Sustainable ministry requires more than working harder or managing stress. Drawing on biblical rhythms of Sabbath, joy, friendship, and receiving care, Laura Heikes offers practical ways church leaders can embody the patterns of rest they encourage in others.
Self-Care
If you’re reading this, I bet you’re very good at caring for others. I also suspect that like most church leaders, you struggle to receive care. Too often ministry crowds out family dinners, children’s games, hobbies, exercise, and rest. Exhaustion insidiously becomes normal.
It doesn’t have to be like this. It is not God’s design for us to live at full tilt. In creation, God models and later prescribes a rhythm of meaningful work and purposeful rest. It is both: work and rest. Church leaders are called not only to teach this rhythm, but to embody it so that the congregation can see what it looks like to trust God enough to stop working.
Here are a few practices that help shape that kind of life.
Sabbath
In scripture, there are different kinds of rest. Sabbath is the weekly rest God models in creation. Every week, one day is set aside for renewal, for laying down our tools and plans and simply being in this beautiful world, enjoying what we have done and seeing it is “good.”
For church leaders, your day of rest cannot be Sunday. Choose a day that works for your life and your congregation, and name it clearly. When possible, extend this practice to program staff as well. Churches that normalize Sabbath communicate that rest is not a reward for finishing the work, but part of faithful discipleship. One of the most effective practices is to name that a church work week is Sunday-Thursday. Shared rhythms of rest help normalize rest across the church.
On Sabbath, the goal is simple: do not work. Do not prepare, produce, or manage. Trust that God’s work continues without your constant attention. Then lift your head, take a breath, and enjoy this life.
Festival
Scripture also gives us longer rhythms of communal rest and celebration. At festivals, daily work stopped. People traveled together, shared meals, sang songs, and worshiped as they went. These were not only pauses from labor—they were practices of joy. Because they were built into the calendar, no one had to earn them. Everyone stopped together. What if our churches encouraged such spaces of rest for one another?
Your “festival” may not involve Jerusalem, but it can still involve pilgrimage. A beach trip with family. A mountain weekend with hikes and prayer. Sunrise walks. Evenings outside amidst fireflies. These are not luxuries. They are formative rhythms that remind us we are not only workers, but worshipers.
Joy
One of the fruits of the Spirit is joy. Joy does not erase difficulty, but it does reveal what gives life beneath it. Pay attention to what brings you joy. It will likely be as unique as a fingerprint. Some find it in building, others in reading, cooking, hiking, or resting. Make a list of the things that help joy bloom in your soul. Keep it nearby. When you notice a new space of joy, take note, enjoy, and if possible, return to it.
During one busy Christmas season, I happened by our choir rehearsal. They were singing my favorite hymn, and it sounded amazing. I turned back, sat down in the hall, and listened. I realized it might be the only time that season I would hear Christmas music without simultaneously planning, leading, or evaluating worship. I stayed and savored. It was a high point for my soul that Christmas—a space to worship, not lead. I took note. Now, year after year, I find one December evening to “eavesdrop” as the choir rehearses.
God did not create us only to labor in the garden, but to walk in the evening breeze. Do not miss those breezes.
Friendship
Ministry can surround us with people while still leaving us lonely. Friendship is difficult in pastoral life. The role itself can create distance. Time constraints make it harder still. And even when relationships within the church are meaningful, they are still shaped by expectations and roles. It is important to have people who know you apart from your title—to find people who do not need anything from you but friendship and are not looking to you for spiritual answers.
Friendship often grows in spaces where you are not the “Pastor” but simply a participant: trivia nights, sports leagues, gardening groups, book clubs, running groups, or neighborhood gatherings. Step into places where you can simply participate. And when friendships are already present, protect them. Invest in them. They are not secondary to ministry; they are part of what sustains it.
Even at a distance, friendship can be a lifeline. Some of my closest friends live far away, but we stay connected through daily voice memos—small, ordinary conversations that keep us anchored to one another.
Receive Care
Church leaders are often excellent at visiting, praying, listening, and bringing meals, but are often hesitant to receive those same gifts. When was the last time you let someone help you? Pray for you? Listen to you?
To care for yourself, make sure you have a place where you are regularly heard, prayed for, and supported. This may be a spiritual director, therapist, or clergy peer group. We encourage these spaces for others; we also need them ourselves. Find places where you can speak honestly—where you can confess, doubt, grieve, and process without carrying the expectations of others.
Healthy ministry is not sustained by working harder. It is sustained by a meaningful rhythm of work and rest, service and joy, giving and receiving. These practices do more than prevent burnout. They shape us into leaders who trust that God remains at work even when we stop. In that rhythm, we discover again that before we are pastors, teachers, or leaders, we are God’s beloved children.
We love to hear from our readers! If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions about this article, please leave a voice message directly from your computer, tablet, or smartphone via Speakpipe. You may also email lewiscenter@wesleyseminary.edu or leave a comment on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Bluesky.
Related Resources
- Self-Care is an Act of Faith by Dontá McGilvery
- Workaholics Aren’t Heroes by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
- 4 Rhythms of Rest for the Weary in Ministry by Laura Heikes
- The Faith to Rest by Cary Humphries
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