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Continue reading →: Trying Harder vs. Trying SofterWhile churches are not able to meet during this coronavirus pandemic, pastors and other church workers seem busier than ever—learning how to get their worship services online, leading Bible study discussions on Zoom, producing content on how to be spiritually and socially engaged while practicing physical distance, and trying to…
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Continue reading →: Responding to COVID-19 and Other CrisesFive weeks ago, I was already planning to preach on the people’s complaint against Moses’ leadership as they travelled through the wilderness in Exodus 17:1-7. Two weeks ago, I was in touch with a member of our liturgy team about my sermon title and the music for our worship. One…
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Continue reading →: Church Road Kill: Totally Unacceptable and Too CommonLast month there was another flurry of tweets about a church that had wrongfully terminated staff and forced them to sign non-disclosure agreements. Timothy Isaiah Cho, an associate editor at Faithfully Magazine tweeted: I mean, signing an NDA [non-disclosure agreement] as a condition for a severance package following a wrongful…
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Continue reading →: On the Way with Jesus Free GuideThank you, dear readers, for your interest in my newest book, On the Way With Jesus, which is a collection of sermons for Lent and Easter that also works well for personal and group study. Each sermon focuses on a gospel text with commentary and ends with a brief prayer.…
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Continue reading →: 9 Avenues Toward Racial ReconciliationHow do you work toward racial reconciliation when you work in the church or other Christian organization? What practices help you to engage others in healthy ways? What stories do you share and how? Below are two articles on this theme that I’ve written as guest posts for other sites,…
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 