# Pastors: Typical Day/Week?



## bconway52 (Nov 19, 2008)

Pastors,

What does a typical day and/or week look like for you? As a pre-ministerial student this is something I am curious about, as I would think others are as well. 

Thanks for your input!


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## KenPierce (Nov 19, 2008)

There are no typical days. The problem is productive use of largely undifferentiated time, and being able to drop all at a moment's notice, and get your brain back again after countless interruptions!

That said:
SUnday: Worship, SS teaching, missions, counseling, rest, PM worship
Monday: mindless logistics and visits or phone calls, touching base with other staff, preparing for session if needed
Tuesday: Sermon prep begins, bulletin done, staff meeting
WEd: AM sermon, midweek stuff in the PM
Thu: PM sermon, visits, etc.
Sat evening: sermon and SS final prep


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## DTK (Nov 19, 2008)

KenPierce said:


> There are no typical days. The problem is productive use of largely undifferentiated time, and being able to drop all at a moment's notice, and get your brain back again after countless interruptions!...



Ditto to Ken.


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## dannyhyde (Nov 19, 2008)

bconway52 said:


> Pastors,
> 
> What does a typical day and/or week look like for you? As a pre-ministerial student this is something I am curious about, as I would think others are as well.
> 
> Thanks for your input!



Kudos for asking _before!_ In 9 years I don't think I've ever had less than a 60–70 hour week. Since I am a church planter I have two sermons, catechism, and a mid-week study to do every week, as well as counseling, visiting, follow-up, etc., every week.


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## PastorSBC (Nov 19, 2008)

Typical day for me is sermon prep in AM. Visitation/Evangelism/Administration in the afternoons. Family time in the evenings. 

Now all of this is highly flexible and liable to change at any moment. 

One thing that has helped me in my pastoral ministry is trying to make sure I do not view interruptions as negative things, but as opportunities for ministry.


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## KenPierce (Nov 19, 2008)

I agree --ministry happens when you're interrupted for good things. I never regard people stopping by or phone calls from members as interruptions. It's things like logistics, sales calls, etc that are really killers.

But, it is hard to get your head back into a text when you are interrupted!


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## KenPierce (Nov 19, 2008)

dannyhyde said:


> bconway52 said:
> 
> 
> > Pastors,
> ...



Danny,

I would encourage you that pastors probably shouldn't be working 60-70 hours, because how do you care for your family --a chief goal of all Christian fathers, especially pastors.

I am not saying you aren't caring for your family. It's just that I have worked those kinds of weeks and wind up spiritually, physically, and emotionally exhausted and feeling estranged both from wife and kiddoes.

The only answer is to start, at the earliest date, cultivating elders who can assist with the pastoral care, and to train the congregation to accept their ministry in lieu of yours. You, then, are just one of the elders who visits, not the sole visitor in chief for every possible need. 

Not that I have already arrived there, but it is a goal I have for our elders!


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## LawrenceU (Nov 19, 2008)

All of that plus a full time outside job that is 50 hours a week average - if you are bivocational. Try it. You'll like it.


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## Brother John (Nov 19, 2008)

Great question. Im looking forward to reading the posts.

Do any of the pastors take a day or two off sometime in the week? It seems that Saturday would be used for finnal preparation for The Lords day services. I am also intrested in how much time do yall spend in prayer through out the week?


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## CDM (Nov 19, 2008)




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## Poimen (Nov 19, 2008)

I agree with others that it depends on the week. It also depends on the congregation and denomination. Where you minister may also factor into the equation (i.e. rural vs. city). 

Having said that my week looks like this:

Monday - I take the day off. Because I am agoraphobic I tend to stay inside and stare at the walls. 
Tuesday - sermon preparation. Ever other Tuesday night we have council meetings and since I am clerk I need to prepare my notes from the previous meeting and prepare correspondence to be presented and filed away. We also have an elder's study group which I lead that meets before council so I also prepare those lessons.
Wednesday - sermon preparation & catechism. I have two catechism classes on Wednesday evening.
Thursday - sermon preparation. Every other week I lead Men's Bible study in the evening.
Friday - visiting and sermon preparation. I also prepare the liturgy and print up the bulletin 
Saturday - visiting and sermon preparation. 
Sunday - two full services. 

In the fall-spring I also assist elders in their family visiting which is one or two nights a week every other week. I also manage our website and take care of copying sermons. 

Now my week might look overwhelming (particularly to upcoming ministerial candidates). However a few caveats should be brought to the fore:

First of all I am single so I have no familial duties. If I was married with children I imagine that some of these duties may fall to others. 

Second I minister to a fairly small congregation. This also makes my visiting quite manageable. I rarely get any phone calls during the week. Rarely does anyone stop by to visit. We have no weddings or funerals every other week as some of our larger churches do. 

Third I minister in a rural area. We never have people stop by the church asking for anything. 

Fourth most of what I do in the fall-spring does not come up in the summer months (from June-August) so there is a slower time to the year. 

Fifth, we typically have 10 or so pulpit exchanges (in total) throughout the year which also helps (no new sermon preparation for that week).


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## fredtgreco (Nov 19, 2008)

Effective ministering is not for the faint of heart (or the lazy). I rarely work less than 60 hours per week. Often it is 70 or more, as Danny commented. Between meetings, visitation, sermon prep, community outreach, training, administrative stuff, the construction of a new building (I'm alsoteh church lawyer) and other duties, it is never slow.

I am in the office generally from 9-5, and usually work at least 3-4 hours at night (whether a visit, or a meeting, or on the computer at home). I can do that after the kids are in bed (generally). I probably work at least 4-5 hours on my weekday off (currently Tuesday). Saturdays are spent finalizing sermons, Sunday school classes, and often the is a church function. There is always more work to be done. That is critical - because it is not "busy work." The work to be done is usually a crisis in a family, a critical path item, or an upcoming teaching/preaching.

To be honest, I am awaiting the biggest help I can get - a secretary. We do have an Associate Pastor, but he has his own workload and that does not help with administrative stuff guys with secretaries take for granted - calling to confirm appointments, getting letters out, updating the webpage, etc. But I had the experience of being my own law firm for three years of seminary. And as anyone who knows me can tell you, I am way off the Type-A scale.


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## Zenas (Nov 19, 2008)

I thought I was busy.


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## fredtgreco (Nov 19, 2008)

Zenas said:


> I thought I was busy.



You're not. 

(Spoken as a former law student at Univ. of Michigan)


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## Zenas (Nov 19, 2008)

OT: Our legal methods professor went there.


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## Hippo (Nov 19, 2008)

Ideally I would hope that for much of the time it would not feel like work in the sense that most of us wage slaves experience. Is that the case or does even pastoring degenerate into a treadmill at times?

I know that seculer work should be carried out to the glory of God but personally there is little in life as pointless as tax.


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## Herald (Nov 19, 2008)

As a preaching elder I'll take a stab at this.

Monday - up at 5:30 am. Personal study, make appointments with customers, and sales calls. Home by 5-6:00 PM, dinner, time with family and prepare Tuesday evening lesson for mid-week service.

Tuesday - up at 5:30 am. Personal study. Out the door on sales calls between 6-7:00 am until 5:00 PM. Dinner followed by Tuesday evening service.

Wednesday - up at 5:30 am. Personal study. Out the door on sales calls between 6-7:00 am until 5:00 PM. Dinner and time with family. Possible visitation or reading/sermon prep.

Thursday - up at 5:30 am. Personal study. Out the door on sales calls between 6-7:00 am until 5:00 PM. Dinner and time with family. Sermon prep.

Friday - up at 5:30 am. Personal study. Out the door on sales calls between 6-7:00 am until 5:00 PM. Dinner and time with family. Unwind.

Saturday - up at 7:00 am. Personal study. Personal time. Final sermon or lesson prep.

Sunday - preach or teach Sunday School (depending on rotation schedule). Day spent with family.


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## Poimen (Nov 19, 2008)

Hippo said:


> Ideally I would hope that for much of the time it would not feel like work in the sense that most of us wage slaves experience. Is that the case or does even pastoring degenerate into a treadmill at times?



Yes it can become a treadmill.


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## Blue Tick (Nov 19, 2008)

2 Corinthians 12:15

15 And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls...


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## Ivan (Nov 19, 2008)

LawrenceU said:


> All of that plus a full time outside job that is 50 hours a week average - if you are bivocational. Try it. You'll like it.



I do! I'm livin' the dream!


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