This week I’m blogging about a presentation I gave to West Michigan area youth workers about the ten dumbest things I’ve ever done in student ministry. Over the last few days, I’ve posted about the dangers of being a student ministry rock star and trying to be amazing at everything. I’ve broken my dumb mistakes down into three categories: burned out, ineffective and disqualified. Here’s my #8 dumbest mistake:
Burned Out
8. Over Scheduled
When I began my first student ministry job, things in the high school ministry weren’t exactly firing on all cylinders. They guy who was the youth pastor before me is a great guy but for whatever reason, he and the church didn’t click. To put it bluntly, the high school ministry was basically dead when I was hired. I felt an enormous amount of pressure to revive the ministry, so I went all in. We’re talking three programs a week–all year long, two fun events a month, three retreats a year and 3 mission trips a year. Oh yeah! Maybe that doesn’t sound nuts to you, but it is. Trust me.
Did my approach work? You bet! The attendance jumped up, the church leadership and parents were pumped, it was a huge win…for a while. Then, I completely fried. I exhausted myself. The truth is, no one can maintain a schedule like that.
I distinctly remember the moment when I realized how over-committed and exhausted I was. It was a Sunday morning. I was sitting at my kitchen table in a panic because in a mere two hours, I would stand before 100+ students and preach a sermon I didn’t have. I had no plan whatsoever. I had been so busy during the week that I hadn’t studied, written or practiced anything. This was bad.
Needless to say, that Sunday morning sucked. In the aftermath, as I came to terms with the fact that I had neglected my most important duty, I finally realized that I needed to cut back. I had created a monster I couldn’t maintain. Yes, the student ministry was rocking but the pace and schedule had crushed my soul.
The thing about profound exhaustion is that it doesn’t go away overnight. When you are exhausted on a soul level, you need a season of rest. Sadly, I couldn’t recover in the role I was in. In the end, I quit and took a new job that had a much smaller focus. My new job was team oriented and specialized. Also, the student ministry wasn’t schedule heavy. The sad thing is, the church I left is a great church, with solid leadership and great people. I was the one who created the problem with my unrealistic expectations and over-committed schedule.
If I could do it all over again, I would use one word to govern my student ministry practices; sustainability. A sustainable pace and schedule is absolutely crucial to longevity in ministry, and longevity is crucial to effective ministry. I firmly believe that great student ministry takes years to grow. Our students desperately needs pastors and volunteers who will commit to them for years at a time.
Is your schedule sustainable? Are you sprinting toward exhaustion? Cut back! Slow down! Great student ministry takes time to develop and what we do is far to important for us to burn out. Take the long view and run at a sustainable pace.
image credited to Dafne Cholet via Flickr
