Being a pastor is not easy, nor routine. Pastoral ministry has a high burnout rate because it is challenging to work with such heavy responsibilities. However, it is also incredibly rewarding when the stressors don’t overshadow the blessings. So, if you want to help your pastor avoid burnout, here are the five top ways.

1.Check Your Expectations

A congregation’s expectations of their pastor can add a lot of unnecessary pressure. A pastor equips and encourages God’s people to do God’s work, but that doesn’t mean he can shoulder the burden of connecting every person to God. Reference Ephesians 4:11-12.

A pastor can intercede in times of crisis or doubt. However, if people rely on their pastor’s sermon to be their only time studying God’s Word or their only way to understand God’s will, they’re missing out. We are each accountable to have our own growing relationship and ongoing growing relationship with God. We can go to our pastor when we need his input or help, but by adjusting our expectations and helping others do the same, we will help him avoid burning out and feeling overwhelmed.

2. Encourage Him

You might be surprised how infrequently pastors receive encouragement. A much more significant percentage of emails and phone calls received are people who disagree with a sermon, a ministry method, or a church policy or practice. These disagreements can turn from civil conversations to attacks against the pastor’s character very quickly. When spiritual matters are involved, it’s easy for people to accuse their pastor of not praying enough, reading Scripture enough, or serving his congregation enough.

If your pastor feels like every time he enters the church building, he’ll have another challenge waiting in his inbox or at his office door; it will quickly start to feel like the church is the one place he doesn’t want to be. You can minimize this feeling by coming up with creative ways to encourage your pastor. For example, send a note, drop off some home-baked cookies, send over a gift card for coffee, take your kids to deliver hand-drawn pictures, or invite your pastor and his wife/family to dinner to spend time with them (with no external agenda in mind).

3. Urge Him to Spend Time with Family

The Bible specifies requirements for those put in church leadership. These lists are in Titus 1:5-9, 1 Timothy 3:1-7, and 1 Peter 5:1-4. Titus states that a church leader should manage his household well. He should be loving to his wife and gentle with his children.

The reality is a pastor cannot manage his own household well if he’s never home. Moreover, if his responsibilities with the church exceed reasonable hours, the church is hurting his ability to fulfill his God-given obligations at home.

Time spent with family is a wonderful way to relax, laugh, and have fun with loved ones. This is a great way to decompress from some of the more stressful parts of ministry. So, encourage him to spend quality time with his family. And if times of family crisis come up, his congregation can support him best by encouraging him to attend first to his family and second to his church responsibilities.

4. Equip Him to Take Time Off

Being a pastor is a much more demanding job than most 9-5 jobs. In a sense, a pastor is never entirely “off-the-clock.” And even when he’s not in the office, the spiritual warfare that comes with a ministry role can be utterly exhausting.

Sometimes, the few vacations or ‘rest’ times a pastor takes are still spent making ministry connections, doing sermon preparation, or taking spiritual retreats to pray about the next season of ministry. There is also a need for vacations that are just for fun. Encourage the pastor to take his kids to a ‘fun for kids’ place or a place their family can enjoy precious time together and make special memories they will carry with them for years to come. Urge him to take his wife on a romantic getaway. Even trips abroad can be quite beneficial. Giving a special financial gift to help with associated expenses is a great way to help equip the pastor to enjoy more rest and special family times.

Keep an eye out for workaholic tendencies in your pastor. If he seems task-oriented, he may not prioritize time off the way he should, leading to unnecessary burnout. He might need extra encouragement to take more personal and family time away. On the other hand, if he knows his congregation values a healthy work-life balance, he will too.

5. Pray for Him

One of the best things you can do for your pastor is praying for him. Yet, it’s easy to forget this when the busyness of life sets in. Even if you do set time aside to pray for him, sometimes it’s hard to know what to pray for. So here is a list of ways you can pray for the leader of your church:

• Pray for strong relationships with family
• Pray for protection against the enemy
• Pray for good time in the Word
• Pray for a responsive heart to the Holy Spirit
• Pray for humility, health, and the fruit of the Spirit in Him

A pastor’s biggest blessing or biggest hindrance can be his congregation. He is not a superhero, and he needs a community to support him as much as we do. Knowing that he has people rooting for him and praying for him will help him avoid burnout and maintain a healthy balance in his life.

Finally

Although pastors are called of God to minister to His people, they’re not immune to life and the challenges it brings. In fact, they may even be more vulnerable to certain difficulties because of their position.

However, they don’t have to bear this burden alone. Scripture tells us that, “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” Proverbs 27:17

And that’s why at R3 Ministry Network, we’ve created a platform where pastors can receive personal strengthening, coaching, and mentorship. It is our sincere desire to be the executive pastor, associate pastor, personal coach, mentor, and a pastor’s resource to help stay the course for ministry.

Contact us and give us the opportunity to partner with you and be a shoulder you can lean on.