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Continue reading →: Reflection and Restoration Are Necessary for Effective MinistryThis article was first published in Faith & Leadership, and is reprinted here with permission. Ministers cannot thrive if they neglect themselves Jessica Young Brown Clergy must honor all aspects of their lives to be healthy in ministry, writes a clinical psychologist who focuses on faith and mental health. My…
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Continue reading →: God’s Invitation to RestIn my church, the “sermon” is generally a short homily of 10-15 minutes focused on one of the four lectionary Scripture readings for that Sunday. Personal stories are kept to a minimum or not at all, in favour of focusing on the text. Some might find this confining, but I…
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Continue reading →: When Uncertainty Leaves Room for the Certain Work of GodA version of this post first appeared on the Asian American Women on Leadership website as part of a series on Humility. A new pastor in our city was asked to give the opening devotional at our local ministerial gathering. He had just received his first pastoral appointment, and started…
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Continue reading →: A Small Church Is a Significant ChurchChurch consultant Lyle Schaller once noted: Churches have more in common by size than by denomination, tradition, location, age or any other single isolatable factor. So when a friend sent me a copy of Significant Church: Understanding the Value of Small Evangelical Churches in Canada, I read the report to see…
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Continue reading →: Voices of Lament in Brokenness and Hope“Consider now! Call for the wailing women to come; send for the most skillful of them. Let them come quickly and wail over us till our eyes overflow with tears and water streams from our eyelids.” (Jeremiah 9:17-18) These wailing women were most likely professional mourners. Notice, however, that God…
When You Work for the Church
Hello,
I’m April Yamasaki
Welcome to When You Work for the Church. I’ve been a church volunteer and a full-time pastor. I’ve led small groups and served on denominational committees. When I resigned from pastoral ministry to focus on my writing, I knew that I wanted to be—needed to be—grounded in a local congregation. I love the church!
But I also know that churches and church organizations have not always lived up to their calling, have brought harm instead of healing. So I started this website to share resources for doing ministry better, and pray that together we might serve more faithfully and effectively.
For a healthy rhythm of work and rest, I’d love to send you my ebook.
When You Work for the Church 