youth pastor life Archives - Blog | Download Youth Ministry Blog

1 Apr 2024

Post Easter Recovery Guide

By Ronald|2024-04-01T04:25:16-07:00April 1st, 2024|Youth Pastor Life|9 Comments

Happy Easter Monday! I pray you had a great time celebrated the resurrected Jesus. That’s what youth ministry is all about! But let’s be real, you’re probably exhausted. Your church may have had a few more services than normal, a few more responsibilities got put on your plate, and you may have been asked to be Jesus in the Easter pageant because you’re the only one on staff who can grow a beard.

So, how do you recover from a really busy and hectic Easter season?

You can do a few things TODAY to help you reset, recharge, and avoid burnout.

Go Home!

No seriously. Get out of the office. Go home. You may have worked more than many hours at the office this last week. And if you attended a lot more services than normal, you have banked more than enough for a personal day. Take it. You’ll never be totally ready for a day off and never “get that time back”, so go home. Right now.

Turn Off Your Phone

Don’t just put it on “do not disturb,” but turn it off for an hour—just one hour free of notifications, dings, and emergencies. Take that time to pray, listen to music, read scripture, and reconnect with God. We use most of Easter to encourage and teach others. It’s possible we didn’t quite take anything in ourselves, so use this chance to reconnect.

Touch Grass

Easter services are a blast. We get to celebrate the Risen Savior and rejoice! We also probably did a lot of that under fluorescent lights and under the roof of our buildings. So get outside. Go for a walk. Maybe even take off your shoes and touch the ground. There’s something about nature that helps me reconnect with God. Being outside reminds me of how big God is, whether under a canopy of trees or looking at the expanse of the sky.

Reconnect with Students

Recharging can also mean reconnecting with people! Easter may have meant seeing some students you haven’t connected with in a while. After you turn your phone back on, send three texts just to say you were glad to see these students around! Let them know how much seeing them made you smile.

Ok! Now, you might be ready to dive back into the race and work of student ministry. Just remember to take moments to pause and see who God is. Let’s not miss Easter because we were so busy showing Easter to others.

Blessings to you all!

Are you feeling a little burnt out and not sure what to do next for youth group after a crazy busy season? Consider giving Coleader a look! Lessons planned, games already chosen, songs selected. It’s a ton of helpful tools for you, the youth pastor, to get back to ministering to students!

Bloom

By Josh Griffin|2017-03-05T22:21:40-08:00March 6th, 2017|Leadership|0 Comments

I have a hard time being patient waiting for the next thing. I’m not a sustainer. I’m an entrepreneur, a builder, a pioneer. I don’t wait well. My eyes wander for more and bigger crowd what’s next. I continually fight my brokenness and insecurities inside that want to be recognized for achievements and accolades and accomplishments. To stay focused on today seems like a waste.

This simple phrase has become one of my life mantras:

Bloom where you’re planted.

I find myself uneasy about my current situation. I think about what’s next at the expense of today. I don’t focus my energy and passion in the present, and I think that’s a mistake. Here’s why:

You are here TODAY
Remember back to when you got the job. It was so vivid, you were so full of vision, anticipation and excitement. They were going to PAY you to do this? What!? But that was then – now there’s frustration with the leadership, the tension with your supervisor and your audience seems impossible to please. Why not start thinking about what’s next? Because God has called you TODAY to THIS place. Serve like you’re going to be there the rest of your life. So love like it, lead like it and refuse to let circumstances distract you from the high calling you’ve been given.

Your TOMORROW depends on this moment
Is it time to leave? Maybe so. Is it possible God is removing some of the comforts and passion to help you see His guidance for your next steps? Sure. But know that God has tomorrow taken care of and pray for wisdom and guidance on where you go from here. Trust in Him, don’t manipulate your future or convince yourself you must manage your career and occupation. If you’re unfaithful or fizzle out here it will affect your next step forward, too.

So regardless of what Is next … bloom where you’re planted today! Throw yourself into your mission like it was your first day. Try something new. Break something that is good to fight for it to be made great. Serve with reckless abandon. Run toward that conflict and work to resolve it. Forget about speaking in front of thousands, writing a New York Times best-seller and being the Next Big Thing™. Serve your people. Just bloom.