This is an updated post that was written two years ago. I hope that it is a blessing to a ministry wife that just doesn’t know quite what to do when it comes to helping her husband become more organized. ~The Ministry Mama

What Helps Your Ministry Man Most

Each husband and each ministry is different, so this cannot be a one size fits all approach to helping your husband but I hope that some of the helps will benefit your specific situation.

The primary thing you can do to help your ministry man be organized is what a ministry wife said,  “Help him find what works for him.” There are a number of things you can do  but the first thing you can do before you help is, ask! Use the helpmeet’s most sensitive question, “What can I help you with?” Then, listen and help with that (it won’t always be what you assume for it to be).

Keeping track of schedules is a big problem for ministry men…

Whether your husband has a calendar in an organizer or a calendar on his phone or online he may need you to help him keep up with all upcoming events. Many men are very good at this, others are not. This will need to be something  you help with according to his preferences. Events and appointments are always added or cancelled and you will need to be involved knowing how to schedule your own time according to his calendar even if he is a top-notch organizer. The key is regularly discussing your upcoming events.

Find a good organizer and/or calendar and use it! If your husband needs you to schedule those events for him you do not have to wait until you are in the church office to do it. When you are discussing it, do it right then! If you have a church secretary or even a trusted child (teenage or single adult women are great for this) then by all means delegate. Be sure that reminders are given to him so that he has the event of the day or week in his mind. Another idea is to have it written on a white board calendar out in open view where he can look at it regularly. Update it as items come up as soon as possible.

Other Ways You Can Help Your Ministry Man Be Organized

• Cleaning His Office – Does his office become the storage place for upcoming church events? Is he a coffee drinker that piles up those coffee cups? Help him clean it up if you can. His office is a place where he can minister to others and his effectiveness will go farther when people are not distracted by a messy space. Clean work spaces also lend to greater productivity. This can have an effect on his sermons and outreach.
• Creating an Organizational System – This could be a paper filing system in a filing cabinet with marked file folders for copies of documents that need to be accessed quickly. It may also mean that you help him find a digital way of organization like using a system like Trello or helping him learn and use Excel so he can keep track of work more easily. If you are good at this, then use it to his advantage.
• Delegating – Helping him use his church secretary or a responsible Christians that have an interest in church work. Part of being in ministry is generally having the oversight over many things at once. If you can help him learn to delegate and work with other people to get tasks accomplished, then this will relieve some time and stresses.
• Give Him Time to Focus – At times, all your husband will need to organize himself is quiet time. Many ministry husbands have in-home offices, so if possible, let him have his study time in a quiet environment. Do quiet activities with your children so he can have sufficient time to take care of business. If needed, help protect his quiet and study time from time interrupters from yourself and even others.
• Having Clothes Ready – Save time for your husband by having his church clothes ready. Your laundry habits can positively or negatively effect him being on time and ready for the day. So get that laundry done in a timely fashion and have them hung and ready to go. P.S. Don’t forget the socks!
• Keeping His Ministry Car Organized – Does your husband run here and there and do things get lost in transit from church to home and vice versa? Then he may need your help regularly cleaning out the car. He needs to have a car that is presentable for helping other people. Last minute car rides are easier to say yes to when you have a clean car for them to ride in. Also think about adding a trash bag, a storage container for his tracts to keep them from being ruined, and a pad of paper and a pen. If you share a vehicle do a quick clean-up after you get home from every outing.

Note: I realize that some of these areas are things that your husband can take care of by himself. I also acknowledge that you are a busy woman with a calendar filled with tasks yourself. Kindly, I want to remind you of your husband was designed to need your help and it would be better to help him in areas where he struggles with organization and help him be successful, and not neglect the opportunity and have him flunk out in performance. I pray you will be able to see his organizational needs and help him where the Lord prompts you to do so.