Pastors, Don’t Give Up

In this challenging season, we need to be reminded to persevere, strive, train, and to continue to devote ourselves to the ministry.

Aaron Buer

Digital giving apps and tools

Can I be honest with you? I was feeling a little sorry for myself this week.

COVID-19 numbers are up, and gathering restrictions are coming back in my state.

My church may need to go 100% virtual again soon. Ugh.

worn-out


Maybe you’re feeling like me.   

I think it’s important for us to remember that challenges like this aren’t new.

The early Christians were constantly under the threat of having their gatherings shut down.

In fact, they were always under threat of imprisonment and being fed to lions!  

I dug through one of the Apostle Paul’s letters to a young pastor named Timothy and I found some pretty challenging words.

“Hey Timothy, in the midst of all the challenges and dangers you are facing…”

“Train yourself to be godly.”

“…labor and strive…”

“Devote yourself…”

“Be diligent…”

“Give yourself wholly to…”

“Persevere…”

These words and phrases are intense.

It’s as if Paul is saying, "Get in gear. Focus. Work hard. Persist. Don’t give up.” 

It’s as if he’s saying, “I know it’s hard. Work harder.”

Our Hope

How could Paul, the older mentor pastor, push Timothy so hard amid all the challenges Timothy faced as a pastor in Ephesus?

How could Paul push us so hard with all the challenges we’re facing as pastors and leaders during this pandemic? 

Here it is:  

“That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people…”

1 Timothy 4:10a

Our hope isn’t in our government’s ability to navigate this pandemic.

Our hope isn’t in the election and its outcome.

Our hope isn’t in a vaccine.

Our hope isn’t in our church budget.

Our hope isn’t in our ability to hold in-person services.

Our hope isn’t in our ability to lead.  

Our hope is in the living God.  

I needed to be reminded of this truth. The outcome isn’t on me.

This church isn’t my church. Your church isn’t your church.

It’s His Church and our hope is in Him.

I can promise you this: No matter what happens, God will build His Church.

church-2


I can train, labor, strive, devote myself, and persevere because my hope is in Him.

The outcome isn’t up to me and my effort. My job is to work hard and rely on Him.

That feels like freedom to me.  

Something else that struck me as I made my way through this chapter of Paul’s letter to Timothy.

Do not neglect your gift, which was given to you, through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.”

1 Timothy 4:14

Gifts

Like you and me, Timothy possessed gifts for ministry.

Based on what I read in Paul’s letter, it seems like he was a teacher and leader.

I wonder what your gifts are? Hospitality? Discernment? Faith?  

While I wonder what your gifts are, I don’t wonder where they came from.

They were given to you. They came through the Spirit of God, and they are on loan to you.

gifts


You didn’t choose your gifts. God did.  

Why do we train, labor, strive, devote ourselves, and persevere? Stewardship.

Because we are responsible to use, grow, and develop these gifts that our gracious God placed in us.  

I needed to be reminded of this truth.

God put gifts in me so that He can build and expand His kingdom through me.

This feels like a privilege. And it’s a responsibility.

Again, I’m not accountable for the results, but I’m sure going to train, labor, strive, devote myself, and persevere in stewarding these gifts.  

Wrap Up

Friends, this season is hard. It’s challenging and exhausting.

Could I encourage you to persevere? Strive. Train. Devote yourself to the ministry.

Why? Because our hope is in the living God who gifted us and called us to join Him in the work He is doing in the world.

We can continue to thrust ourselves into this calling because this is His church.

He’s still on His throne, and He’s still inviting us to participate with Him in building His kingdom.

Discover how our Groups tool can help you organize and manage one-on-one meetings effectively.

Explore Groups Tool

Looking for an easy-to-use software to help manage your church?

We'd love to show you what we built!

Join 10,000+ happy churches using Breeze ChMS™.

Name
loves Breeze

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Name
loves Breeze

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Name
loves Breeze

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
David P.
loves Breeze
St. Pauls United Methodist Church

Breeze has been incredible. Their customer service, commitment to innovation, and their product are top-notch. I love the features, the ease of use and the mobile applications.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Karen M.
loves Breeze
Hillcrest Church

All of our database needs have been more than met, it's easier to use than the last database we had, and the price is amazing - what a value this has been to our church! All of our staff can use this software and they do regularly. We use it to track…literally anything a church could possibly need to track regarding it's attenders.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Chris K.
loves Breeze
Crossroads United Methodist Church

Breeze has been a great asset to our church and congregation. Especially from an administrative standpoint, it has been the most adaptable and easiest church database I have ever used. The features from blast emails to giving on-line, and texting have been one of our greatest assets. Thank you!

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Ed R.
loves Breeze
Church Admin

We switched from a major, web-based ChMS to Breeze and our decision is confirmed every day. We are a medium size church and we use Breeze for contributions, member management, event checkin and a few other applications custom to our church. I had trouble getting any staff to use our previous ChMS but almost all staff are using Breeze. The product is very well designed, extremely easy to learn and use and customer service is incredible.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Ellen G.
loves Breeze
Grace Church

Breeze has opened the communication highway for our congregation and staff, with very little training. Because members can update their own records and search easily for other members - and map their locations, send emails and text right from Breeze, they love it and our data is more real-time accurate. Our ministries are stronger, because they can trust the data in Breeze, which is easily accessed anywhere, anytime.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Steve H.
loves Breeze
First Presbyterian Church of Ramsey

Breeze is the first ChMS my volunteers have actually embraced. That's because it's so easy to use. The software is very flexible and gives us the opportunity to make decisions based on actual data we've collected and not just hunches or stories we believe to be true.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Allicia B.
loves Breeze
Ellel Ministries Canada

I cannot say enough about Breeze. Their customer service is so friendly, you feel like you have friends and family helping you get started, they're prompt to reply and will do whatever they can to help you get things sorted out. It's been so easy to learn, our staff is loving it and best of all even our staff who are not computer savvy find it a breeze (pun intended). We are just thrilled by our choice.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Kevin D.
loves Breeze
Central Baptist Church

From the start of our process looking for an online solution, Breeze has exceeded all our expectations. Fast data import, fast and friendly customer support, and we can’t say enough about how much we like the program itself. Very well designed and user friendly. On a scale of 1-10, Breeze gets a 15 from us!

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!

Rated 4.9 stars – 700+ reviews