Fight for Two Days Off

For 10 years I was on staff at a large church with lots of kids and lots of responsibility. My wife and I quickly got married and had three kids almost back to back. The church was growing even faster going from 200 to 2,000 people in the matter of a few short years. At one time we were up to eight weekend services. I was often doing the work of what required 2-3 full-time people. It was crazy! The staff, like most growing churches, had one day off a week and I was at church 2-3 nights a week.

I needed a break and took a year and a half off full-time ministry. For the majority of that time, I simply attended church. It was a great time to reconnect with God, my family and recharge my passion for reaching kids.

Recently, I accepted a position as the Children’s Ministry Director in La Jolla. Picked up my family from the only home they knew in Louisiana and moved halfway across to southern California.

I’ve learned a lot over the last year and half. One HUGE thing is to set boundaries when it comes to my schedule. I do about half or less the amount of events, team meetings, etc. than I did in the past. I focus on doing a few things with excellence rather than offering lots of programs that are somewhat effective. The two things I focus on are Sunday and midweek. I spend about 90% of my time on that and the other 10% on anything else.

Another critical priority is having two days off every week. I wouldn’t even interview with a church if I didn’t have two days off. At my new job, I get Friday and Saturday completely off. For a year and a half before that I had off on Saturday and Sunday. For 10 years previous to that, I didn’t know what it felt like to be normal and have an entire weekend to do chores, hang-out with friends and be with family. I barely caught my breath after one day off. Now, having had this schedule for two years, I realize how critical it is for my emotional, spiritual and relational well being. Because I had such a passion for my work, it never bothered me on a conscience level. But the effects were there. A strained relationship with my wife and kids, emotional instability and an unbalanced lifestyle are just a few.

My advice is to fight for two days off, preferably consecutively. It was too late for me by the time I left my first church. I needed a year and half off! Don’t make the same mistake. Go to your senior pastor or supervisor and collaborate on a way to make it happen. Maybe it means paying somebody to oversee your responsibilities on Saturday night. Or maybe you can recruit a volunteer Saturday night team. Or maybe you come up with another creative solution. If it doesn’t work out, don’t compromise. Find another job somewhere else if you need to. Research shows that over 50% of people n full-time ministry don’t make it past 5 years. Many reasons are to blame, but one of them is not having enough time for yourself and family. Fight for two days off or you’ll pay for it in the long run!