5 PASTOR TIPS FOR A STRESS-LESS EASTER

Easter is a joy-filled, hopeful time in churches all around the world. It’s a celebration of all we live for–Christ crucified and risen again.

But in the practical expression of this holiday, pastors and ministry leaders can often end up feeling overwhelmed and stressed with the details and magnitude of the work. At Church Base, we’ve come up with five tips to help our community of pastors and leaders encounter peace instead of stress.

We hope you find these tips helpful:

1. Find a time to rest and reflect the day before your services.

A lot of pastors plan intentional time to rest after their Easter services, but do you plan a time of rest before the weekend?

Whether you hold your Easter services on Saturday or Sunday, it’s important to walk into your weekend rested and focused. It can be hard to carve out time with all the details and extra work of the special celebration, but even the smallest intentional choice can have a big impact on your peace.

Here are a few of our favorite suggestions from our community of pastors:

• Take a walk outside with a family member, friend, or pet.
• Eat a delicious meal with people you love.
• Listen to worship music. If you’re musical yourself, dust off that guitar and spend some dedicated time in worship.
• Read through an old prayer journal to reflect on God’s goodness and faithfulness.

We can obsess over stress, so break that mentality with rest and reflection before you go into your weekend services and holiday plans.

 

2. Start your day off right.

Easter Sunday usually begins bright and early for ministry leaders. And, like the women who visited the tomb that first Easter morning, you can also begin the day by approaching Jesus.

Even if it means waking up just a little earlier (which might be challenging for pastors with Sunrise Services), it’s worth it to start the day in personal prayer and Bible reading. Lay your stress down at the foot of the cross and pick up the peace we find in Jesus.

Remember, Jesus wants to walk with you through the day. Open your heart and mind to His presence first thing in the morning.

 

3. Ask for help.

Sometimes, we’re only as strong as the team surrounding us.

We all need people in our lives who help and support the vision. The challenge for some of us, however, is in asking for help. We may want the support and assistance…but hesitate to make the ask. And without the request for help, our team, however good intentioned, may miss the fact that we need extra support.

Here are some factors that keep pastors from asking for help:

• Not wanting to burden the people we’ve been called to serve.
• Not wanting to seem incapable or to fall short.
• Believing no one can accomplish a task as well as we can.
• Past disappointment or rejection that keeps us wary.

Each of these reasons presents a real stress-inducing challenge to consider. But we encourage you to open your heart to help this Easter. Find your support crew and ask for help so you can accomplish bigger things than you could ever do alone.

 

4. Have a clear path for newcomers.

One of the biggest opportunities of Easter is the chance to meet new guests and visitors. This holiday weekend inspires many to attend a church service who normally wouldn’t. It’s an exciting way to make connections with people in your community and beyond.

If you’re feeling stressed about welcoming your newcomers, begin by considering what your big goals are when it comes to guests. Do you hope to gather contact information? Invite newcomers to a gathering? Encourage guests to sign up for a small group? Once you decide your big goal(s), you can communicate a clear path for newcomers.

One helpful tool on this path is a customized church app, which allows you to gather contact information in a simple, easy process. With your church app, you can continue to build a relationship with your guests through notifications, blog articles, event registrations, and more.

Want to build a church app for free? Start here!

 

5. Wait to review.

Finally, decrease the stress you (and your staff) feel by waiting to do your post-service review. Likely, every person from the senior pastor to the children’s volunteer is exhilarated from the Easter service, but they might also need a break to recover from the effort.

No matter how much you want to dig into what went well…and what needs improvement…make sure everyone on your team is in a good place mentally, emotionally, and spiritually before diving into that process. You want the review process to be a productive and effective step for growth and reflection. Set it up to succeed by waiting for the right moment.

With these 5 Pastor Tips for a Stress-Less Easter, we hope and pray you can discover new depths of joy and peace this Easter weekend.

At Church Base, we’re rooting for the pastors, ministry leaders, and volunteers who make church a living reality. We’re here to support you as you do great work in your community. Read more about our mission today.