More Thoughts About Burnout

This past summer I wrote about burnout - and was invited to also write an article for

kidzmatter about the same topic - The Truth About Burnout. When I wrote about burnout last summer, I said, "One word can bring feelings of frustration, fear and despair to people in children's ministry - especially those who recruit. This word is, 'burnout'. People leave children's ministry because of it and others do not join in because of it as well." I also said, "I have never experienced burnout. I was thinking about this in the past week and came to the conclusion the reason for this is because serving brings me so much joy and energy! It is a delight, joy and honor to serve so my focus is on these things and I have not experienced burnout."

It is so easy to fall into the trap of thinking we are burned out and then quit serving. When we do this we pay a huge price . . . joy. I firmly believe when we become believers, God gives us gifts which He wants us to use in whatever church we are part of. He does not do this for them to be a burden, but rather for us to experience joy when we use them. God does not want us to feel "burned out"; He wants us to experience joy! Serving and using the gifts He gives us is one way we do this.

Using our gifts does not mean we will be burned out; this is a lie from the Devil. Using our gifts means we will experience an amazing joy! This is the truth! We must make the choice to believe the truth and take steps to help ourselves and those who serve in our ministries with us so we are not deceived into believing we are burned out. Check these links for ways to do this . . . 

• Stop Burnout - Don't Under-staff!
• Stop Burnout - Provide Support!
• Stop Burnout - "Adopt" Your Volunteers!

I absolutely believe God will not give us more than we can handle; and this is true when it comes to serving Him as well. I do not believe God wants us to "burn out", He wants us and those who serve with us to experience joy, so let's identify the truth, believe it and serve . . . with joy!