“It’s got to be nice to be a pastor since you only have to work few hours a week on Sunday…” so the old joke goes. There is truth in it. Pastors have their biggest hours during times of worship and gathering with God’s people. But the week goes by quickly in a big church with plenty of ministry to do. Here is a day in the life a pastor with a congregation of 1800 souls, three pastors, a Lutheran elementary school with 180 kids and early childhood ministry with over 50 children.
Wednesday, September 29:
5:15 AM – Wife’s alarm goes off
5:30 AM – Coffee is ground and starts to brew. I start my devotions and study.
6:15 AM – Wife does yoga, and I am off to Lakeside Weight Room to work out.
7 AM – Wife is off to teach preschool. I get home and start to dig into emails.
7:30 AM – Look over material for this weekend’s sermon. I am preaching at a mission in Deerfield, Wisconsin. A mission pastor is doing a mission festival for us at our church, St Paul Lutheran.
8:45 PM – Shower and head to my office.
9:15 AM – Start greeting mothers from the community who are coming to our church’s “Story Time.”
9:30 AM – Talk to new moms attending our “Power Hour” in the school gym. Discuss our preschool with one of the moms and give her more information about it. Introduce myself and try to remember names.
10 AM – Go to eye doctor appointment. I need a new prescription because I’m having trouble reading as I preside in worship.
11 AM – Check in at church. Talk to staff and associates, then make some “shut in” appointments for next two days.
11:45 AM – Get home, quickly warm up some leftovers, and eat.
Noon – Call pastor at Salem to talk about the divine call I received on Sunday and find out what I am called to be and do. Talk for 1.5 hours.
2 PM – Respond to emails, talk to associates about the call, and talk to a student from Lakeside who is thinking of ministry.
3:15 PM – Ten public school 7 & 8th graders arrive for Catechism class.
4:45 PM – Make some phone calls and appointments.
5:15 PM – Eat supper with my wife.
5:50 PM – Go back to church to counsel with a young pregnant woman about baptism and Bible class with her fiancé.
7:30 PM – Come home, make some phone calls from all the texts and voicemails that came up over the last two hours.
8:15 PM – Sit down to write this article about my day.
9:15 PM – Work on my sermon and Bible study for the weekend.
10:30 PM – Fall asleep in minutes…
What a blessed life to work fulltime in the Word and with people gathered around the Word. To God be the glory!
Pastor Douglas Tomhave
St. Paul, Lake Mills, Wisconsin
October is Pastor Appreciation Month, a time to thank called workers for faithfully preaching and teaching God’s Word to us. Not sure how to thank your pastor this year? Let him choose a gift with an NPH e-gift card!