After yesterday’s post about what I am thinking each Sunday morning I began thinking about an old joke. People often comment, “Good thing you only work one day a week” or something like that. Well, what work do I perform each week? As a result of this thinking I decided to blog about what I do each week. It is worth noting that these are unique to me. I am in a smaller Church and I am called upon to do numerous things that I might not do if the Church is bigger.

Here is my to-do list for each week:

1. Pray and Prepare myself – Each week I try to pray, read the bible and meditate. I am a Christian before I am a preacher.

2. Sermon – I still try to spend 7-20 hours a week working on my sermon. I try to have the best sermon I can put together every week. I feel this is my biggest responsibility each week.

3. Sunday Service Plan – Each week I pick out the songs, the opening video, the people who will do the prayer and communion time. I try to plan a cohesive service that will help everyone encounter God.

4. Sunday Service Program – Each week I prepare and print the program. I make sure everything gets printed, folded and stuffed. Then I make sure everything is in Easy Worship for the media on screen for Sunday morning.

5. Sunday School lesson – Each week I teach for about 45 minutes before our worship program. Here at Homer Christian I started teaching just a few kids and lately we have added several adults. It is a time where I teach, but people can ask questions and interact. It is basically a small group every Sunday morning. This takes 1-2 hours to prepare depending on the topic.

6. Visit People – This varies from week to week. I try schedule a couple lunches each week, some people just come by the office, maybe have someone at our house for a visit or possibly go to the hospital. I really would like to do more of this, but time constraints make this tougher to do. I would rather meet with one person for two hours than with 2 people for an hour.

7. Office Work – Each week I do all kinds of secretarial type work. We are not big enough to have a secretary so I handle attendance charts, emails, phone calls, mail, website updates, etc. I buy office supplies, order teaching material and handle all of the duties you might associate with a Church office.

8. Personal Growth – Each week I try to read books, magazines and blogs. I try to learn and grow each year through the teachings of others. I really, really enjoy listening to sermons and lectures. I try to fill every spare minute with learning opportunities.

9. Future Prep and plans – Each week I try to plan future events for the Church for fellowship and growth. I try to plan sermon series for maximum impact. I try to stay a step ahead of everything that is happening or going to happen. This takes many forms but it is vital in every way. I try to make sure nothing happens by accident that I can control.

10. Outreach – Once again this can take many forms. Here in Homer I try to get active in my community. I am the president of Pop Warner football. The last two years I have been coaching 7th grade basketball once football is finished. When those are done I try to be involved in High School basketball as much as I am allowed. Outreach can also be an preparing an advertisement for an event or talking to people I encounter everywhere. I try to leave enough room in my schedule to share my Church (and the gospel) with anyone I meet.

*There are thousands of little things I do each week, but those are the big ones. When that is all done I try to spend as much time with my family as possible. They are my greatest ministry and my greatest source of support and encouragement.

These 10 activities are usually enough to fill more than 40 hours each week. So now you can never say that a preacher only works on Sunday:)