Approaching Lent Without Burning Out

This was going to be our best Holy Week service yet.

Every year, our youth worship team coordinated a night of reflection leading into Holy Week. Music. Liturgical movement. Spoken word. It was powerful. It was growing. And each year, we raised the bar.

Then one year, we didn’t do it.

Nothing dramatic had happened. There wasn’t conflict or collapse. We were simply in a season of parish transition, and when we stepped back and looked at Lent honestly, we realized something: this beautiful event was one more thing layered on top of an already heavy season.

It had produced fruit. But it was also costing more than we admitted.

So we paused it.

Lent in most parishes is full. Fish fries. Service projects. Extra liturgies. Penance services. Catechetical sessions. Special youth nights. It’s all good. And that’s part of the problem.

Because when everything is good, nothing feels optional.

And by the time Easter arrives, leaders are often limping across the finish line instead of entering into Resurrection joy.

I know it’s Ash Wednesday. Your Lent is already planned. This isn’t about undoing your calendar. It’s about rethinking how you approach seasons like this so that by Easter, you’re not empty.

Here are three shifts to consider—maybe even starting this year.

1. Prioritize Your Own Lent

As lay ecclesial ministers, we default to serving others first. That instinct is noble. It’s also dangerous.

If your entire Lent is spent creating spiritual opportunities for everyone else, but you neglect your own prayer, silence, and surrender, you will have nothing left to give after Holy Week.

Scaling back doesn’t necessarily mean canceling events. It may mean giving something up professionally.

Consider:

• Removing work email from your phone for the season.
• Replacing one hour of screen time each week with one hour of relational presence—with teens, volunteers, or your own family.
• Turning one weekly meeting into extended prayer instead of extended planning.

This isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing differently.

You may fear that work will pile up. It probably will. But Lent is a season of trust. Trust that God is at work even when you are not constantly managing outcomes.

If you don’t guard your interior life in Lent, no one else will.

2. Plan Instead of Program

For years, I approached Holy Week like the last stretch of a marathon. Just get there. Just finish strong. Then collapse.

But what if Lent isn’t meant to be the climax of your ministry year?

What if it’s preparation—not just spiritually, but strategically?

Instead of adding more programming during Lent, use the season to clarify what comes next.

Maybe Lent is when you talk about small groups—but Easter is when you launch them.

Maybe Lent is when you reflect on the Corporal Works of Mercy—but Easter is when you mobilize teens to live them.

Maybe Lent is personal examination—but Easter becomes public witness.

When you try to do everything during Lent, you create intensity without sustainability. When you spread vision across seasons, you create rhythm.

Easter is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of mission.

If you want to scale back in future Lents, don’t ask, “What else can we add?” Ask, “What can wait until Easter?”

3. Capture the Season in Real Time

If changing anything this year feels unrealistic, then observe.

Track what this season is actually doing—to you and to your people.

Each week, ask:

• What is giving life?
• What feels heavy?
• Where are we seeing real engagement?
• Where are we just maintaining momentum?

Invite your team into that reflection. After Easter, sit down and evaluate honestly.

Yes, you can look at attendance and participation. But don’t stop there.

Ask teens and families:

• How did you enter Lent?
• How are you leaving it?
• What mattered most?

And pay attention to those who return during this season—those who haven’t been around in months or years. Follow up with them after Easter. Resurrection isn’t just a liturgical moment; it’s a pastoral opportunity.

If you don’t capture what this season actually produced, you’ll default to repeating it next year without discernment.

Lent is a beautiful, intense, grace-filled season. It is also a season where many leaders quietly overextend themselves.

Scaling back doesn’t mean cheapening the season. It means stewarding it.

So if you can’t change much this year, pick one thing:

Guard your interior life.

Shift your focus toward Easter.

Or simply observe and learn.

And when next Lent approaches, you won’t just plan it. You’ll approach it differently.