“90% of the people entering ministry DO NOT RETIRE from ministry, they either quit or have some sort of moral/ethical failure that disqualifies them.” – Perry Noble
What a staggering number, 90%! That 90% number is for those who work in ministry as their vocation but I believe this statistic is just as important for people who are volunteering at a church, or a ministry, in any capacity. We are not only giving our time on a specific day/night of the week but also working or going to school full or part time. We all have a lot on our plates when we are serving God so it is important that we do not fall into that percentage of people who quit or have a major moral failure along the way. In other words Burnout!!!!
The word burnout means “the reduction of a fuel or substance to nothing through use or combustion.” It can also mean “physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress.” Both definitions are applicable when it comes to ministry burnout
Have you ever gotten tired of ministry I don't mean ministering; I mean going from this meeting to that meeting, this program to that program, visiting this person then that person, answering the phone in the middle of dinner, answering the phone in the middle of the night, getting a phone call on vacation, etc., etc., etc. There seems to be no time for yourself or your family.
Those in ministry need lots of prayer, because there are those times when they can become overwhelmed. When the pressures of ministry coupled with the pressures of life become too much; ministry becomes inconvenient; serving God becomes inconvenient.
Pray for those who minister to you!
What a staggering number, 90%! That 90% number is for those who work in ministry as their vocation but I believe this statistic is just as important for people who are volunteering at a church, or a ministry, in any capacity. We are not only giving our time on a specific day/night of the week but also working or going to school full or part time. We all have a lot on our plates when we are serving God so it is important that we do not fall into that percentage of people who quit or have a major moral failure along the way. In other words Burnout!!!!
The word burnout means “the reduction of a fuel or substance to nothing through use or combustion.” It can also mean “physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress.” Both definitions are applicable when it comes to ministry burnout
Have you ever gotten tired of ministry I don't mean ministering; I mean going from this meeting to that meeting, this program to that program, visiting this person then that person, answering the phone in the middle of dinner, answering the phone in the middle of the night, getting a phone call on vacation, etc., etc., etc. There seems to be no time for yourself or your family.
Those in ministry need lots of prayer, because there are those times when they can become overwhelmed. When the pressures of ministry coupled with the pressures of life become too much; ministry becomes inconvenient; serving God becomes inconvenient.
Pray for those who minister to you!
Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash
A Prayer for Those in Ministry
by Ken Untener
It helps, now and then, to step back, and take the long view.
The Kingdom of Heaven is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying
That the Kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.
We will plant the seeds that one day will grow,
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything,
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but everything is a beginning,
a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
But that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are the workers, not master builders, ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future of our own.
May that future be filled with grace, peace, and hope. Amen.
by Ken Untener
It helps, now and then, to step back, and take the long view.
The Kingdom of Heaven is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying
That the Kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.
We will plant the seeds that one day will grow,
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything,
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but everything is a beginning,
a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
But that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are the workers, not master builders, ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future of our own.
May that future be filled with grace, peace, and hope. Amen.
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