“I still find it a major tension to this day,” says church planter Todd Hall.
“You put on one hat in the morning, you take it off in the afternoon and put your other hat on – but you're still getting phone calls from your morning activities.”
Todd is reflecting on his experiences combining the life of an orchard farmer with that of a church planter in Victoria's north.
Three years ago the Halls established The Exchange Church in Shepparton, a rural centre about two and a half hours north of Melbourne.
“The first year went reasonably smoothly … but there's always that expectation, 'I wonder who will come this week? I wonder if anyone will come?'” Todd recalls.
Todd had also chosen the relatively difficult model of 'tent-making ministry' – funding their efforts by working on the family farm at the same time. The choice to proceed this way has introduced an extra layer of challenges.
“Because I'm self-employed, I have a lot of flexibility,” he says. “But the disadvatnages are that you can't put all the time you want in to the church plant because you've got these other responsibilities.”
Feeling torn between the demands of the farm and the demands of ministry is something he's adjusted to better over time. And avoiding the burn-out that would result from trying to meet all the demands associated with both has required some very conscious choices.
“You see the tractors buzz past your window and you wonder whether you should be out there doing something,” Todd shares.
The key to keeping his spiritual motivation strong sounds a little 'apple pie' but it's crucial nonetheless.
“Probably the key thing I've discovered is to maintain a very good personal devotional life. Find time for prayer, and find time daily to get into God's word and keep my spirit fresh.”
Todd realised that if he wanted the people of Shepparton to make Jesus the centre of their lives, he had ensure he was leading by example.
Coming from a farming background, Todd also understands the danger of deciding you can do it all yourself. Consequently he's also continues to involve his family at every point, as well as preserve family time so that he doesn't breed bitterness.
“I prayed a lot early on that God would give me a soft heart and mind, that I would realise I'm not that man who can do everything on his own.”
Add to this membership of a local peer group of ministers, and the resources provided by Geneva Push – coaching, conferences, online education and articles – and Todd says you come up with a fairly robust structure for supporting long-term ministry.
“Sometimes they're one-per-centers but it's just amazing how those one-per-centers come at the right time,” he says. “And it's just what I needed and I'm right, ready to go again.”
You can watch the entire interview with Todd Hall on avoiding burn-out in ministry here.
