The dirty secret of children’s ministry, specifically, and NextGen ministry in general is that very little of your time as a pastor is spent ministering to that age group. In reality, you will spend 1-3 hours a week actually leading them, while the other 40+ hours are spent doing other things.

When I first started as a kids pastor, my father-in-law asked almost weekly, “So, what do you do the rest of the week?” Thankfully he’s figured it out, but he’s not alone. A lot of people don’t know what we do week in and week out.

It’s easy to scoff at this question and what they don’t understand, but when you think deeply about it,

what do you actually do the rest of the week?

How do you know what you did this week actually helped you move the ball forward? How do you know you did everything you needed to do to be ready for what’s next?

No matter where you serve in NextGen ministry, I believe there are four types of work that each minister needs to do during their week. If you do at least one thing in each category, you can count the week as a success.

Four Types of Work for Ministry

1. Discipleship

This is what ministry is all about. It’s us fulfilling the great commission. It’s introducing our students to Christ and then leading them on their spiritual journeys to becoming more like Christ.

Work in this category can include service planning, creating small group discussions, picking and learning new worship songs and so much more.

It’s easy for this category to take up the lion’s share of your time because, for a lot of us, it’s why we got into the ministry in the first place. This is where we find fulfillment in our calling and our passion. Podcasts, books, conferences, Facebook groups and so much more are centered around this one topic.

However, if you neglect the other categories, you’re going to find yourself serving alone and overwhelmed. You have to shift your focus.

2. Outreach

Outreach is similar to the discipleship category, in that involves a lot of planning. However, it is distinct because it focuses on the community and not just the people that come on Sunday. NextGen ministries are a growth driver for the church, so you’ll always have that next event coming up.

Outreach work is event planning, volunteer recruitment, logistics, marketing, visiting schools and sporting events, and so much more.

It’s not unusual for me, especially during the summer, to put the other three types of work on the back burner because outreach takes so much time and energy, but I know I can’t do that forever and have to switch things up by the time school gets back in session.

3. Connection

At the end of the discipleship category, I mentioned that you’d be leading alone if you kept your focus there. Connection is where you meet throughout the week with your kids/students, their parents, and your volunteers.

This type of work includes guest follow up, coffee with volunteers, staff meetups, social media posts, emails, thank you cards and so much more. This keeps everyone in the loop and makes sure you’re not a lone ranger leading your ministry.

Leadership can be lonely, but spending time in this category keeps a community around you to help and serve along side of you. You were never meant to do this alone, so don’t.

4. Business

Your church is a 501(c)3 non-profit. And like it or not, you have to work on the business side of things. This is budget planning, making expense reports, attending and participating in staff meetings and the dreaded annual business meeting.

Proper filing of PO’s and receipts has been the bane of my existence for as long as I’ve been in ministry. While I may avoid them like the plague, I can’t not do them. The church has to keep proper accounting of what you spent and where.

We are stewards of God’s storehouse. As the offering comes in, it’s up to us to invest it wisely. Even if it is 50 pool noodles and a carton of eggs. (Anyone else get weird looks at the checkout counter?)

As you plan out your weekly tasks, break them into these four categories. Are you doing at least one thing in each? There are some weeks where one type of work will take more of your time and energy than others, and that’s ok. Nevertheless, it can’t always be that way. You’ll have to adjust the following week.

If you focus on these four types of work, you can leave the office with a sense of accomplishment. You moved the ball forward. Football is a game of inches, so is ministry. We’re all looking for that one big touchdown pass, but what we really need is a first down. Working in each of these categories gets you that first down.

If you’d like to read more about planning your week, read this post here.