Pastoral Struggles and Advice Zone

Ministry can be tough. So many pressures can bear down on you at once. Find advice and tips below to help you cope with and adjust your approach to challenges and struggles in ministry. You are not alone.

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All Access Am I In a Toxic Church Environment?

What does a toxic church environment look like, and when should you leave?

Leadership
Free 10 Easy Ways to Partner with Families in Your Ministry

Ten easy steps to help you get started on your goal to partner with families in your church.

Partnering with Parents, Leadership, Equipping
All Access 110 Reasons I Love Children's Ministry

Need a good reason to love Children's Ministry? How about 110 reasons?

Encouragement
All Access 3 Leadership Blind Spots and How to See Them

Each of us have blind spots in our life and ministry that we may not be aware of.

Leadership
All Access 3 Resolutions for your Church Ministry in 2019

What small things can you do to make 2019 even better for your ministry?

Resolutions, New Year, Priorities
All Access 3 Things to Help Improve Yourself

How do you work on improving yourself? Is it working?

Self-Improvement
Free 4 Powerful Things Criticism Tells About You

Being the object of criticism can be discouraging and deflating. It can also be an opportunity for growth.

Criticism, Growth, Leadership
Free 4 Reasons The Kids In Your Ministry Are Misbehaving

How do you handle discipline in your ministry? Not just punishment, but maintaining control before it gets out of control? Here are some tips to help you run a smooth Sunday morning (or Wednesday evening).

Discipline, Relationship, Leadership
All Access 4 Ways to Stop Your Hurried Pace of Life

Feel like ministry is on fast-forward mode all the time? Here are four ways to press STOP and learn to pause.

Leadership, Criticism
All Access 5 Lessons Learned From Years of Ministry With My Wife

How do you work in leadership with family in order to avoid unnecessary stress?

Relationships
All Access 5 Questions To Ask Before you Change Something

Change effects all of us in different ways. Make sure you SHOULD make the change before plowing ahead.

Change
All Access 5 Things Children's Ministers Wish Their Senior Pastor Knew

An open letter from those who serve in children's ministry to their senior pastors.

Leadership
All Access 5 Things You Can Do Today to Make Sunday Easier

Make Sunday mornings easier with these 5 tips.

Organization, Leadership, Volunteers
All Access 5 Ways To Instantly Recruit Volunteers

Use this list as a springboard for your own endeavors in recruiting volunteers.

Recruiting, Volunteers
Free 6 Pitfalls Every New Children's Pastor Should Avoid

Avoid these pitfalls that new pastors make. 

Pastor Pitfalls
All Access 68 Reasons Why Children's Ministry Matters!

Kids matter to God and they should matter to us. Here are 68 reasons why.

Importance of CM
All Access 7 Greatest Questions Facing Children's Ministry

Other than take-home papers and a summertime VBS, most people - even church boards - don’t know what children’s ministry should do or be.

Challenges
Free 7 Questions You Can't Ask In Church

Do you know God's commands for your life? Or are you just misunderstanding them? 

Humor, Questions
All Access 7 Tips for the Most Productive Planning Meetings Ever

Don't lead the same ho-hum meetings. Learn tricks to engage your team!

Meetings, Administration
All Access 8 Healthy Leadership Characteristics I Learned from a Kid

 Learn how God used a kid to teach us about healthy leadership.

Leadership
All Access 8 Signs Your Volunteer Needs a Break

Watch for these signs that your volunteers need to take a break from serving in ministry. 

Volunteers
All Access 9 Bad Things Happening When You Forget Ministry Vision

What happens when you lose the vision for your ministry?

Vision
All Access Anxiety and Digital Minimalism

How far must you go to reach Digital Minimalism?

Anxiety, Technology
All Access Are We Seeing Clearly in 2020?

How well is your ministry discipling kids?

Discipleship
All Access Are you a Preacher Who Pastors or a Pastor who Preaches?

Do you preach or do you pastor?

Pastoring vs. Preaching
All Access Asking a Volunteer to Step Down

Learn to 'fire' a volunteer while maintaining their dignity and yours. 

Discipline, Volunteers
All Access Be Proactive

You can be the victim in your ministry. Or you can be proactive with your ministry.

Leadership, Struggles
All Access Be Wise

As a pastor, you need to seek God's heart, and then tailor things to fit your ministry. 

All Access But Will They Come Back??

How do you retain visitors to your church?

Return Visitors
Free Can a Pastor Take a Day Off?

Can a Pastor take a day off? Yes, you CAN get a day OFF. And it can be Amazing!

Leadership, Mistakes, Recruitment
All Access Children of Divorce Need YOU to Help Them Manage Their Behaviors

How can you and your volunteers help children deal with stress?

Divorce, Behavior
Free Choose to Speak Life

God brings many people (staff, volunteers, parents and children) into our circle of influence. Pray for them, and choose to speak life into their lives. 

Encouragement, Inspiration
All Access Church, Not Childcare

What do you call your Church's children's service time?

Kids Church
All Access Classroom Management Tips

Some advice on how to manage your classroom at all age levels. 

Classroom management
All Access Collaborative Problem Solving

3 steps to collaborative problem solving.

Problem Solving
All Access Discipleship Roller Coaster

Discipleship is messy and gritty and sloppy, and that’s the beauty. And some weeks that can also be the tough part of it.

Discipleship
Free Do You Apologize Too Much in Recruiting?

Saying "sorry" is a good thing, but not when your goal is to win volunteers to your ministry and vision.

Leadership, Mistakes, Recruitment
Free Do You Have Cliques in Your Children's Ministry?

“Two are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.” – Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NLT

Families, Programming
All Access Do You REALLY Know What You're Doing?

There’s no question that ministry can be difficult and we all face times when doubt sets in and we think quitting may be easier.

Encouragement, Leadership
All Access Do You REALLY See Your Neighbors?

It's important to see people the way Jesus did. We should not see their faults, but rather see a PERSON!

Seeing Others as Jesus Did
All Access Does Busy Define You?

Is your busyness defining who you are and what you are able to accomplish for the Lord?

Finding Balance, Busyness
All Access Don't Be Batman!

Stay intentional in your connection with others. 

Leadership, Involvement, Discipleship
All Access Effectively Starting A New Ministry Position Will Keep You Out of Trouble

Advice on how to jump start your new ministry position.

Success in a New Job
All Access Encouraging Words for Broken Leaders from Craig Jutila

A nursery rhyme can teach you a lesson on brokenness.

Brokenness
All Access Enhancing Your Cross-Cultural Connections in Ministry

In our diverse modern culture, virtually all ministry is “cross-cultural” and effective connections and relationship building will depend up your cross-cultural understanding and communication skills.

Cross Culture
All Access Expecting Much From Jesus

What are you expecting of Jesus today?

All Access Four Basic Steps for an Effective Kids Service

Take these 4 steps to help run an effective kids ministry service. 

Kids Church
All Access Here's why play time might be the most important part of your KidMin

Why and how can playtime be the most important part of your Sunday morning?

Fun and Games
Free Horribly Embarrassing Ministry Mess-up? Here's What to Do When It Happens to You

Sometimes it seems like some mistakes signal the end of your ministry! Fear not. Here's how your ministry gaffes can lead to growth.

Leadership, Mistakes, Growth
All Access How Do We Train Our Kids to Stand Firm?

Our kids are not being crushed by atheism they are being seduced by secularism, materialism, and individualism.

Standing Firm in Adversity
it Bible Curriculum Protect My Ministry 2023 KidCheck Toddler Kid Conversation Cards PastorKarl.com Andy and the Ants My Awesome Adventure DiscipleTown Unit 11 - How to Discover Gifts The Kids Church Cooking Show - Episode 5: Stories Kidology Online Training
Kidology Curriculum

Kids Church Lessons
written by the Kidologist!

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