This is a short article leadership for pastors and leadership teams within Venture Church Network. We want to talk about fatigue.

One thing I’ve discovered, and you’ve probably experienced this too, is that we often carry many things that people around us are completely unaware of. Demands feel higher. Expectations can be unclear. And the burden of being everything to everybody is a trap we can easily fall into if we’re not careful.

Fatigue isn’t always burnout. Sometimes we just become numb. We reach the end of our emotional rope. We grow impatient. We experience decision fatigue. We lose excitement about ministry.

But fatigue isn’t a sign of failure. It’s a signal that something else is going on.

It may be that we’re carrying too much, trying to be everything to everyone, and not relying on the people around us to help share the load of ministry. Sometimes we need to pause and honestly examine what we’re ignoring in our lives that’s causing these things to pile up.

I’m always reminded that Jesus withdrew to pray by Himself. He spent significant time with the Father. At times, He took the disciples away from the ministry path so they could be alone, rest, and recover from the pace and busyness of ministry.

Jesus said He did nothing on His own initiative, but only what He saw the Father leading Him to do. That’s an important lesson for us. This isn’t about performance or impressing people. It’s about faithfulness to what God has called us to do.

For some of us, that means slowing the pace. Slowing our decision-making, releasing the pressure to be perfect, and being honest with the Lord about where we truly are. When we’re straightforward with God, it’s amazing how much room the Spirit has to work, bringing rest and peace when we’re willing to stop and listen.

There’s also a practical piece to this. Sometimes lead pastors and leadership teams don’t communicate clearly with one another. We don’t always know the weight each person is carrying. And we fail to recognize that there are capable people around us who can help carry the ministry load even if they do things differently than we would.

When that happens, we don’t tap into the full potential of the leaders God has placed around us.

I hope this leadership conversation is helpful and meaningful as you continue to lead in this season.

Brad Little, VCN Midwest Director