Summary: I was trained early in ministry that my job was to effectively work myself out of a job by training others in every aspect of the ministry. However, I often met pastors and leaders who were fried, burnt out or burning out. They did not have a team. YOU might be running ministry all on your own. It is time for you to start small, but start duplicating your efforts and multiplying your ministry.
I was trained early in ministry that I was not to DO my job. My job was to effectively work myself out of a job by training others in every aspect of the ministry. Over time, I had multiple people who could lead music. Initially there was just me and my guitar. At first it was Josh the Game Leader. Over time, I had half a dozen people, who, at a moment's notice, were well-equipped to lead games according to the ministry values I had imparted.
We had players who had been trained and were effectively doing that which I had been doing by myself 20 months earlier. Finally, I had a team. Finally I had breathing room. Finally, we were able to take on some new areas of growth and not just barely maintain.
Several years into the ministry, I began to meet other pastors and leaders in a similar role that I had. They were fried, burnt out or burning out. They did not have a team. They were often “one-person-shows” and were so frazzled that, honestly, it was somewhat stressful to be around them. Listen, if it was stressful for me to be around them, do you think any volunteers would want to join in? Likely not. I began to see this “one-person-show” more and more. This was not an isolated incident, but something far reaching.
Therefore, it stands to reason that YOU might be running ministry all on your own. It is time for you to start small, but start duplicating your efforts and multiplying your ministry.