“So… what do you do the rest of the week?”

Every pastor hears it. The joke. The jab. The wild assumption that preaching a 25-minute sermon on Sunday is the entire workload.

Eh, we usually smile. Maybe laugh. But if we’re being honest? That question stings a little—not because it’s mean-spirited, but because it’s so far from reality.

The truth is, most pastors juggle more roles than people realize. One article claimed pastors carry the weight of 16 different jobs. That’s cute, but I stopped counting after 25.

Yes, we preach. We teach. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Beneath the Sunday morning platform is a whole world of behind-the-scenes work—most of it unseen, and a good chunk of it unexpected.

We’re spiritual counselors and crisis responders. We walk with people through death, divorce, depression, and diagnosis. We field phone calls at midnight. We hold babies and bury parents. We lead when things go well… and we absorb the blame when they don’t.

But that’s just the obvious stuff.

Here are a few less glamorous roles that end up on the pastoral plate:

Graphic Designer.
Someone’s got to make the sermon slides, flyers, Instagram posts, and event graphics. And no, we didn’t go to art school—we just Googled how to use Canva and hoped for the best.

Tech Support.
Why isn’t the livestream working? Why is the mic cutting out? Why did the ProPresenter file disappear? Ask the pastor. Apparently, preaching and IT now go hand-in-hand.

Janitor.
Overflowing toilet in the kids’ room? Trash left after the potluck? Glitter explosion from Sunday school? Guess who’s got the keys—and the gloves. I recently was seen taking out the trash and one of our members said wow you’re the garbage man too?

Crisis Communications.
Someone offended, a staff conflict brewing, or a sensitive issue threatening to divide the room? Welcome to the world of emotional landmines and leadership triage.

Mediator.
When tensions rise between team members, families, or committees, pastors often become the calm in the chaos. It’s less about choosing sides and more about shepherding hearts—without losing our own in the process.

Social Worker.
We help people navigate food insecurity, job loss, eviction, addiction, and broken relationships—not with all the answers, but with presence, prayer, and a Rolodex of local contacts. For you younger folks that’s a paper version of the contact list in your iPhone.

So yeah—pastoring is beautifully sacred work. But it’s also messy, heavy, and relentless. It doesn’t clock out at 5 p.m. It rarely fits in a tidy job description. And no, it’s not just “Sunday morning stuff.”

It’s real-life soul work.
It’s administrative chaos and sacred silence.
It’s wearing 10 hats before lunch and still needing to write a sermon.

But What If You Didn’t Have to Carry It Alone?

If you’re a pastor, you’ve probably asked the question—either quietly or in exhaustion: “Does it really have to be this heavy?”

The answer? Not if you’re willing to build the right team.

But let’s be real. Most churches can’t afford to hire a full staff. Budget constraints are real, and for many pastors, the idea of bringing on communications, operations, or donor development professionals feels like a distant dream.

But what if you actually had access to this kind of support—and so much more—through the right partnerships?

That’s what we found in the FiveTwo Network.

As pastors, we know the Gospel. We know how to do Sunday morning. But what I found in FiveTwo was the ability to better organize and manage the rest of the workload—the part that often gets overwhelming.

Through this partnership, we gained:

  • Laser-focused ministry strategy that helped us work smarter, not just harder.
  • Organizational gurus who cleared the clutter and streamlined some of how we operate.
  • A communications team that didn’t just tell us what to do—they gave us practical, field-tested best practices.
  • A donor development team that helped us see what we were missing—opportunities for growth, generosity, and long-term sustainability.

Bringing on staff is great if you can do it. But if you can’t, you don’t have to grind yourself into the ground doing it all alone. There are people and networks designed to come alongside pastors and churches and bring clarity to the chaos.

Because here’s the truth:
Ministry done alone is exhausting.
Ministry done together? Now that’s unstoppable.

If you’re a pastor or leader feeling the weight of it all—maybe it’s time to ask:
Who could stand beside me in this?

I found that answer in FiveTwo. If you’re looking for the same kind of support, I’d love to share more about how this partnership changed the way I lead.

Let’s talk. You don’t have to carry it all alone.