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Emmanuel Research Review

Resources for the urban pastor and community leader
published by Emmanuel Gospel Center, Boston
Issue No. 14 — February 2006

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The Emmanuel Research Review is a publication of the Emmanuel Gospel Center. The Review features articles, papers, resources, and information that we believe are helpful and relevant to urban pastors, leaders, and community members in their efforts to serve their communities effectively.

In this issue: Surviving and Thriving in Urban Ministry

Introduction

by Rudy Mitchell
Senior Researcher
Emmanuel Research Institute

As an urban Christian worker, you want to bear fruit, but you also want to avoid burnout! In this issue of the Emmanuel Research Review, Rev. Dr. Gregg Detwiler, Multicultural Ministries Coordinator for the Emmanuel Gospel Center, outlines some of the characteristics and abilities which an urban ministry worker can build on with an attitude of love and a willingness to learn. These aspects of a minister’s life, according to Dr. Detwiler, are key areas which need to be continually nurtured and renewed to maintain both an effective ministry and a balanced personal life. Attention must be given to the pastor or Christian worker as a person, to avoid burnout and harvest spiritual fruit.

As always, we conclude this issue with a list of print and online resources for those who want to further explore this topic. Your feedback is important! Let us know if this issue was helpful to you, or if you have suggestions for future issues.

Surviving and Thriving in Urban Ministry:
The Essential Qualities and Skills of an Effective Urban Worker

The demands of ministry in the city are unique and intense. Among people-helping urban workers, the average length of service is not much more than four years.¹ In this context, survival in urban work is itself an achievement. Burnout is a common occurrence, a phenomenon described by David Frenchak as “the snowballing effect of physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual fatigue.”² Having worked in urban ministry myself for over a decade, I can testify to the reality of urban ministry burnout. Thankfully, my experiences with burnout were short seasons from which I recovered, but not all of my colleagues have been so fortunate. In this regard, the biblical phrase, “How the mighty have fallen,” has taken on a new meaning for me.

The causes of burnout are many. Human need is concentrated and magnified in the city. There is a never-ending job to do, often accompanied by a perceived lack of success. Psychologically, there is the feeling of loneliness and alienation which sometimes grows out of a lack of denominational support or abandonment from parishioners. Conflict with urban power structures, confrontation with and awareness of violence, urban noise and traffic, difficulty in accomplishing what would seem to be small tasks—all of these take their toll on urban workers. Add to this the general sense of smallness one feels in the city, and the equation for burnout becomes readily apparent.

The question which logically follows is, how does one survive in urban ministry? Indeed, one valid approach to discover the elements necessary for effective urban ministry is to look at the causes of burnout and develop strategies to counter them. Though there is merit in such an approach, we will attempt to answer a slightly different question, one posed by Roger Greenway this way: “What kind of men and women are needed in the city, and what does it take to succeed in urban ministry?”³ In other words, what does it take to not only survive in urban ministry but to thrive in urban ministry? Many lists have been drawn up to answer that question. For my answer I will turn to three sources: (1) literature on urban mission and ministry; (2) reflection from my own years of urban ministry in Boston; and (3) input from other urban ministers.⁴

One immediate question to be asked is, what kind of urban workers are we talking about? George Reitz describes three distinct types of urban ministry workers—the conceptualizer, the strategist, and the practitioner.⁵ For our purpose, we will focus on the elements needed for all urban Christian workers, regardless of their distinct type or calling.

Another point to note is that the elements necessary for effective urban ministry are multi-dimensional and include spiritual, psychological, relational, ministry, and cross-cultural factors. Although it is difficult to neatly separate each of these elements—as many of them clearly overlap—it is useful to categorize them within five concentric circles (see Figure 1). While the exact placement of these circles may be debated, I believe that the effective urban worker begins with attention to the center circle and moves out from there. Let us now examine each circle with its corresponding qualities and skills.

Figure 1: qualities and skills of the urban ministry worker

Christ and his Word must be kept at the center of the urban worker’s life, for it is from this center that the needed security, guidance, and power to survive and thrive in urban mission will flow.

A Strong and Growing Devotional Life. The challenges, pressures, and temptations of the city require the urban worker to be intimately connected to God through his Word and prayer. Jesus said in John 15 that, like a branch separated from its vine, we can do nothing apart from him and his Word. An urban minister put it clearly in street language: “If the devil can beat you in having a daily devotional time, he can beat you at anything.”⁶ The city is a place where external pressures are constantly pressing against the urban Christian. As we have already said, many are crushed under this pressure. To survive these external pressures, the internal pressure of the urban worker’s soul must be greater.

Another image is found in the law of gravity in contrast to the law of aerodynamics. The force of gravity always pulls us down to the earth. Spiritually, we might liken this to what the Bible calls “the law of sin and death.” Our intimate relationship with God, through his Word and prayer, helps us to defy spiritual gravity in much the same way that the law of aerodynamics offsets physical gravity.

Meets Biblical Qualifications for Spiritual Leadership. One of the best ways to ensure that people will not be crushed by the demands of urban ministry is to take seriously the biblical qualifications for spiritual leadership. The pastoral epistles clearly outline the qualifications for elders and deacons within the church (see Table 1). It is important to note that the majority of these elements have more to do with personal and relational qualities than with external ministry skills. Mission agencies would do well to heed these qualifications before appointing workers to the city.

Table 1: qualifications for elders and deacons

A Basic and Growing Theology of Urban Mission. Roger Greenway says, “The kind of mission work that pleases God and can expect his blessing is built carefully on sound biblical foundations.”⁷ The Apostle Paul, in 1Corinthians 3, described himself as an expert builder who built his apostolic ministry upon the foundation of Jesus Christ and the gospel. We too must build our urban ministry upon this same foundation, knowing that the quality of our work will one day be tested. Like Abraham, we must look for a “city with foundations, whose architect and builder are God” (Heb. 11:10). Because God is the ultimate architect and builder, he has the plans we need to engage in the work.

Both the Old and the New Testaments have much to teach about urban mission. They provide not only the framework to understand and keep us in our mission, but also specific strategies to employ. In the Old Testament, for example, we see God’s concern for cities such as Babylon and Nineveh. In Jeremiah 29:7, we read God’s command to his people who were exiled in Babylon: “Seek the peace of the city… Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Because the mission movement of the New Testament was primarily urban, it is also replete with principles and models. In Acts 11, for example, we read about the church in Antioch, a church Greenway uses as “a biblical model of urban church development.”⁸

Stacks of relevant theological principles can be found throughout God’s Word, like bricks in the building trade. Though there are far too many to enumerate here, let us mention one, the idea of holistic ministry. From the Old Testament word shalom to the New Testament ministry model in the life of Jesus and the apostles, we capture the idea that God is concerned about ministry not only for the soul, but for the whole of man. In the gospels we see that we are responsible to present the whole gospel to the whole man, to the whole world. This is only one example of the benefits of a basic and growing theology of urban mission.

A Clear Sense of Calling. Douglas Hall, long-term missionary practitioner in Boston, spoke to me early in my ministry about the importance of having a clear sense of calling to urban mission.⁹ This calling must be both experiential and theological. Knowledge of urban problems, compassion for the people, and the desire for challenge, though important, are not sufficient to keep workers in the city. David Claerbaut says that we must have a theology that keeps us in the city even when the going is extraordinarily tough, the city political systems unbending, the problems too complex, and the publicity and the glamour gone. Says Claerbaut, “A person who feels called by his theological commitment to urban service becomes aware that he is where he should be and thus, in that sense, he is succeeding no matter what the external signs of effectiveness may be.”¹⁰

Love for the City and Its People. This would appear to be a given, but it bears repeating as it is the heart and soul of all ministry—love for God and love for fellow humans. Love sees both the need of the city and its people, and their Kingdom potential. General William Booth of The Salvation Army, used to tell recruits: “If you can’t cry over the city, we can’t use you.” On the other hand, some urban workers only see the city as a needy place, and consequently have a very negative view of its people. In contrast to this pessimistic view, love always hopes. “First Corinthians 13,” says Roger Greenway, “is a Bible passage that urban workers need to reflect on often. Such love will help overcome unwarranted fear of the city and will release the gifts and energies needed to serve faithfully.”¹¹

2. Intrapersonal Qualities and Skills

Not only do urban workers need to know God, they also need to know themselves. Along these lines, effective urban workers need to do some serious intrapersonal reflection.

Awareness of Personal Strengths and Spiritual Gifts. Effective urban workers must begin by taking inventory of their personal experiences, personal strengths, and spiritual gifts. What has God blessed in past ministry experiences? On the basis of those experiences, what strengths have become evident and affirmed by others? What signs of the gifting graces of God have been observed in the urban worker’s life? Answers to these questions will uncover the building blocks of an effective urban worker.

Awareness of Personal Weakness and Limitations. Equally important is knowing our weaknesses. This knowledge helps the urban worker to define his or her place and parameters of ministry in the city. Nothing is more frustrating and counterproductive to urban workers and their teammates than trying to function outside of their areas of strength and gifting. Knowing our weaknesses and limitations also shows us where we need help and what our areas of vulnerability might be.

Awareness of the Need to Maintain a “Balanced” Life. The effective urban worker understands the need to faithfully attend to each life and ministry role—personal priorities, family priorities, ministry priorities—in a balanced manner. Consider the roles most urban pastors have in a given week. When I pastored in Boston, each week I divided my time into seven roles: individual, husband-father, pastor-shepherd, pastor-evangelist, pastor-teacher, pastor-administrator, and ministerial colleague. In addition, I had a section in my weekly planner I called sharpen the saw which contained four basic areas to my life: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual. The next step was to write down and schedule time for my most important goals in each of those seven role areas, as well as in the sharpen the saw section. Because of the never-ending nature of urban ministry, it is easy to let certain areas slip. Sometimes this slippage, if gone unchecked, can lead to disaster.

With the demands of life and ministry constantly shifting, how does the effective urban worker know which area needs more attention? Figure 2 illustrates my attempt to wrestle with that question as an urban pastor.

Figure 2: the balanced life of an effective urban ministry worker

Notice Christ at the center of the wheel and the slices of the pie emanating from the center. The goal of the effective urban worker is to allow Christ to be Lord over the entire pie, cutting larger and smaller slices as directed by his wisdom and counsel. In addition, notice the piece of pie called margins. This crucial slice of time is especially important for urban ministers—time set aside for the inevitable unexpected issues (and serendipitous opportunities) of life and ministry.

A Disposition to Learn. Roger Greenway speaks of the importance of the urban minister to be insatiably curious.¹² Effective urban workers take time to get to know the city through books and by shoe leather, neighborhood by neighborhood. Furthermore, effective workers are humble, patient, and willing to learn from those who are already laboring in the city; to learn what has worked and what has not, what plans are already on the drawing board and what ones have yet to be conceived. The quality of having a teachable spirit and developing an informed strategy is often the difference between survival or self-destruction, effectiveness or counter productivity.

3. Interpersonal Qualities and Skills

Beyond knowing God and self, there are some fundamental interpersonal factors essential to surviving and thriving in the city. Beginning with those closest to the urban worker and moving out from there, key relationships must be cultivated and nurtured.

A Spouse Who is Committed to the Work (if married). The Bible asks the question in Amos 3:3, “Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?” Spousal agreement to engage in urban ministry is a fundamental factor for effectiveness in urban work. Without it, the devil will surely drive a wedge in the marriage and the urban worker will likely add brokenness, not blessing, to those he is seeking to serve.

Attention to Family. A related factor to spousal agreement is establishing family priorities. It is one thing to agree to do ministry in the city; it is another to do it without being destructive to the worker’s own family. If the worker is married, and especially if he/she has children, family concerns are inevitable. Many a pastor has lost his marriage or become estranged from his children because his family was not a sufficient priority. The most critical family problem for those in urban ministry is time. Unless one plans and zealously guards family time, it will soon evaporate. A colleague of mine once rephrased a familiar Bible passage this way: “What does it profit a man if he wins the whole world for Christ and loses his own family?” Ironically, the colleague who quoted this verse did not heed his own counsel and ended up losing his own family and ministry due to indiscretions.

Supportive Relational Systems. Moving beyond the support of the nuclear family, urban workers must find or create supportive relational systems with those who understand what they are going through. Peer support and encouragement from colleagues and co-workers is crucial. For most of the years I served as a missionary-pastor in Boston, this need was filled for me in two ways: (1) a weekly pastor’s small group and (2) a monthly session with an interdenominational pastoral counselor who specialized in working with ministers.

Accountability Relational Systems. Often overlapping with support systems, but sometimes distinct, are accountability systems. Accountability systems check us, and help us to be brutally honest about ourselves and our ministries. These types of relationships are often the most lacking in the Christian work and must be sought out. It was not long after I arrived in Boston that I recognized my need for both support and accountability relationships. My accountability systems included (moving from my most intimate to least intimate relationships): (1)my wife, (2) a spiritual advisor/counselor, (3) my weekly minister’s small group, (4) my staff, (5) my elder board, (6) my ecclesiastical overseers and (7) my critics.

4. Ministry Qualities and Skills

Though the following qualities and skills have particular relevance to the urban church planter or pastor, they also have a bearing on all urban workers.

A Pastor’s Heart. In some ways, this quality may repeat the point above regarding loving the city and its people, but it is more specific. It is a given that pastors must have a pastor’s heart, but this quality is vital for all urban workers. John 10 records Jesus’ story about the good shepherd and his sheep. Three characters emerge from the story that have an interest in the sheep—the wolf, the hired hand, and the good shepherd. The wolf, of course, had only one interest—lamb chops! The hired hand saw the sheep as a job, but fled when there was danger and difficulty. The good shepherd, on the other hand, loved the sheep and was willing to lay down his life for them. Urban people may not know a lot about sheep, but they do know a lot about wolves and hired hands! Effective urban workers, regardless of their role, have a heart of a good shepherd to love people in word and deed.

A Commitment to Personal and Organized Evangelism. Roger Greenway says, “Good urban workers possess a deep and genuine passion for evangelism, for telling people the Good News about Jesus Christ.”¹³ Along with all the social, emotional, and material needs heaped high in the city, the need to know God’s love in Christ is one need that cuts through all layers of society and touches every home and individual. Evangelism must become a part of daily life, as well as an organized activity within the church. In his book The Pastor-Evangelist: Preacher, Model, and Mobilizer for Church Growth, Greenway states that the pastor fulfills his leadership role in evangelism in three ways: “by teaching and preaching evangelism from the scriptures, by modeling evangelism in his life and ministry, and by organizing the congregation for evangelistic thrusts into the community.”¹⁴ If the pastor is committed to these, there must also be people around him who will follow in doing the same.

A Commitment to Leadership Development. Raising up home-grown, indigenous leadership is the goal of every missionary. The important priority of modeling and passing on the Gospel and ministry training is central to the teaching of the New Testament. The apostle Paul admonished young pastor Timothy with these words: “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Tim. 2:2). Jesus’ training style is the prototype for all effective ministry training. Jesus created a learning environment when he called his disciples “that they might be with him” (Mark 3:13). As they walked with him for three years, they observed his life and ministry, were delegated ministry, debriefed various ministry experiences, and were instructed to continue the process of making disciples after Jesus’ ascension. The effective urban worker takes seriously this model to train others who can in turn train others. This training must be done on a variety of levels within the local church and is the key to long-term effectiveness in ministry.

An Ability to Catalyze a Shared Vision Supported by Local People. Some urban workers come to the city with grand visions which are never fulfilled, often because there is a lack of local support. The effective urban worker has the ability to catalyze a shared vision supported by local people. Missiologist Robert Linthicum quotes a Chinese proverb which fits well here as an admonition to all urban missionaries:

Go to the people,
Live among them.
Learn from them.
Start with what they know.
Build on what they have:
But of the best of leaders,
When their task is accomplished,
Their work is done,
The people all remark
“We have done it ourselves.”¹⁵

An Ability to Formulate Goals and Strategy for Urban Mission. This skill flows logically out of the previous point, but unfortunately is not always present with urban workers. Proverbs 29:18 has often been quoted—where there is no vision the people perish-and while this is certainly true, it is equally true that where there is no plan the vision perishes! Effective urban workers must not only have a clear vision for their ministries but also clear goals and strategies to see those visions accomplished.

5. Cross-cultural Qualities and Skills

Not only do effective urban workers need the general ministry qualities and skills mentioned above, but they also need special cross-cultural graces and skills.

An Ability to Live and Work Happily in a Multicultural Urban Environment. Effective urban workers come to see the positive sides of living and working in a multicultural urban environment. Respect for and appreciation of cultural diversity in the community and church is a must. Roger Greenway rightly says, “Urban ministry doesn’t have to be a bed of nails.”¹⁶ Indeed, one of the ways to prevent burnout among urban workers is to keep in mind the many rewards and benefits of living and ministering in the city. Among these are: exposure to a wide variety of people and cultures; the vitality of the urban church; the exposure and experience ministry families have with confronting the needs of urban people; the opportunity for the urban minister to shape his/her children by biblical values rather than suburban cultural values; the opportunity to strategically impact many areas of the world by ministering to people from other nations; and the abundance of cultural and educational facilities. These are but a few of the main rewards and benefits cities afford.

Skill in Building and Maintaining Cross-cultural Relationships. In many societies around the world, building and preserving relationships is foundational to their culture. A careful reading of the New Testament also affirms this as a distinctive of New Testament Christianity. In western industrialized societies, however, relationships tend not to be primary elements of the dominant culture, but secondary.¹⁷ Because so many residents of the city come from cultures which emphasize the primacy of relationships, western-born missionaries and ministers must be sensitive to this cross-cultural reality. A helpful maxim I learned early in ministry is this: All ministry flows through relationships. Building and maintaining cross-cultural relationships in its most basic form is nothing more than taking the time to listen, learn, and get to know other people. This foundational concept builds genuine credibility with people individually and communally and is the entry gate to all further ministry.

Cross-cultural Awareness in Ministry Activities. In a general way, cross-cultural awareness should influence any and all ministry activity for an urban worker—pastoral ministry, counseling, evangelism, leadership development, community development or diaconal ministries. A sensitivity to cross-cultural dynamics must always be present when working with diverse cultures in the urban setting.

Conclusion

In conclusion, two points need to be made. First, we must acknowledge that no one person has all these qualities and skills perfectly. They are not static elements, but qualities and skills one develops. Certainly a basic level of proficiency should be expected before a person attempts to engage in urban ministry but, as in all areas of life and ministry, these are areas one matures into. Second, the qualities and skills outlined in this paper promote holistic models of ministry. They blend being and doing with the aim of modeling the message the urban worker is endeavoring to communicate. Such qualities and skills will enable the urban worker to not only survive but to thrive in urban ministry.

Footnotes

Bibliography

Below are listed the sources used in this article. For a more detailed list of resources on this issue, see our list of print and online resources below.

Claerbaut, David B. Urban Ministry. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1983.

Greenway, Roger S., ed. The Pastor-Evangelist: Preacher, Model, and Mobilizer for Church Growth. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1987.

______. “The Urban Church Builder’s Tool Kit.” Urban Mission and Ministry Course Lectures. Grand Rapids, MI: Institute of Theological Studies, 1988, sound cassette.

Greenway, Roger S., and Edna Greenway. Urban Mission and Ministry Study Guide. Grand Rapids, MI: Outreach Inc., 1989.

Greenway, Roger S., and Timothy Monsma. Cities: Missions’ New Frontier. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1989.

Hall, Douglas, President of the Emmanuel Gospel Center. Interviews by author, 1986-1998.______. “An Introduction to Primary and Secondary Cultural Theory.” An EGC Monograph Publication. Boston: Emmanuel Gospel Center, 1990.

Linthicum, Robert C. “Networking: Hope for the Church in the City.” Urban Mission 4 (Jan 1987), 32-51.Reitz, George. “Three types of Urban Practitioners.” Urban Mission 11 (September 1993): 22-28.

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Resources for the Urban Minister, Ministry, and Burnout

Books and articles

Bakke, Ray A. Theology as Big as the City. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1997.

Bakke, Ray and Jim Hart. The Urban Christian: Effective Ministry in Today’s Urban World. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1987.

Claerbaut, David. Urban Ministry in a New Millennium. Authentic & World Vision, 2005.

Claerbaut, David. “Don't Be an Urban Missionary Unless...” Evangelical Missions Quarterly 19:2 (April 1983): 86-94.

Coleman, Robert E. The Master Plan of Evangelism. 30th Anniv. Ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Fleming H. Revell/Baker, 1993.

Conn, Harvie M., and Manuel Ortiz. Urban Ministry: The Kingdom, the City and the People of God. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2001. See especially pages 391-397. Chapter 20 of this book is about urban Christian leadership and “Stress points in Urban Ministry.” Developing and mentoring urban Christian leaders are also covered.

Conn, Harvie M., editor. Planting and Growing Urban Churches: From Dream to Reality. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1997.

DuBose, Francis M. How Churches Grow in an Urban World. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1978.

Dudley, Carl. Making the Small Church Effective. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1978.

Ellison, Craig W. and Edward S. Maynard. Healing for the City. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1992.

Elliston, Edgar J., and J. Timothy Kauffman. Developing Leaders for Urban Ministries. New York: P. Lang, 1993.

Evans, Pamela. The Overcommitted Christian: How to Serve God Without Wearing Out. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2001.

Fuder, John, editor. A Heart for the City: Effective Ministries to the Urban Community. Chicago: Moody Press, 1999.

Greenway, Roger S., editor. Discipling the City: A Comprehensive Approach to Urban Mission. 2nd edition. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1992. See especially pages 125-135.

Harbaugh, Gary L. Pastor as Person: Maintaining Integrity in the Choices and Challenges of Ministry. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing, 1984.

Heuser, Roger, and Norman Sawchuck. Leading the Congregation: Caring for Yourself While Serving the People. Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 1993.

Leadership Journal. Summer 1986 issue (vol. VII, no. 3). See the following articles:
Haden, Ben. “Secrets of Staying Power.” pages 12-18.
Qualben, Ben. “A Cool Look at Burning Out.” pages 19-21.
Grieg, Donald. “Are We Overworked.” pages 22-25.
“Keeping a Keen Edge: A Forum.” pages 128-137.

Linthicum, Robert. City of God, City of Satan: A Biblical Theology of the Urban Church. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1991.

Lupton, Robert D. Theirs is the Kingdom: Celebrating the Gospel in Urban America. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1989.

Lupton, Robert D. Renewing the City. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2005. A creative approach to understanding Christian leadership for rebuilding cities. Lupton brings together his own experience and that of Nehemiah in urban community development.

Minirth, Frank, Don Hawkins, Paul Meier, and Richard Flournoy. How to Beat Burnout. Chicago: Moody Press, 1986.

Moreman, William. Developing Spiritually and Professionally. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1984.

Oswald, Roy M. How to Build a Support System for Your Ministry. Washington, D.C.: Alban Institute, 1991.

Peterson, Eugene. Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1990.

Sanford, John A. Ministry Burnout. Louisville, Ken.: Westminster /JohnKnox, 1992.

Willimon, William. Clergy and Laity Burnout. Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 1989.

Yamamori, Tetsunao, Bryant L. Myers, and Kenneth L. Luscombe, editors. Serving with the Urban Poor. Monrovia, CA: MARC, 1998.

Online Resources

Transforming the City is an online book developed by participants in a workshop organized by International Urban Associates (IUA). IUA brought together twenty-five urban ministry experts for a week of brainstorming and asked them two questions: “What does it take to be effective in urban ministry?” and “How do we communicate what we know about urban ministry?” (http://www.telchar.com/telchar/theocity.htm)

Hope Street—Urban Compassion provides a helpful concise list of urban ministry distinctives. (http://hopestreet.org.au/aboutUs/distinctives.htm)

Other Resources

Parsonage.org, a ministry of Focus on the Family, lists counseling centers specializing in helping those working in ministry to deal effectively with burnout. Among the 20 centers listed, some offer both preventative and restorative counseling.

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Emmanuel Research Review, copyright © 2006, Emmanuel Gospel Center. All rights reserved. For permission to reprint any or all of this newsletter, contact mailto:rmitchell@egc.org by email or write:

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PO Box 180245
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Read about the Emmanuel Research Institute at EGC.

Send your ideas and comments to:
Rudy Mitchell, Senior Researcher, 617.262.4567 x133
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