It was my first summer as a full-time children’s pastor. I was so excited to have the time and budget to do all the things I’d been dreaming about but couldn’t do. So, I did. 

First, I took my Junior Bible Quiz team to Nationals in Orlando, Florida (with a stop at Disney World).  We got back on Saturday. The next day I led children’s church, then hopped on a bus to take 12 kids to camp by myself for a week.

Once we returned home, it was full speed ahead on VBS prep working 70 hours that week. Followed by another 70-hour work week while leading VBS. Oh, in between those two weeks, my church hosted a Father’s Day car show.

By the time June was over I was exhausted. I looked at my calendar and realized I’d only taken two days off the entire month. Thankfully, I didn’t burn out that summer, but I came close. I knew that the pace was unsustainable. So, when I planned the next year’s calendar, I created time to breathe.

While that month was a marathon and fluke in my ministry experience, it’s still easy as pastors to overcommit and overextend. We have good intentions. People are counting on us. There’s so much need and it feels like you’re called to meet it.

But I’ve learned you can’t solve everyone’s problems. So, you must prioritize. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself stretched too thin and burned out, leading to minimized effectiveness, leaving the ministry, or possibly losing your faith. 

Over the years, I developed three major priorities for the summer. I can’t say I’m always the best, and every summer looks different. However, keeping these priorities as guideposts has kept me sane, my family together, and my ministry healthy.

Priority 1: Yourself

I was tempted to put these priorities in the opposite order than I’ve listed them here. But if you don’t set yourself as a top priority the rest won’t happen.

When I talk about caring for yourself, I’m including your relationship with God. In ministry, especially Kidmin, it’s so easy to get wrapped up in all the summer outreach that you forget everything else. You may not be able to take as much time for yourself as you can in a quieter season. But you still need to make some space.

The truth is ministry will take all the time that you give it and then some. When you are planning your summer, make sure to build in time to replenish yourself. You don’t have unlimited energy. You'll need to rest and refresh at some point. 

I suggest developing a replenishment cycle. Identify a different activity that replenishes you physically, mentally, spiritually, and socially. These are things that if not done daily, you would do most days or within a week.

A few years ago, I created my own cycle and put it in place. I find I’m far less likely to burn out. When I start to feel tired or overwhelmed, I can look at what I’ve done over the last few days and usually find I’ve been skipping one or more parts of my replenishment cycle. 

Since I know what will provide energy, I make time for one of those activities and almost instantly feel better. You must keep your cup full. For me, it’s exercise for the physical, worship and prayer for the spiritual, video games for the mental, and time with family for the social. I may not be able to get all that done every week, especially during the summer, but I make sure to create time when I can. 

Find what works for you. What brings you joy and replenishes your energy. It can be stupid or weird, but that’s OK if it keeps you in the game. 

So, when you are planning your summer, mark off some days for yourself. You need to rest and replenish as much as anyone else. Don’t push yourself until you break. If you do, you’ll be no good to anyone.

Priority 2: Your Family

Thankfully during that super-busy summer, I didn’t have kids yet, and my wife was with me through most of it. However, once we had our son, our priorities had to shift. Now summers can’t be all about ministry. We also need to make sure to spend time and make memories as a family.

Keep your priorities in order. Then you’ll end the season refreshed, your family strengthened, and your ministry healthier than ever.

If you already planned a family vacation for the summer, good for you! But if you haven’t, stop reading, pull out your calendar, and pick a date. You don’t have to go anywhere special. A staycation can be great too.

I’ve talked to many pastor’s kids who still love Jesus into adulthood. They all say the same thing.  Their parents made time for them even during the busy seasons. They received special privileges because of working at the church, which they loved.

Your children want time with just you. If you always put the church first, they may grow to resent it.

A fellow pastor and mentor once advised me to set a special family day at the end of every busy season. This special day will be a beacon, a light at the end of the tunnel. The pastor said when his kids complain during a busy season, he apologizes. Then reminds them about what’s coming at the end of the season.

Having a special family day gives you and your kids something to look forward to, especially when you’re exhausted. One of my favorite memories is after an especially hard summer, we went to a Tampa Bay Rays game. It was my son’s first professional baseball game. Those three hours were precious.

Set some time for family before the summer is out. It’ll make the summer break that much sweeter.

Priority 3: Ministry

As I said at the beginning of the list, I almost put this first. Truthfully, during many of my summers, ministry has become a higher priority than it should. One summer, my senior pastor made me take a week off for a family vacation. I didn’t think I could do it. It meant I would be out of the office for three weeks straight, missing two consecutive Sundays.

However, when your boss tells you to do something, you better do it. And I’m thankful we did. It took a lot of work to get ready, but the vacation was worth it.

As you work on your ministry, don’t jump from event to event. Take some time to celebrate with your family, your volunteer team, and your church. It’s too easy to just move on without showing appreciation. That’s a good way to lose some great volunteers. 

Write thank you notes. Post on social media how thankful you are for your great volunteers. Collect photos and videos and share them at the end of the year in church or at a volunteer appreciation event. You are working hard during the summer, but so are your volunteers. Thank them for their time and effort.

For each summer, I try to space out my events. When I was in day-to-day Kidmin, I always had two big events, VBS and camp. They took a lot of time, energy and focus. So, I’d try to space them out as much as possible. If camp was in July, I’d have VBS in June and vice versa. There were a couple of years I put these events back-to-back. But I’m not 20 anymore. I don’t have the energy.

Besides VBS and camp, I’d have other events. Things like graduations, Father’s Day, July 4th celebration, back to school, and family fun events. Find out what works best for you, your family, and families in the church. Don’t be afraid to experiment. You never know what’s going to work and reach more lives for Christ.

In ministry, summer isn’t a time to relax. For many, it’s the busiest time of the year. Don’t make the same mistakes I’ve made and let ministry take over everything. Rather, keep your priorities in order. Then you’ll end the season refreshed, your family strengthened, and your ministry healthier than ever.