The most important person in your ministry is . . . you!

I know, it sounds kind of self-centered doesnt it? Certainly not the attitude a pastor should be taking! Heres what I mean: as a leader in the church, if you dont choose to take care ofyourself, you wont be a leader in the church very long.

Ministry is difficultvery difficult. After all, the Bible says we (as believers) are in a spiritual battle (Ephesians 6:12), and who better to take out than the leaders in that battle?

With that in mind, the person you need to take care of first is yourself. And that requires being intentional. Doing it on purposewith a clear plan.

Theres lots of ways to plan self-care find one that works for you. For me, Ive tried to keep it simple and base it on a little verse that youve probably heard of that talks about Jesus. Its Luke 2:52 and it goes like this:

Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.

The best way I know to protect myself and keep from stagnating is to grow. I need to constantly be evaluating my own personal growth & health, and this little verse covers all the areas, including:

Mentally am I growing in knowledge & wisdom? Whats my plan to do this? The single greatest way Ive grown in this area is through reading. At first it was overwhelming I tried to read everything all at once and ended up reading very little. Then, early on in my ministry, I committed to reading just 1 chapter a day. Its amazing how many books you can read in a year (about 25 if each book averages 15 chapters). Reading keeps me up to date, thinking and challenged. I read on childrens ministry, leadership, business and, the last few years, technology (Fast Company & Wired magazine are great for this).
Physically the older I get the more I realize the importance of my health. If I am not actively & regularly engaged in exercise, I cant possibly be at my best in ministry, plain & simple. Nor will I be able to engage with my family as I ought to they will more than likely get my scraps, when I am tired and rundown. I must have a plan and be willing to set aside time to exercise, to be careful what I eat, and to get the sleep I need. You are fooling yourself if you think you can ignore your body (or, as the Bible calls it, your temple I Corinthians 6:19-20).
Spiritually I love that the verse says that Jesus grew in favor with God. What an inspiration and aspiration! Heres what Ive learned though we ministry types can live and breathe spirituality so much that our own spiritual lives, our own faith walk, becomes part of our job. Dont let that happen. Your spiritual growth should be fresh & new & invigorating every day. Dont let writing that VBS lesson become your devotions for today. Dont let prepping the talk for Kids Church become your time with God. Sure, any time in the Word is great, but make sure you are being intentional about YOUR time in the Word & in prayer. My ministry should naturally flow from my time spent with God, not vice-versa.
Relationallyour ministry should be all about relationships. Ministry happens best through relationships.We need to grow in our ability to build relationships as leaders. We also need to have healthy relationships in other areas. As men & women we should have deep and meaningful friendships with others outside of our ministries. As spouses & parents we need to have healthy relationships within our families (thats a wholebook, so Ill just mention it here).

Growing personally and being healthy in all these areas must be a priority for any childrens ministry leader. It is so hard because of the demands of ministry. But here is what I would challenge you to do: create a plan to keep yourself healthy (what Ive mentioned here are just a few ideas to get you started), commit to it in terms of your time, energy and resources (commit to at least 6 months), and see how things change. You might need to create some accountability if this has been an area of weakness for you.

I think it is pretty safe to say that, if you stick to your plan to take care of yourself, then those around you from your family to your friends to your ministry colleagues will benefit from your commitment.

The most important person in your ministry is . . . you!