The Issue of Ministry Fatigue

What is the most important asset for a healthy church? Is it the building? Is it the location? Is it their social media presence? Obliviously, the answer to the question is the people, specifically people who are dedicated to a lifestyle of selfless and humble submission to God’s calling and plan for their lives. These people are the most important and most effective assets a church can have. Those are the people that are going to live with integrity, share the gospel boldly, and serve joyfully. People like this truly exemplify the fruits of the Spirit and are the living embodiment of the Christian described in Romans 12.

These people, however, are harder and harder to find in many churches and are becoming less and less actively involved in ministry. They are still there and as described previously, but they are burned out, ill-equipped, discouraged, and often feel alienated by their church, their ministry, or even their pastor. Many serve selfless for years, sometimes decades, look around and come to the conclusion that, they are forgotten or their effort is futile. This is much more prevalent in single service churches, where the church only has one service per week. Because they serve week in and week out, they often are not engaging with people outside their specific ministry, and if they do, it is often a shallow conversation. They often are not in service, do not get to worship, listen to the weekly message, or partake in fellowship regularly. The end result is they serve for a period of time, step down, then leave for a different church where they aren’t expected to do anything. If they stay, they will never be nearly as involved as previously and will often refuse to serve, fearing a repeat of previous experiences.

It is important for churches to understand that the underlying issue doesn’t stem for the people who leave or are frustrated, but with leadership and the organization. These people want to serve, they want to have an impact, but a person can only do something continuously before fatigue presents itself, not only physical fatigue but mental fatigue. The root of the issue misaligned focus of leadership. In many churches, the main focus is on what is going on in ministry and programming. When you sit through management meeting, the conversation is often related on what events are being scheduled, the lesson plan, how many people attended, and other questions related to what the ministry is doing, forgetting the people who are ministering. On the contrary, if churches took the time and focused on what the ministers need, they can invest in and empower them, ultimately eliminating the primary reasons people stop serving. If the people serving receive the investment of training, rest, encouragement, and interaction, they are often more effective when they serve. From personal experience, when a church serves those who serve, people are less likely to experience burnout and want to serve in ministry more effectively for longer periods of time.