The Importance of Uplifting Your Ministry Leaders

 I spent some time with an old friend recently. For years, we had served side by side in various ministries at our church and eventually both progressed to leadership roles. One day, she stepped down from everything, left the church, and moved out of the area. I hadn’t heard from her in years.

 During our recent time together, we both shared struggles and blessings of the past several years. I think we were both a little surprised at how much life we had both experienced and where God had taken each of us.

One thing stood out from our conversation. The challenges we’d both endured started when we stepped into ministry positions and were unprepared for the spiritual attack that followed.

Facing Spiritual Attack

 At the time of Jay’s ordination, I was unaware that we would soon be under attack. We stood in front of our family and friends, acknowledging the call God had placed on our lives, and one by one the elders and deacons of the church prayed over Jay.

 I like to think the prayers continued in the days and months that followed, but I know no one warned us what was likely to happen next.

Within a year, we were in the rockiest part of our marriage with strained communication and daily tension we never discussed. I never would have imagined that soon he’d be in a legal struggle as well.

I shared that warning when a friend was ordained months after Jay went to prison. They’ve unfortunately seen the truth of it too.

Where is the support?

Despite the trend I’ve seen with others serving in ministry, where is the support for people entering ministry positions? Where is the mentorship for new ministry leaders or people who begin serving for the first time?

Who is there to support our pastors, elders, deacons, and other church leadership?

Our ministry leaders spend so much time attending to the people around them, but there seems to be little done to aid them.

What makes our ministry leaders so prone to spiritual attack?

We face ministry alone.

Rather than surround a ministry leader with support and direction, we have a tendency to put someone in place and trust that they’ll do what needs done. There’s not always a lot of guidance for our ministry leaders and sometimes there’s even resistance rather than support. We need to offer our encouragement to ministry leaders, new and old, and make sure they have a support system that will help them in all aspects of life, ministry or otherwise.

We let ourselves get busy with ministry activities and neglect our own spiritual growth.

It’s easy to fill your time with worthy activities within the church or ministry. There’s always a meeting, activity, outreach, etc. that needs attended or planned. While it may seem like ministry leaders are doing well, there is danger in not taking time for personal growth. Make prayer a priority and continue your own Bible study.

We rely too much on our own power.

For various reasons, ministry leaders can fall into the habit of doing things through their own power, instead of God’s. Whether it’s years of experience with healthy ministry or over confidence in their ability, they can stop listening for the Holy Spirit’s guidance and start doing things based on their ability only.

We forget we are in a spiritual battle.

It’s easy to forget there is a spiritual war going on around us, especially if you are busy in ministry or struggling against people in the church. The human struggles around us can distract from the spiritual ones and if we are not prepared, we open the door for more spiritual attack.

We aren’t prepared for the spiritual lows that follow our spiritual highs.

Many people I’ve talked to face some of the greatest spiritual struggles after they’ve gone through a mountaintop experience. Whether stepping into ministry or some great feat for God, the attacks seem to come after we’ve shown evidence of faithfully following God. Even one of the great men of the Bible faced this in 1 Kings. Elijah faced all the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel and defeated them (1 Kings 18:20 – 40) before he ran and hid from a threat of physical harm (1 Kings 19:1 – 4).

We don’t take care of ourselves.

In the verses following Elijah’s flight, an angel of the Lord took care of Elijah’s physical needs so he could rest. In fighting the battle against the prophets of Baal, Elisha was likely physically and mentally exhausted. Likewise, ministry leaders are often so busy caring for the spiritual and physical needs of others that they don’t always take care of themselves properly. Without a support system, they are susceptible to spiritual and physical weakness.

What can we do?

 One of the greatest things we can do for our ministry leaders is to pray and support them in their ministry and their personal lives. Older, more experienced Christians can come alongside them to mentor and disciple them. Others may feel called to work alongside them to support and assist with the ministry.

We should all pray for ministry leaders as well. Without ceasing. It’s easy to remember to pray when they take a step like Jay did when he was ordained, but how long does that prayer continue. How often do we pray for our pastors? Youth pastors? Even our church admins need prayer.

Know that they will likely never ask for help too, so when possible, bless them even if they don’t ask.

I will never forget the blessings of food, money, and service we received while Jay was gone. Although we were no longer in ministry at that church, they still rallied around our family to provide for our physical needs while praying for our spiritual ones.

How can you bless your ministry leaders?

The next time you are at church, look around at your ministry leaders. Is there a way you can bless them and offer them your support?

What ideas do you have for others that may be looking for ways to bless those in ministry around them?