Ministry can feel like you are running a race at times. No matter how cautious you are, you can still encounter life crises along the way. The school of experience taught me this a few years ago when my husband and I suffered the loss of our first child. I can remember, as we went through this unexpected trauma, longing for a place where I could “lean in” to find strength.

I do physical performances including mime, unicycling, and circus slapstick. I’m in my 50s and my body does not react the same as when I was in my 20s. In order to do what I do, I need to stay physically fit. Just as athletes train, I also need to physically train so that I can do this performance ministry.

In August of 2014, the Barna group published reliable statistics that were shocking to church leadership. It indicated that the number of Christian men looking at pornography virtually mirrors that of non-Christians. Approximately two thirds of Christian men look at porn on a regular basis (at least once a month).

One of the greatest challenges we can face in ministry is the continued stress that comes from being a leader. People have needs; your supervisor has expectations; you want to be at home with your family; there is never enough ___________ (volunteers, money, time)…. After a prolonged period of feeling the push and pull associated with ministry, leaders can feel beat up.

Actually, anyone who has spent time in ministry (whether full-time, part-time, or volunteer) knows this secret. Ministry is hard, but ministry can be incredibly rewarding at the same time. If we’re not careful, we will get fixated on the hard and miss the reward. Don’t misunderstand me, it’s okay to feel frustrations, sadness, or anger—it’s whether you hold on to them or not that really matters.

No matter how many services you have, Easter is always an incredibly busy time for children’s pastors. We not only face the pressure of wanting our kids to have a lasting experience of God’s grace, but we also have the pressure from our senior pastors of having to display the “perfect” children’s ministry for our first-time guests.