Thank you for your participation in the Servant Leader Recharge introduction meeting. We look forward to seeing you at the meeting.

If you believe this meeting would benefit others in your network, please forward them the following letter.

Serving alongside you,

Shalika Young

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Greetings Servant Leader,

The Barna Group conducted research October 2021 and March 2022 offering insight into the cause of pastoral burnout and provided some insightful details on what will influence a pastor’s decision to leave or stay in their vocation. Those statistics were up by 13% by April 2022…one month later! From the research, two things stand out to me which are fueling the burnout rate for all servant leaders*.

Let’s take a look at the data:

• A side-by-side comparison shows that pastors who have considered quitting full-time ministry are more likely to agree they feel like their own spiritual formation has taken a back seat to pastoral duties (24% vs. 8% of those who haven't considered quitting strongly agree).

• They are also more likely to say they often feel depressed (13% vs. 2% strongly agree), and just one in 10 agrees they prioritize their self-care as a pastor (10% vs. 18% strongly agree).

• Between the stressful situations that cause pastors to consider leaving ministry and their struggles to prioritize self-care and spiritual formation, pastors who are burning out and considering quitting full-time ministry are in need of encouragement, rest and refreshment. (https://www.barna.com/research/spiritual-formation-back-seat/)

This is where Restore Hope comes into the picture. My name is Shalika Young and I am the founder of Restore Hope (restoremyhope.org). I am a certified biblical counselor through the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC) (https://biblicalcounseling.com) and have been providing biblical care and counsel in the Hampton Roads area for the past 3 years. I believe the word of God has ‘encouragement, rest and refreshment’ counsel for the servant leader, as one local servant leader put it, “near the point of being crispy but not fully burned out.”

At Restore Hope, our goal is to work with new and established organizations to decrease the servant leader burnout rate. You may ask, how will we accomplish this goal? Our answer, by God’s grace and the Servant Leader Recharge Program! This evidence-based program is designed to address the whole person. This whole person approach has been transformative to many believers we have counseled on every level: spiritual, emotional, relational, mental, physical, and financial.

As a retired aerospace engineer, I believe well crafted, result-driven programs that exceed mission requirements is a must-have for any sustainable initiative. My career and my mission have changed over the years but my zeal to serve those I am called to work alongside has not wavered.

We have invited servant leaders* from across the Hampton Roads area to join us at the Servant Leader Recharge Program introduction meeting October 24, 2022. Please share this invitation with other like-minded, like-missioned organizations who may benefit from this type of biblical refreshing.

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Topic: Servant Leader Recharge Introduction Meeting

When: October 24, 2022

Time: 12:00pm - 1:30pm

Where: Main Street Library, 110 Main St, Newport News, VA 23601

Reserve Spot: https://www.restoremyhope.org/events

(Lunch will be provided if RSVP is received by October 20th.)

Sample Agenda

• Leader engagement, encouragement & corporate prayer

• Whole Person Stewardship (WPS) goal planning to increase consistency

• Discerning the heart of pride, anger, despair, fear, foolishness, and self-centeredness

• WPS Advocacy Team - Onsite coaches for Nutrition, Fitness, Finance, Organization

• Developing the heart’s summary, put off, put on, renewing mind principle

• Giving time for laments and responding to laments

• Strategy to change the inner narrative tool, combating lies with truth

• Understanding worry: content, cause, characteristics, and counteractions

• How to use common biblical counseling diagrams and worksheets

• Embracing the character of God for personal and public life