Many of us have been there. Overcommitted, undertrained, stressed out, unthanked, unfulfilled and lacking joy.
Some of you might be saying "Hey Ted! You haven't even had your first service yet. Don't think it's a little premature to be talking about burnout?"
I don't think it's ever too early to talk about burnout. At Harvest Brampton we want to be a people who are sold out for Jesus Christ and have a burning passion to love and serve Him. I know that many of us want this as well, but in the back our minds, the question lingers, “How can we serve sacrificially in this new church without burning ourselves out in 3 months?” Maybe past experiences in serving as a part of a church have made you a little gun-shy when it comes to getting on board with Working for Christ at Harvest Brampton.
Well, before we even get started, let me take a pre-emptive strike and outline our plan to make sure that we are Building a Burning Passion for Jesus Christ and Beating Burnout.
If you’re still checking Harvest out, you can just file this blog post under FYI, but if you call Harvest Brampton your home church and are committed to being a part of our body, you need to take seriously your own participation in this plan. We’re looking for each committed member of our core to sacrifice by missing out on our adult service for 2 out of 6 weeks. Like all sacrifices in the kingdom of God though, the blessing far outweighs the cost. Our blessing will include seeing the hearts of people of all ages warm to the gospel through the work of the Holy Sprit in their lives.
We’re looking for our core to commit to:
2 weeks serving on our welcome ministry
2 weeks serving in our children’s ministry
2 weeks of worshipping at Harvest with no formal responsibilities.
I know that some people will be saying "2 weeks in Children's ministry? I'm committed to serve, but do I have to serve there?" The short answer is yes. The long answer is found below.
Some of you might say “But I don’t have the gift of Children’s ministry?”
To that I say, Search the Scriptures! There is no spiritual gift of children’s ministry! In fact, just about every spiritual gift is needed in order to make Children’s ministry happen. We need people with the gift of helps, mercy, faith, evangelism, leadership, administration, discernment, teaching and exhortation. Getting on board with this program, does not mean you’ll be the one singing the B.I.B.LE. at the front or telling the Bible story using a felt board. Running a great children’s ministry requires all kinds of roles for all kinds of people!
Also consider the numerous commands God gives to His people pass on the truths of God’s word to the next generation.
Take a look two of them.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
Psalm 78:5-7 He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments;
Of course, the primary responsibility for the discipleship of children outlined in these texts lies on the parents, but the church at large needs to take this command very seriously and come alongside parents as they seek to raise their children in the fear of God.
Also consider the promises given to those who receive children.
Mark 9:37 "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me."
This is an amazing promise. When you help a family at the registration desk, or help a child with his or her coloring sheet, you are actually treating that child as though he or she is Jesus. Those who serve in Children’s ministry don’t “miss out” on worshipping Jesus by working in a class room instead of going to the service. They worship Him, by welcoming and loving children in His name.
Lastly, keep in mind that part of Christian discipleship is learning to become like a child.
Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child” (Mark 10:15) and "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3).
How can we expect to become like children if we’re not spending any time with children? Consider the following quotation from John Piper.
"One thing to watch for when assessing a person’s spiritual fitness for ministry is how he or she relates to children. Put a child in the room and watch. That is what Jesus did to make His point. Children are the litmus paper to expose the presence of pride.... Receiving a child into your arms in the name of Jesus is a way to receive Jesus. And receiving Jesus is a way to receive God. Therefore how we deal with children is a signal of our fellowship with God."(1)
The answer for all of us in the fight against burn out is to get fired up about serving. The key words in that statement are "all of us". We all need to share the responsibility God has placed on the family and on the church to disciple children. The more we each embrace that task, the stronger we will be as a church. If more and more of us say "I'm all in", then less and less of us will burn out and our whole church will grow as disciples with burning passions for Christ!
No more 20/80, let's go for 100/100!
(1) John Piper “Jesus and the Children: Pondering Children as Pride Detectors” in Taste and See: Savoring the Supremacy of God in All of Life. (Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah, 2005), pg. 172.