1. It’s time to quit striving to save students. “No one comes to the Father unless the Holy Spirit draws them.” Your overtime hours, answering emails and texts at night won’t be the extra edge needed for students to say yes to Jesus. Do what God has called you to do “with all of your heart and not for men,” but God is doing all the heavy lifting to save students. You are not God. God’s going to get done what He wants done. You only need to be faithful.
  2. It’s time to quit putting ministry before your family, your personal fellowship, and your health. Your family are your most important disciples. Date nights, tucking in your kids, exercising or time in nature, and being in a small group for yourself are your priority. If you aren’t married, although you have more free time to say yes, you still need to practice saying “no” above your 40 hours because your personal and spiritual health depends on personal time with Jesus, your family relationships, sleeping 8 hours, and your friendships.
  3. It’s time to quit hustling. In our chaotic culture, you often must do something radical to get your life back from the algorithms. We all know the adage, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.” Don’t be afraid of what people will think of the pastor going to personal or marriage counseling.  Delete social media—yeah, it can be a helpful tool, but (unpopular opinion here) it’s not necessary to disciple teenagers. Get Covenant Eyes because pornography is destroying lives and families and disqualifying too many pastors from ministry. Work only 40 hours. Don’t check emails or texts at night. Take a weekly sabbath. Don’t go into debt. Make a budget, and live with less, so you don’t need to have a side hustle to pay your bills. Say a holy “no” to good things so you can have greater things—like more peace and quiet, healthier relationships, and the gift of being fully present.
  4. It’s time to quit doing it all and release more to others. Moses’ father-in-law told him to do the same thing. The sermon, game, youth room, or event being your version of perfect won’t save more kids. Craig Groeschel says, “If someone can do it 50% as good as you with potential for growth—delegate it to them.”
  5. It’s time to quit seeking the spotlight and following people in the spotlight. Our culture is obsessed with celebrities, and the Church in America has become similar. I think in most instances, we need to avoid the spotlight, simply be faithful to disciple one more teenager, listen to the Holy Spirit, and tell no one about our accomplishments. Our “well done good and faithful servant” will be so much more satisfying.
  6. It’s time to quit thinking the grass is greener at another church. Have a conversation with your senior pastor about what your priorities should be if you are getting burned out and need to reorient. Unless it’s a clear call from God and you’ve tried to make it work from several different angles, don’t quit.

This month, DYM Gold Member’s got Sabrina’s resource, “The Cross at Christmas: 25-Day Devotional” for free with their membership!

This 25-day Christmas devotional will get your students connected to Jesus over this Christmas season by taking them through almost all of the parables of Jesus. Each day explains the parable, explicitly connects it to the gospel, challenges students with practical application for the holidays, and gives them space to journal what God is speaking to them.

Each day is laid out in an easily accessible format with: Read, Where is Christmas, Reflect, Pray, Apply. The “Where is Christmas?” portion is where we can see the good news in the parable.

Whether you have students who are completely unchurched or have been Christians forever, this resource is a great tool to challenge them, help them understand some of Jesus’ most difficult teachings, and give them some next steps in their relationship with Jesus.

Check it out below: