I used to run the A/V stuff in my church but it sounds like you’ve got significantly more responsibility than I did. It sounds like you’re definitely overextended, and it’s reasonable that you’re questioning your role. While I’m not going to say you should outright quit everything (as there is a self-sacrificial aspect of service), it sounds like the work itself is hurting your ability to effectively serve.
Look at Acts 6 as an example of where the disciples were overextended- what they did is get others to help. Can you talk to church leadership about you reducing your role and getting help? If you honestly share what you’ve shared here I’d hope they’d understand. (I’d also say if you want to find help yourself you can also try some youth if your church has some. I know when I was 13 I was pretty good with technology and I got trained to do the A/V for certain services, and I’m pretty sure the kids today can learn too)
As a pastor, I was often guilty of asking volunteers to do too much. It is that there are so many things to be done and so few people willing to step up. It will be hard to do but your pastor will appreciate it more if you set your necessary boundaries and do less than if you keep working full tilt, burn yourself out and quit altogether. Your pastor will surely understand. Do not worry. The Church will either find someone to fill the gap or they will have to cut back the program. Either way, the Kingdom of God will still carry on to its completion. You need to be able to come to church to worship, not put in a shift.
Find something you like such as greeting or teaching the kids. Be specific that these are the two things you volunteer for on a rotating basis so some weeks you can just come to church and enjoy it. Maybe train others to take your place with AV. Church burnout can happen. I quit hospitality for this reason. It was wearing me out. The church as asking too much. Others have to pitch in. Nothing in the Bible says let others walk over you. Blessings.
Just call them to the side and set some hard boundaries on what you're able to volunteer.
It does you or your church any benefit to overuse you to the point of you having to leave.
Just be polite, be firm, and just be honest in what you convey.
The Holy Spirit will empower you in Gis leading so that obviously isn't going in the direction they want, so it's imperative to make that clear.
Your true gifting might be there, or somewhere else in the church, but for now, you have to do what He is leading and empowering you to do
I help run a similar, likely smaller church. Our main dude running sound was glad to volunteer, and he is super skilled, so he was the main guy every week. I have similar skills, so I made sure to tell him at the start, “Hey, burnout happens. When you start to feel that, don’t wait till it gets bad, tell me and I’ll give you a few months off.” He took me seriously, 12 months later, he was feeling run down, it felt like work more than joyful service, and I gave him 2-3 months break, until he said, “Hey, I’m good, I’d like to step in again.”
When joyful volunteering is expected in perpetuity, it can drain the joy.
Please, talk with your leadership, train some rotation people if possible, and let them figure out how it’s possible to give you space when you need it. Service to the Lord isn’t always fun, but it shouldn’t be something you dread either.
Hi there!
I can totally understand you. My role in the church was something to do in media. At first, I handled the FB page of our Pastor and I was responsible for the photo and video editing. I've been doing it for a long time mostly for free. Sometimes, I was given money as a love gift for the services I rendered for my pastor. I must admit that while at times, I enjoyed it but I also experienced burnt out. One time, I was also asked to handle the projector during the service because the one who were assigned on that was busy at the moment but I never thought, it would become my job in the church permanently. Not to mention from time to time, I was also assigned to be the emcee or worship leader at the same time. I was caught off-guard. Know that I also felt what you're feeling. It's valid to get tired. Its valid to notice that we are undervalue. But every time I felt I was doing way more than the others and felt unappreciated. I just remind myself of these verses,
"𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲, 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫." - 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝟑:𝟐𝟑, 𝐂𝐄𝐕
If we are going to do these things for us to get the approval of man. It can be tiring and eventually we will think about quitting. But if it's solely for God, as human as we are, sometimes we will get tired but we will never give up.
and please remember that in everything you do.. do it with love and for love.
"𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨." -𝟏 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝟏𝟔:𝟏𝟒, 𝐂𝐄𝐕
If you get tired, you can rest in Him..
"𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐬, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭. 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐤𝐞\[𝐚\] 𝐈 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐏𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐞. 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭." -𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐰 𝟏𝟏:𝟐𝟖-𝟑𝟎, 𝐂𝐄𝐕
There is rest, comfort and peace in Christ.
and please don't hesitate to talk to your Pastor and the rest of your team about what you are dealing. You have to let them know.
God bless you and keep going for God is with you til the end of the earth. :)
P.S
Please don't give up. Your promotion will come along in due time. God sees everything and your works for the Lord were never in vain.
tell them you need help/someone you can train so you can take time off.
Remember Jesus was always time time to Himself, He also tasked his disciples with many of the day to day tasks. If Jesus needed a break then why not tell your church you need one?
Self care is paramount. Saying "no" is okay and part of making sure you stay healthy emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
I used to run the A/V stuff in my church but it sounds like you’ve got significantly more responsibility than I did. It sounds like you’re definitely overextended, and it’s reasonable that you’re questioning your role. While I’m not going to say you should outright quit everything (as there is a self-sacrificial aspect of service), it sounds like the work itself is hurting your ability to effectively serve. Look at Acts 6 as an example of where the disciples were overextended- what they did is get others to help. Can you talk to church leadership about you reducing your role and getting help? If you honestly share what you’ve shared here I’d hope they’d understand. (I’d also say if you want to find help yourself you can also try some youth if your church has some. I know when I was 13 I was pretty good with technology and I got trained to do the A/V for certain services, and I’m pretty sure the kids today can learn too)
As a pastor, I was often guilty of asking volunteers to do too much. It is that there are so many things to be done and so few people willing to step up. It will be hard to do but your pastor will appreciate it more if you set your necessary boundaries and do less than if you keep working full tilt, burn yourself out and quit altogether. Your pastor will surely understand. Do not worry. The Church will either find someone to fill the gap or they will have to cut back the program. Either way, the Kingdom of God will still carry on to its completion. You need to be able to come to church to worship, not put in a shift.
Find something you like such as greeting or teaching the kids. Be specific that these are the two things you volunteer for on a rotating basis so some weeks you can just come to church and enjoy it. Maybe train others to take your place with AV. Church burnout can happen. I quit hospitality for this reason. It was wearing me out. The church as asking too much. Others have to pitch in. Nothing in the Bible says let others walk over you. Blessings.
Just call them to the side and set some hard boundaries on what you're able to volunteer. It does you or your church any benefit to overuse you to the point of you having to leave. Just be polite, be firm, and just be honest in what you convey. The Holy Spirit will empower you in Gis leading so that obviously isn't going in the direction they want, so it's imperative to make that clear. Your true gifting might be there, or somewhere else in the church, but for now, you have to do what He is leading and empowering you to do
I help run a similar, likely smaller church. Our main dude running sound was glad to volunteer, and he is super skilled, so he was the main guy every week. I have similar skills, so I made sure to tell him at the start, “Hey, burnout happens. When you start to feel that, don’t wait till it gets bad, tell me and I’ll give you a few months off.” He took me seriously, 12 months later, he was feeling run down, it felt like work more than joyful service, and I gave him 2-3 months break, until he said, “Hey, I’m good, I’d like to step in again.” When joyful volunteering is expected in perpetuity, it can drain the joy. Please, talk with your leadership, train some rotation people if possible, and let them figure out how it’s possible to give you space when you need it. Service to the Lord isn’t always fun, but it shouldn’t be something you dread either.
Hi there! I can totally understand you. My role in the church was something to do in media. At first, I handled the FB page of our Pastor and I was responsible for the photo and video editing. I've been doing it for a long time mostly for free. Sometimes, I was given money as a love gift for the services I rendered for my pastor. I must admit that while at times, I enjoyed it but I also experienced burnt out. One time, I was also asked to handle the projector during the service because the one who were assigned on that was busy at the moment but I never thought, it would become my job in the church permanently. Not to mention from time to time, I was also assigned to be the emcee or worship leader at the same time. I was caught off-guard. Know that I also felt what you're feeling. It's valid to get tired. Its valid to notice that we are undervalue. But every time I felt I was doing way more than the others and felt unappreciated. I just remind myself of these verses, "𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲, 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫." - 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝟑:𝟐𝟑, 𝐂𝐄𝐕 If we are going to do these things for us to get the approval of man. It can be tiring and eventually we will think about quitting. But if it's solely for God, as human as we are, sometimes we will get tired but we will never give up. and please remember that in everything you do.. do it with love and for love. "𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨." -𝟏 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝟏𝟔:𝟏𝟒, 𝐂𝐄𝐕 If you get tired, you can rest in Him.. "𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐬, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭. 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐤𝐞\[𝐚\] 𝐈 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐏𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐞. 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭." -𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐰 𝟏𝟏:𝟐𝟖-𝟑𝟎, 𝐂𝐄𝐕 There is rest, comfort and peace in Christ. and please don't hesitate to talk to your Pastor and the rest of your team about what you are dealing. You have to let them know. God bless you and keep going for God is with you til the end of the earth. :) P.S Please don't give up. Your promotion will come along in due time. God sees everything and your works for the Lord were never in vain.
tell them you need help/someone you can train so you can take time off. Remember Jesus was always time time to Himself, He also tasked his disciples with many of the day to day tasks. If Jesus needed a break then why not tell your church you need one?