Truths About Common Jobs

8.

“As a pastor, people think we sit around and write sermons and read our bibles all day. Nope, far from it. The job is extremely stressful. Let’s start with Sundays. Yes, it is a church service, but it is work. We are doing the work while the congregation receives what we prepared throughout that week. We do home visits and hospital visits. When it comes to bedside service, it can be literally at any time of day or night or even if we are away on vacation. Death waits for no one. We listen to many people’s problems throughout the week, which takes an emotional toll. It’s hard to leave ‘work problems at work’ when you’re thinking about your church member who came to you and confessed a large amount of hurt they are going through.”

“We take that home with us because we care about our people. In some churches, we don’t have the staff to lead a bible study, men’s group, women’s group, or kids programs, so we do it ourselves. My husband and I are co-pastors, and we are also employers. During the week, we have a food pantry, soup kitchen, and senior programs, and we help with all of them because we don’t have the money to hire a large staff. We aren’t a mega-church typically, about 30 people attend on a Sunday. It’s exhausting and rewarding.”

—barriv