I’ve had some people wonder what an average week looks like in the life of a full-time pastor. Since I have my kids with me most days, and I am involved in several parachurch ministries, my weeks can vary quite a bit. But what follows is an average week when everything goes as planned.
Sunday
- Wake up at 5 or 6 AM.
- Last-minute preparation and prayer.
- Arrive at church by 8 AM to pray and set up.
- Teach a 9 AM class.
- Lead the 10 AM worship service, preach, administer the sacrament.
- Text, call, or visit those who were absent.
- Rest and family time.
Monday —DAY OFF
Tuesday–Friday
- Wake up at 7 AM to 8 AM at the latest.
- Morning Prayer & Breakfast.
- Reading. “Spend all the morning, or at least five hours in twenty-four, in reading the most useful books, and that regularly and constantly. Some may read less than others; but none should read less than this” (Wesley to Methodist preachers).
- Midday Prayer, Catechesis, & Lunch.
- Sermon prep, worship prep, other office work, meetings, contacting church members, visitation.
- Evening Prayer & Dinner.
- Family time.
- Or, fairly often, meetings like Wednesday Small Group, an Elders’ Meeting, pastoral counseling, or taking someone out to dinner for discipleship or pastoral connection and care.
- Compline (bedtime prayer with family).
- Read and/or write before bed.
- Bed by 11 PM to Midnight at latest.
Saturday
Whatever else needs done. For example…
- Finish up and print my sermon.
- Finish up my PowerPoint or handout for Sunday School class.
- Finish up and print the Worship Guides.
- Breakfast or lunch meeting for discipleship, mentoring, or pastoral care.
- Visitation and outreach.
- Acquire bread/wine for communion (I need to turn this over to a deacon).
- Pray through the directory.
We often have family activities on Saturday.
Details
- Prayer (morning, midday, evening, compline) — I use the Daily Office and pray responsively with anyone who is with me (e.g., my children). At these times, I also offer spontaneous prayers for the needs of my family, church members, and so on. See our articles on the Daily Office and resources on prayer.
- Reading — I have always struggled with reading because I have a short attention span. My wife thinks I have ADHD. I can’t sit down and read 100 pages straight. So I have developed a simple system to help me. One shelf of my bookshelf is for “current reading.” I have about 10–12 books on that shelf at a time. I just put them in a pile, one on top of the other, to the left side of the shelf. I grab one, and read a few pages or sections. When I lose interest or get restless, I move it to the right side of the pile and go on to the next book. The next day, I pick up a book from the left side. When all the books are on the right side, I move the stack back to the left and start over. In my reading stack, I try to have a good balance and variety at all times (see our articles on the spiritual classics, favorite books for pastors, and reading the church fathers).
- Sermon prep — I try to read my sermon text early in the week and start meditating on it. Often I print it off, double spaced, and use colored pens to draw connections and make notes. Then, I read commentaries (especially the ACCS, Wesley, Calvin, and one or two modern commentaries). By about Thursday, I try to have the main idea of the passage clear in my mind. Then, I organize the material in the passage around that idea, write an outline, and flesh it out. It takes a while to write myself clear. See our articles on preaching through whole books and how to get started.
- Worship prep — Each week, I prepare a “Worship Guide,” an 8-page booklet for our Sunday Service (see my article on this). The Worship Guide is a lot of work, but it’s also a joy and spiritually enriching to prepare.
- Other office work — I spend time each week on ongoing projects (e.g., writing projects like the catechism, classes that I’m slowly developing for Sunday School, articles that I want to publish, work for Holy Joys, and so on).
- Contacting church members — I want to do a better job at this, but I try to keep in contact with church members throughout the week, especially via text. Sometimes I just ask how their day is going or tell them that I’m praying for them. Sometimes I send a prayer, Scripture verse, or quote that I think might be meaningful to them.
- Visitation — Much of my “visitation” is taking people out to breakfast, coffee, lunch, or dinner. I find that people tend to open up more in a neutral setting like a restaurant or coffee shop. But I also do some in-home visitation or knock on doors of community members that I’m trying to reach. As I’m able, I try to take care packages to those who are sick (a Christian friend inspired me to do this).
