Balancing Ministry Demands with Personal Development

by George Welty

 

Many churches tacitly celebrate their pastors being overworked. We might not say it out loud, but the culture exists: tired equals faithful, busy equals devoted, exhausted equals fruitful. Many in the pews have never glimpsed the inward weight of ministry — the spiritual fatigue, the emotional weariness, and the continual burden of carrying the sacred stories and unseen sorrows of the church. To be in ministry is, in some ways, to grow comfortable knowing most people in the congregation don’t fully understand what you do for a living. Back in my youth ministry days, there was a woman in our church who once asked me, with complete sincerity, “Why do you need a vacation? You just got back from camp!”

If we’re not careful, we will play along. We begin to find our value and identity in how busy we are and how crucial we appear to the function of the church. We keep going. We answer one more email, say yes to one more request, and tell ourselves, or our families, that one day it will all slow down. But that day rarely comes. Just because there is no end to our to-do list doesn’t mean we shouldn’t find paths toward development and rest. We need healthy shepherds, not burned-out pastors.

So how do we find personal and spiritual development amid cluttered calendars, church crises, and full schedules? Like most meaningful change, it begins with a shift in mindset and develops through new habits. Here is one mindset change and three habits that have helped me and may serve as a place for you to begin.

Mindset Change – Sustainability, not balance.

Balance assumes equal weight on both sides, a tidy symmetry between work and rest. Ministry doesn’t work that way. The calling itself resists clear lines. What we need is sustainability, a rhythm that allows for deep engagement without spiritual collapse. Sustainability recognizes that faithfulness includes both diligence and delight, service and stillness.

Habit 1 – Take some time for Sabbath.

The biblical model for this is six days of radical engagement and one day of intentional rest. We all need a day when we drop the church to-do list and stop managing, producing, or fixing anything. A day to allow ourselves to be loved by God without anyone needing us to lead worship, craft a sermon, solve a problem, or check on their grandmother. In Scripture, Sabbath is not a suggestion. It’s not a luxury—it’s obedience.

Habit 2 – Travel. Anywhere. Often.

Take all your vacation days. Every one of them. Take your personal days. Take your sick days. If your church offers to send you to a conference, go. Take your family on a mission trip. Choose intentionally how you spend this time. Make it about what your family needs to refresh, and what you need to return to ministry fully engaged and renewed.

Habit 3 – Meet with a spiritual director.

I’ve been meeting with a spiritual director for about ten years. I can’t fully explain the difference it has made in my own spiritual life and ministry. If you’re unfamiliar with the practice, the job of a spiritual director is to listen for God in your story and listen to God on your behalf. This companionship helps discern God’s presence in your life, nurturing spiritual depth beyond the pressures of ministry. It also provides a confidential space for reflection, growth, and renewal—sustaining the pastor’s soul for long-term ministry.

Healthy ministry doesn’t come from endless productivity but from a grounded soul. When pastors commit to their own formation and rest, they model a sustainable way of life that honors God and strengthens the church.

 

About the Author

George Welty spent twenty-five years walking alongside teens as a teacher, coach, and youth minister. Today, he serves as the Lead Minister at the Northwest Church of Christ in St. Petersburg, FL—though he likes to say he’s really a youth minister for adults. George is passionate about exploring the beauty of God’s story and using his words to invite the curious to join the adventure.