Health and Wellbeing
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Proverbs 17:22
It's important that all aspects of support and development are addressed in a holistic manner. This includes the spiritual, vocational, relational, financial, physical, mental and emotional areas of wellbeing.
These seven areas of wellbeing grow out of our baptism. Romans 6:4 reminds us, 'We were buried therefore with [Christ] by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.'
As Christians, we are God's new creation (2 Cor 5:17) strengthened by his grace and the Holy Spirit to walk in newness of life toward wellbeing in all areas. Our relationship with God and therefore our spiritual wellbeing is at the core of this and impacts all the other areas.
Experience has shown that when all seven areas are nurtured and attended to, church workers and their employers have better wellbeing, more successful relationships, and more effective work environments. They also have better family relationships, improved physical health and a richer spiritual life.
Self-care
Church workers and volunteers give a lot, but they also have needs. Most of us do better at taking care of others than we do ourselves. If we don't care for ourselves, then how can we expect to have anything to give? We can only give so much of ourselves before it hurts us and others.
Acts 20:28 says, 'Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.' Note the order: first yourselves, and then the flock. The best gift you can give others is to nurture your own wellbeing.
Why do you need to prioritise self-care?
- Every church worker role has challenges
- Every person you serve will have needs (and you can't meet all of them)
- There will always be difficult people
- There will be obstacles along the way
- There will be times of stress
- Every church worker has limits (and you can't do everything)
- In ministry you will never be done.
As well as the accumulative wear-and-tear of ministry, there are four key areas of stress for church workers:
- Workload – including complexity, range, ambiguity and expectations (of others and ourselves)
- Emotional load – both personal and vicariously in supporting others
- Conflict – unresolved conflict, tension, criticism
- Personal and family life – impact on ministry, boundaries and roles blurring.
It is important for church workers to build and grow self-awareness, strategies, resources and support to care for themselves and to balance the stresses and demands of ministry.
Managing mental health
Good mental health includes emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Our mental health influences our thought processes, perceptions, reactions and behaviour. It also determines how a church worker handles relationships, stress, decision-making, circumstances and their ministry.
Good mental health in the workplace is about more than just the absence of mental illness. It’s about managing mental health risks in the workplace by:
- fostering a workplace where ongoing self-care is encouraged
- creating a psychologically-safe workplace
- managing work-related stress
If mental health risks are not considered or managed effectively, the resulting mental health problems can lead to absenteeism, presenteeism (when people are physically present but not effective or productive), pastor, staff and volunteer turnover. Mental health problems can also lead to lower morale and motivation, poorer leadership and judgement, increased errors and accidents.
A Beyond Blue training video on Managing Mental Health Risks At Work is available on the Learning Hub. This training will help both church workers and their churches/employers with managing work related mental health risks.
Safety Culture provides free Psychosocial Hazards for Employees training.
Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries offer a free course on Mental Health.
The R U OK website provides a variety of mental health resources for the workplace including an R U OK Conversation Guide.
Church Worker and Family Wellness and Support Program
The LCA is committed to the ongoing wellbeing of our church workers. We provide a Christ-centred Wellness and Support Program through Empatia. This is available to all pastors, all employees and lay workers paid through HRS, New Zealand-paid church workers, and employees of some Lutheran entities. Immediate family members living at the same address are also included.
To learn more, see our Wellness and Support Program webpage. To make an appointment, please go to Empatia's booking page.
Church Worker online retreats
Church worker online retreats were started in 2022 to offer church workers a chance to press the pause button and take some time out from their busy schedules…
- to breathe
- to reflect
- to receive
- to grow and learn
- to be with their loving God
- to connect with each other.
The retreats have been made available here for church workers and volunteers to view and work through if they were unable to attend, to revisit as many times as they want to, and to share with their colleagues and congregations as has been requested.
The pre-reading, handouts and reflection sheets have also been made available. Please note that where subject matter has been used that has copyright restrictions, links have been included so you can access the original source.
'Two are better than one... If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the one who falls and has no one to help him up!
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
Support structures
It is important for the church worker or volunteer to have a 'supervisor', or someone to whom they turn to for support and guidance throughout their service.
Nurturing and developing good, supportive staff, leadership, team and work relationships is not only important for the church worker but benefits the congregation as a whole. Making sure that there is on-going communication, support and healthy relationships between staff, leaders, team members and others is also essential. This can be fostered by:
- regular staff meetings with opportunity for sharing, prayer, devotion/bible study
- regular one-on-one meetings with key people, e.g. supervisor, pastor, chairperson, mentor, team leaders
- regular planning to ensure everyone is on the same page
- regular team meetings
- regular social and celebratory occasions.
The employing body should appoint or nominate a supervisor for paid staff.
Pastors and some other lay workers will also need to find a suitable professional pastoral supervisor. This enables additional ongoing support, discussion and review to ensure church workers' health and well-being, and that their God-given gifts and talents are encouraged and developed. See the LCA Professional Pastoral Supervision webpage.
Establishing good support structures within the congregation and externally is essential. The range of support structures that is generally available to LCA church workers is illustrated in the diagram.
While all of the supports are useful the Church Worker Support team strongly advocate the following five forms of support in particular:
Supervisors/Professional Supervision
Mentors
Prayer Partners
Support People
Peer Networking.
How these operate in practice will vary according to the needs and situation of the individual and the environment in which they serve. See the Church Worker Support Guidelines for Supporting Church Workers resource on the LCA Portal.
Time management
Maintaining good time management and a healthy balanced life is crucial in preventing burnout and sustaining longevity. There is a need to create a defining line between work and volunteering which often becomes blurred in ministry.
Work within the hours allocated for the role and make allowance for the unique demands of ministry including night meetings, out-of-hours visits, phone calls and weekend work. For most church workers, Sunday is not a day of rest.
Keep a record of your hours so you can see how and where you are using your time. This awareness can help you be more effective in your role and provides a basis for review and discussion. You can also make decisions based on the knowledge of where you actually spend your time. See the Time Management and Ministry Planning Resource available from the LCA Portal under Church Worker Support.
Set up appropriate boundaries. Knowing what to say yes to, and what to say no to, is a critical part of achieving a good balance within your role and healthy life rhythms. A clear Position Description and/or developing a Ministry Plan can also assist with prioritising and setting boundaries and appropriate goals.
There may be a need to work additional hours during peak periods, such as Easter or Christmas. Where this occurs, ensure that there is an agreed mechanism for recognising this additional work. For employees this could be TOIL or additional / overtime payment. Pastors should discuss adjustments to their regular hours of service with their church council/leaders during periods of high stress or high workload.
Pastors and employees should make certain they are taking their annual leave, LSL, and other leave entitlements appropriately. Part-time church workers often fall into the trap of 'juggling' their hours and not taking appropriate leave. Ensure all leave is recorded appropriately at the time taken. If possible, part-time workers with multiple jobs might consider taking leave from all roles at the same time.
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