Are You Physically Strong Enough For Youth Ministry?

Playing a board game had never been more painful. I wasn’t losing or being humiliated, the pain was physical, picking up the dice and rolling them was difficult. I had not been this tired in a long time, but at least I knew it was from something positive. I was sore because I had just finished a weight lifting regimen at the local gym.

Recently, I’ve been investing more into my physical health because I was tired of being tired. While youth ministry isn’t the most physical the energy I have as an almost 40-year-old is nowhere what I had in my 20’s. Back in the day, I could keep up with little sleep surviving purely off of junk food and pizza. After a long day of ministry, weekend retreat, or week-long mission trip, I need more time to recover.

While youth ministers don’t need to be athletes ready to run marathons, we do need to take care of our bodies physically. For some of you, this might not be an interest, but I do think it’s a conversation we need to have more. I’m not trying to body shame; it’s about having the ability to focus and withstand the challenges youth ministry faces.

If you want to increase your ability to do more physically or you are just tired of being tired, then you need to be INTENTIONAL by:

TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR SCHEDULE

You might not feel like you have time to be healthy. With meetings, events, and everything else going to the gym seems like a luxury. What you need to do is change your perspective and remember that investing in your physical health will have a long term impact that allows you to do more. Scheduling time to:

• Workout
• Cook and prepare meals
• Rest and recover

Will help you keep focus and release stress. If you’ve never held a schedule before check out Time Savers in the MYM Store, or pick up a planner or calendar. By writing it down, your priorities can be visible and more memorable.

MAKING THE MINISTRY MORE ACTIVE

If you can’t make it to the gym, regularly, look at moving around at the office. Every time you finish an emotionally draining task like budgets, paperwork or your email inbox do a victory lap around the church building. If you need to meet one on one with someone, go for a walk, or hold your team meetings standing up. While you probably won’t break a sweat, you will feel more productive. Don’t believe me, check out this Ted Talk HERE

When it comes to the programming with your teens, don’t be afraid to go outside. My small group leaders have found that their groups have better conversations on walks or throwing a frisbee around. If you oversee middle school students, you know how important it is for your teens to expedite energy. Not only will physical activities and games keep your teens entertained, but it’ll make it more memorable.

CHANGING UP YOUR DIET

There are a lot of layers when it comes to food and ministry, so let’s start with what you eat. Youth ministry has a lot of odd hours, and convenience is a must. The problem is when the comfort compromises your overall health. I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of pizza, but I know too much isn’t going to give me the energy to run a highly effective ministry. Where to start is a tough decision. I recommend talking to your doctor, or if you belong to a gym, many of them have trainers with recommendations.

It gets more complicated when we talk about food at our youth ministry. From budget and convenience standpoint, pizza is hard to beat. Plus, it’s pretty popular. I’ve tried veggie platters, bowls of fruit and even granola bars, but they don’t take. There are alternatives like:

Organizing a group of volunteers to cook and bring in meals. Sit down and look at the costs per person and ask your volunteers to live within that threshold.

Coordinating potlucks with the families who are involved. The challenge is coordinating a menu and ensuring people observe allergies and food preferences. 

Both options have multiple benefits. When you serve a sit-down meal, it communicates the importance of slowing down and enjoying the conversations that you can have around the table. It also creates an opportunity for people to serve that usually wouldn’t get involved in your ministry.

Your ministry needs you for the long term, and while your intellectual development is essential, you cannot overlook your physical health. A healthy ministry has a leader that can take care of themselves so that they can take care of the teens and adults in their ministry.

How do you value physical health in your ministry?

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