Ministry Encouragement for the Fall Busy Season

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Like our fall season, apparently the fall of 1768 in London was a busy one for pastor John Newton. In a letter to a fellow minister, Newton commented, “This has been a sort of busy week; but seldom have I felt more unfit to teach others, or more unfit to preach to my own heart.” Busy seasons in ministry create difficulties for pastors ’own spiritual health and for our efforts caring for others.

As we move into the busyness of the fall, I find Newton’s sentiment rings true. As everyone’s calendar fills up, pastors may feel discouraged in ministry. The challenges of any busy season are twofold. We need to address particular needs relevant to our church, and we need to address challenges to our own heart as we minister. Any season can get busy, but the fall seems to be the most challenging for the most people. In the fall we are transitioning from summer vacation mode to resuming a full school and ministry schedule. Gospel ministry is especially hard in the fall for three specific groups: moms, students, and church staff. For each group we’ll consider specific challenges they face in a busy season. Then, we’ll consider how we can effectively minister the gospel to them.

Encouragement for Ministry to Moms

Most pastors can empathize with the absolute chaos of being a mom of school age children in the fall. School and sports schedules alone are enough to turn the family calendar into a hot mess. In addition, moms get no break from the daily demands of the family. Those demands often include, but are not limited to: laundry, meal planning, shopping, household management, and crisis counseling.

Effectively ministering to moms in busy seasons starts by taking time to consider where moms will be spiritually vulnerable. Busy moms will be tempted to despair as they never have enough time to get it all done. They will be tempted to anxiety and fear as their hearts are heavy with concerns for all of their children. They will be tempted to forego their own spiritual care as they deal with the pressing needs of the family.

Pointing moms to Jesus

As we minister the gospel to busy moms, we need to offer them the encouragement that comes in Christ. In Philippians 2:1 Paul refers to the “encouragement in Christ” and “consolation of love” that is ours because of the gospel. We should be quick to build up mothers in our churches by reminding them God’s love for them in Christ persists regardless of how big their laundry piles are. We can also build them up by pointing them to exchanging worry for faith-driven prayer. “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). Encourage moms to pray for their children as they are concerned for them, entrusting them to the Lord.

This has the added benefit of freeing her from taking the burden of having to be everything for her kids. Finally, busy mothers will be blessed by embracing the principle of rest in the Lord. When we rest by faith we are saying, “I don’t have to do it all right now. God is faithful, and because he is faithful I can rest.” This sabbath principle is based on the goodness of God, and it includes tending to our own spiritual needs. When a busy mom takes a few minutes to read her Bible and pray, it frees her from the tyranny of the urgent and equips her forthe crazy day ahead of her. Perhaps the greatest gospel encouragement we can offer busy moms is to remind them that their identity is in Christ, not in their performance as a mother.

Encouragement for Ministry to Students

Moms aren’t the only group suffering in the fall; once school starts students also face an uphill spiritual battle. A large part of the busyness of fall is directly related to academic calendars. Schools explode to life, and as they do so their students face the challenges of starting a new academic year. Middle school, high school, and college students face a host of temptations during this time of year. Busy students will be tempted to be overwhelmed as they consider the mountain of work in front of them. They will be tempted to find their identity in peer approval or in grades. They also may be tempted to pursue worldly passions instead of pursueing the Lord and being faithful to do the work they need to do. The endless onslaught of social media, video games, television, and movies are a constant threat to spiritual health.

Offer students a higher calling

As we pursue busy students, we can bless them by giving them the greater vision of the God- centered life. It may seem cliché, but busy students need a higher calling than mere survival. They need the exhortation of Paul from 2 Timothy 4:12,“Don’t let anyone despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.”

As they struggle with a crisis of identity, remind them that their identity is in Christ. They are freed from slavery to peer approval or academic performance. As they face the upheaval of life as a young adult, and especially as they feel overwhelmed, point them to the peace they have with God. “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). The gospel grounds our students and will give them confidence to navigate their world by faith.

Encouragement for Ministry to Church Staff

One final group to consider in the busyness of fall is church staff. As families settle back into their “normal” schedules, church ministries follow suit. This means that not only will church staffs’ personal calendars get more cluttered, but their ministry calendars will too. This holds true for pastoral support staff and non-pastoral support staff alike.

Ministers want to minister. Therefore one temptation in a hectic season like the fall is to prioritize ministry over family needs. Church staff may feel as if they need to do it all. This may look like refusing to say no. Sometimes as pastors we can unintentionally give the impression our other pastors and church staff need to say yes to everything. In the face of high pressure at home and in ministry, church staff may be tempted to find their identity in their ministry performance.

Remember what defines success

As we minister to our ministry staff, we must remind them that our ministry’s success is dependent on God’s faithfulness, not on us. Point them to Paul’s summary of his ministry goal from 2 Corinthians 4:5, “For we are not proclaiming ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’s sake.” Consider offering personal encouragement in conversations or staff meetings. Our acceptance by God is not conditioned on how many people attend our services or how well our ministry is going. Check in with staff to see how their families are handling the fall. We are all tempted in busy times to focus on pragmatic issues. Therefore, it is all the more important to not neglect our own spiritual health and our families.

The examples of Paul, Timothy, and Newton

This is why Paul encouraged Timothy, “Pay close attention to your life and your teaching” (1 Timothy 4:16). We take comfort in the fact that in the midst of the calendar chaos, God is at work in us and through us. At the end of the day, the gospel grounds us as pastors In the grind of ministry in a busy season as well.

In Newton’s letter during that busy week he went on to describe how the gospel encourages him even as he struggles with his own frailty, “As to myself, though cause enough to be humbled, I have none to be cast down, if my righteousness is in heaven. And as to my ministry, I ought to desire it may appear, that the excellency of the power is of God and that there is nothing in me but weakness.” Busyness may expose our weakness, but in the gospel we are reminded as pastors that our ministry is only effective because of the power of God.

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