were in the midst of stress.
Creating Rhythms Of Rest
For me, I’ve changed my goals at different times, but they always relate to a week, a month, a quarter, and a year. At one point in my life, I was taking one full day off a week, one weekend a month, a mini-retreat each quarter, and two weeks a year. If you’re thinking, Laurie, you’re crazy, you don’t know my situation! You’re right. I don’t know all of the details, but I do know that you’re human. I also know that you aren’t facing anything that other humans have not faced. I know that God created us for rest and renewal. Yes, it’s very difficult and sacrifices will have to be made, but I believe it’s possible.
Keep in mind, that your rest can look different each week! Maybe one week you take a full 3 hours, maybe every month you get a full day off of true rest and renewal, away from responsibilities. Please know, that this will look different at different seasons and times in your life. However, you can still create some rhythms of rest each week, month, quarter, and year.
3 Steps Toward Prioritizing Rest In Ministry
1. Make The Decision
The first step toward rest and renewal is actually deciding to prioritize it. This decision should be a no-brainer! I encourage you to share it with someone. There’s a built-in accountability when you tell someone you’ll do something. You could direct message us on Instagram, post in our Facebook community, or even share it with a friend; just decide to do it.
2. Come Up With A Good Plan
I encourage you to start making a plan today. Find time this week, when you are going to be able to step away. Maybe it’s an hour, three hours, or even the whole day. When it comes to making this plan, keep in mind that you are going to have to share it with the people in your circle so that they can understand what you’re doing and why.
3. Follow Through With Your Plan
The decision and the plan might seem tough, but I think they’re a lot easier than actually following through with the plan. You can make countless decisions and plans and still not follow through with them. I want to suggest that you make a list of all the obstacles that are going to come up. Find all the reasons that will pop up for you not to take a step back. This will help you prepare a little bit more and will boost your chances of actually doing it.
If It’s So Hard, Why Do It?
Yes, this is tough. This goes against everything the culture around us is screaming in our ears. I want to unpack the beautiful result that happens when you get healthy and begin building rhythms of rest in your life.
The first thing you’ll start to notice is that you’re able to experience more peace, joy, and clarity of thought. Because of that, your relationships will get better. By taking a step back and prioritizing rest in ministry and in our lives, we begin to increase our capacity. If we start living on full capacity, we become amazingly tolerant, gentle, and forgiving of others and ourselves.
By resting and renewing our souls, we can live and influence at the capacity that God has given us. We can reflect God’s love, grace, gentleness, and self-control better! This isn’t something that happens by default. We have to start prioritizing rest in ministry.
It Starts On The Inside
This solution that I’m proposing to you has nothing to do with changing our circumstances or the people around us. This solution is about us. It all starts within each one of us. I want to encourage you to join me in this. Look at your calendar this week and find the time to rest and renew your soul. Make the decision. Make a plan to pull back and do something life-giving, and actually follow through with it! Keep practicing, get better, and keep working to stay in step with Jesus.
Read More:
Make Your Sabbath Rest A Priority
The Journey To The Address Of Rest
Think You’re Too Busy For Sabbath Rest? Think Again – Small Church Ministry
