10 Strategies to Prevent Staff Burnout

Burnout is a thing. The challenges and burdens of life and ministry can bring deep fatigue that, if not addressed, could lead to disillusionment at best and self-destruction at worst. There is a responsibility that senior leadership must give holistic support and encouragement to those on staff so that not only is the mission advanced, but the staff is flourishing. This article is not about a theology of burnout and how to address it¹. It is, however, a call for those in senior leadership to consider the following strategies and how they relate to a desire to direct the church staff in a meaningful and healthy way.

Set Clear Objectives

Stress can come when a staffer takes more responsibility for ministry efforts that are not theirs. To help with focus and effectiveness, senior leadership should constantly review and communicate a staffer’s responsibility. The staffer can then differentiate between their area of concern and responsibility. Burnout can quickly come when a staffer feels responsible for areas of ministry in which they have inadequate oversight and resources. Clear communication and accountability of responsibilities also help the staffer prioritize work when the task list seems insurmountable. This helps the staffer to focus and combat the fears of not doing enough or being enough.

Create a Culture of Margin

Who has the margin? Nobody. People should be encouraged and trained to know when to take a break or re-focus. This is dependent upon the person and their season of life. I know because I have heard it so many times: “Are you concerned that your employee will take advantage of the situation and not get as much done?” I haven’t found that to be the case. People who go into ministry are more likely to overwork than other workers. If there is a clear goal and objective, we should trust our people to find the pathway for productivity that best fits their capacities. Having the freedom to rearrange a work week or a day to accommodate plate-spinning will inevitably give the staff members confidence that when they are stretched in ministry, they will always have the welcomed opportunity to take a time-out.

Design Rhythms of Reflection

Reflection is an art form. It takes preparation and planning to have your heart and mind in a place that benefits from life-giving times of reflection: where you have been, where you are, and where you hope to go. It takes one in executive leadership to embed reflection into ministry mobilization and the ministry calendar. The design should be holistic, emphasizing opportunities for personal and vocational reflection. If reflection and assessment are always about the program, the staff members may see themselves as successful or failing in a ministry effort. Scheduling these kinds of activities helps each staffer understand their rhythms of life and ministry better, giving a place to assess and address stressors when they come.

Encourage Education

Education is enriching. Spending regular time as a staff considering an article, book, or podcast can bring perspective and inspiration to everyday ministry life. The dredges of burnout come from drawing from a well that feels dry. Filling the minister’s well with helpful resources is valuable for everyone. This develops the heart of a lifelong learner and trickles down to the congregation. Although strenuous, formal education develops capacities that are functional for the demands of ministry. Ministers are constantly being asked to give helpful support and care to others. It is essential to resource your team with as much educational support as possible. Senior leadership can do the extra work by proactively developing the staff with the educational support that brings inspiration and innovation to life and ministry.

Develop a Team of Teams

Organizational leadership that designs working teams to accomplish ministry objectives can diversify burden and develop innovations that one individual couldn’t achieve independently. Review your ministry workflow and regularly address any centralizations that a team effort could complement. A healthy ministry model is not simply divided into teams but into teams that work together with other teams to accomplish the whole. No one team can achieve everything, but when teams are interdependent with other ministry teams, it develops greater effectiveness and protects against silos. The senior leadership must work to have all the teams understand and recognize what each team is responsible for and promote intra-team dynamics that benefit the whole. This ensures that the whole ministry knows how ministry relates and depends upon the other to promote a holistic approach to church life that protects against isolation and fatigue.

Celebrate the Gospel

The employees are on staff because they want to be a part of a gospel ministry with influence and impact. The work of ministry can sometimes be glacial, and fatigue can set in that, when left unaddressed, can lead to burnout. Senior leadership that celebrates expressions of gospel fruit is energizing to those laboring towards that end. Catching staff doing meaningful and valuable work that reflects the church’s mission is not only an encouragement to the staffers but also energizes the team. It is a reminder that growth and change is happening. Surprise your team with public and private celebrations that bring reminders and focus to our heart’s deepest longing that fights against the dark space of burnout.

Promote Personal Health

Nobody can argue that personal health is a foundational posture that can withstand seasons of ministry burdens. Senior leadership should model healthy lifestyles that encourage others to do the same. Diet, exercise, friendships, and sleep, to name a few, should be discussed openly and encouraged among the staff. Having activities as a staff that promote health could inspire personal commitments that bring longevity and value to staff. The pathway to burnout usually begins with the misstep of personal health.

Invest in Salary and Benefits

Finances can bring stressors to every home. The burdens of the ministry weigh even heavier when the practical care of providing financially for the home is tight. As a senior leader, consider where those pinch points may be for your team and proactively seek to elevate them. One is medical benefits. They know that if or when distributive medical issues arise, there will not be the additional stress of how to pay for it. Overall, ensuring you appropriately compensate your staffers according to the nature and scope of their responsibilities is important in fighting against the stressors that accelerate burnout.

Consider the Family

When considering ministry initiatives or expectations, consider the effect on the family as a whole. Retreats and conferences can help, but they also can create some tension at home with little children or wives who are also working. Allow some of your staff to refrain from participating in activities, even if it might not be desirable, and find creative solutions for participation. It is undoubtedly essential to consider the spouses. Allow the spouse to set the pace for their involvement in church activities, allowing them to prioritize their role as a spouse first and not because they are married to a pastor. Having a spouse who is flourishing in ministry supports the staffer and promotes sustainability and joy in the face of the challenges of ministry that can lead to personal burnout.

Embed Discipleship

There are some benefits to serving in ministry. One should be the embedded commitment to the discipleship of the whole person and their ministry effectiveness. This could involve staff chapels and one-to-one conversations focused on the staffer’s spiritual development. This creates a relational context upon which to build ministry mobilization. It also gives the senior leadership insight into when to push through ministry burdens and how to support personally in a manner that helps the staffer flourish. Staffers can bear the burdens of ministry if supported and developed in pursuing personal discipleship as they seek to disciple others. This should be an integral part of every job description. To put it simply, ministers need shepherding, too.

Each church staff dynamic is different. These strategies illustrate what could be possible in your context. The goal is to recognize that a culture of staff care begins with senior leadership. This allows you to think as a shepherd of your staff and cultivate a flourishing ministry work environment. The senior leadership is not responsible for a staffer’s burnout but can certainly give due diligence to prevent it. This is best for the staff and, ultimately, best for the ministry.

©2024 Joe Keller. Used with permission.

1. If you would like to explore some resources to think biblically about burnout and strategies to address it, consider some of these titles: Christopher Ash, Zeal Without Burnout (The Good Book Company, 2016), David Murray, ReSet: A Grace Paced Life in a Burnout Culture (Crossway, 2017), Brad Hambrick, Burnout: Resting in God’s Fairness (P&R, 2013), Kevin De Young, Impossible Christianity (Crossway, 2023). ↩︎