“This is my favorite time of year! I get so energized by all that we have going on!”
“I love this time of year, but I have no idea how we are going to get through all these events.”
How can two people looking at the same calendar of events have such different responses?
The worship pastor looks over the December calendar at a staff meeting and already feels dread for the season, even though it’s early November. She loves celebrating Jesus’ birth, but remembers how much she has to do during the season. For several years in a row, she’s gotten sick during the holidays. There are also family responsibilities, and so many must-do commitments!
It’s not just the multiple Christmas Eve services. In the past few years, the church has added a “darkest night” service on December 21 to acknowledge that everyone is not joyful during the holidays. The church also hosts a carol sing for those who love Christmas carols. The children’s pageant is squeezed into the schedule. Including the children in the holiday celebration is important, as it brings extended families who might not otherwise go to church.
Meanwhile, the lead pastor is excited about how the schedule reflects the church’s mission to reach out to the community and welcome people wherever they are on their faith journey. The communications team is planning a social media campaign, a postcard mailing to people around the church, and special signage.
Both of these realities exist in the work of a church. A disconnect between vision and implementation can cause stress, frustration, and potential burnout.
Some seasons of church life are clearly busier than others. Staff rightfully need time to pause and be refreshed after a busy season. Burnout isn't seasonal; it has systemic roots. How do you know when your team has crossed from tiredness to burnout? How do you create sustainable ministry patterns that honor your staff's efforts without dangerously depleting them?
Being tired isn't necessarily burnout. Consider the distinction: Is this a demanding season that requires special care and time for recovery—or has depletion become the way we work? As a leader, how can you regularly invite staff to share concerns about capacity?
Burnout is more than temporary tiredness after a demanding season. It develops when depletion becomes persistent, and people no longer have enough capacity or opportunity to recover.
As you shepherd your staff team throughout the year, consider how listening well and inviting feedback can raise your awareness of a slow burn before it becomes a fire.
If the opening story about dread for the Christmas season sounds familiar, what can you, as a leader, do before the worship pastor collapses from exhaustion?
After that early November staff meeting, at your regularly scheduled one-on-one with the worship pastor, invite her input and reflection about seasonal demands. Don’t rush right into reaffirming the missional importance of Christmas, or the value of operational excellence. Sit and listen. If you have cultivated an atmosphere of trust and caring, the worship pastor might open up and admit that she is dreading the month and feels powerless to avoid exhaustion.
The admission of impending burnout is an invitation to you as a leader to take the time to go deeper. Listen to capacity concerns with an open heart. A depleted staff member is not necessarily a disengaged staff member. Someone can deeply value the church's mission and vision but still be carrying more responsibility than is sustainable.
In the short term, engage the individual or team in problem-solving and prioritizing, depending on the scope of the issue. Do you need to shift resources around? Are there responsibilities you can remove or delay?
Then, over time, keep checking in and offering practical care. Ongoing shepherding demonstrates that you heard the need and care about the person.
And once the busy season is over, have an honest debrief that gives staff a chance to consider healthy workloads going forward. Be open to considering whether programs that met a missional purpose in the past are still essential or relevant. Just because you’ve had a carol sing for 20 years doesn’t mean you have to have one every year!
In the long term, the awareness of human capacity limitations can influence future staffing decisions. Consider how your ministry vision and values interact with your people resources. Are there areas where you need to develop existing and future leaders? Are there processes or activities you can delegate? Do you need to hire more staff to implement the mission on an ongoing basis?
Your goal as a shepherd of your church is not just to avoid burnout, but to build a culture that helps people thrive long-term.
The workplace culture you have cultivated in your church will shape how freely staff feel they can share their concerns. Individual conversations can reveal problem areas, but anonymous feedback from the entire staff helps leaders see whether concerns about workload and depletion are isolated or part of a broader pattern.
The best way to assess your workplace culture is to measure it using an anonymous, research-based survey. Hundreds of churches have benefited from Best Christian Workplaces’ Employee Engagement Survey. They have gained insight by listening to their staff and implementing action plans based on clear, honest feedback.
As Best Christian Workplaces compiled all the Employee Engagement Surveys from churches last year, we found that overall engagement increased, providing energy for continued missional effectiveness. Staff felt there was clear consensus on goals and that their church had met them.
At the same time, the survey revealed that burnout risks church health. The most significant decline was in the indicator: “At my church we strive to help one another maintain life balance.” [Source: State of the Christian Workforce 2026, Best Christian Workplaces]
Over time, people who feel depleted rather than energized by their work may disengage, even if they value the church's mission.
As I work with pastors in all kinds of churches, I find that those open to regular assessment and practical improvement can keep growing in their ability to shepherd their teams. It’s possible to have a strong missional focus and also healthy rhythms of work that don’t lead to burnout.
In Scripture, we see an example of a leader being open to input to make ministry sustainable. Moses had huge responsibilities in leading the people God had entrusted to him. In Exodus 18:13-27, Jethro, his father-in-law, saw Moses' workload and was courageous enough to speak up and suggest a way to spread the load. Jethro didn’t question Moses’ calling, but he saw that the schedule wasn’t sustainable. The answer was to share responsibility and empower capable leaders.
An Employee Engagement Survey is the first step in understanding your staff's health. Then, with an experienced Best Christian Workplaces consultant, you can dive into the results and implement action plans. Awareness of hurdles that your team faces gives you the opportunity to create a sustainable strategy.
Your investment in listening to staff feedback and committing to workplace health will not only shift your staff's perspective, but also filter through to your whole congregation. When your staff is fully engaged in life-giving work, their energy is infectious.
Resources
Read a Case Study: Flatirons Community Church was growing but unhealthy.
Understand the workplace culture in your church: Employee Engagement Survey
Grow in your capacity to shepherd your team: Leadership 360 Assessment
Learn to have more effective one-on-one meetings: Maximizing Meetings: Four Keys to Ensuring Effective One-on-One Meetings.
If you, as the leader, are experiencing burnout: Every Pastor Is Expected to Carry the Weight. Few Are Asked If They're Okay