When Nothing is Working

Sometimes, nothing seems to work. Many—perhaps most—church leaders have experienced this, though it’s often hard to admit. Here are some examples.

• You pray faithfully, but the breakthrough doesn’t come.

• You plan carefully, but momentum stalls.

• You preach your heart out, yet it feels like the words barely land.

• The harder you try to fix things, the heavier it all feels.

I experienced all of these during my forty years in Christian ministry. They can quietly erode our confidence and leave us wondering if we’re doing something wrong or even worse—that we have missed out on what God’s doing somewhere?

The good news is this: the Bible, with its ‘warts and all’ revelation is full of leaders who found themselves in exactly this place. And God met them there—not with shame, but with purpose.

GOD MAY BE DOING DEEP WORK IN YOU

Moses didn’t step from the palace straight into deliverance leadership. He spent forty years in the wilderness, tending sheep—far from influence, progress, or visible impact. (Exodus 2–3) From the outside, it may have looked like a wasted calling, but from God’s perspective, it was preparation. ‘Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law.’ (Ex 3.1) Sometimes ministry slows not because God has stepped back, but because he is shaping character before expanding influence.

Reflection questions for you to consider with your team (or alone).

• What might God be forming in me during this season that effectiveness alone could not?

• Have I equated fruitfulness with faithfulness in ways Scripture does not?

• How am I responding to obscurity or lack of recognition?

FAITHFULNESS IN THE ABSENCE OF ‘RESULTS’ STILL MATTERS

Jeremiah preached for years with little response. People resisted his message, questioned his calling, and ignored his warnings. By most modern standards, his ministry would be labelled ‘ineffective’. Yet, God never measured Jeremiah by measurable outputs—only obedience. The following verse is particularly pertinent.

So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you.

Jer 7.27, 28

This can be hard to accept in a results-driven church culture. However, God’s metrics have always valued faithfulness over visibility.

Reflection questions for you and your team.

• If I stopped seeking ‘results’, would I still see my ministry as valuable?

• Am I obeying God’s call, or chasing reassurance through outcomes?

• How do we, as a leadership team, define 'success' in this season?

DISCOURAGEMENT DOES NOT DISQUALIFY YOU

After the dramatic victory on Mount Carmel, Elijah expected change. Instead, he ran for his life and collapsed under the weight of disappointment. ‘I have had enough, Lord… Take my life.’ (1 Kings 19.4) God’s response is deeply pastoral. He gives Elijah food, rest, and his gentle presence, before offering direction. ‘And after the fire came a gentle whisper.’ (1 Kings 19.12) When nothing is working, God often meets us not with correction, but with care.

Reflection questions for you and your team.

• What signals of exhaustion or discouragement am I ignoring?

• Do I allow myself to receive care, or only give it?

• What might it look like to listen for God’s whisper rather than demand his intervention?

PERSEVERANCE OFTEN LOOKS ORDINARY

Perseverance in ministry is rarely dramatic. More often, it’s the quiet decision to keep going, to pray again, preach again, love again. Paul admitted how overwhelmed he felt. ‘We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure.’ (2 Cor 1.8–9) Yet he discovered something essential: desperation taught him dependence.

Reflection questions for you and your team.

• In what areas of my life am I relying on my own strength instead of God’s?

• What does faithful perseverance look like right now—not ideally, but realistically?

• How can we support one another in staying the course together?

WHEN NOTHING IS WORKING, GOD MAY BE INVITING CHANGE

Not every stuck season is meant to be endured indefinitely. Sometimes God uses frustration to signal transition. Jesus said, ‘Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.’ (John 12.24) While this was a profound truth about his own mission and death, we may also use it as a prompt for change. That’s because some methods, models, or even roles may need to end before new life can emerge. This requires discernment, not panic—and courage, not fear.

Reflection questions for you and your team.

• What needs to be released rather than fixed?

• Are we clinging to what once worked but no longer fits?

• What kind of new life might God be inviting us into? 

YOU ARE NOT THE SAVIOUR AND THAT’S A RELIEF

When ministry feels like it’s failing, it often reveals how much weight we’ve been carrying.

Jesus reminds us, ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’ (Matt 11.28) The church belongs to Jesus. The mission is his. Our role is faithfulness, not rescue. Remember Paul’s profound experience of pain, in which he heard the Lord speak to him. ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ (2 Cor 12.9) Weakness does not mean failure. It creates space for grace.

Reflection questions for you and your team

• What responsibilities have I taken on that were never mine to carry?

• How would my leadership change if I truly trusted Christ to build His church?

• What would rest look like as an act of faith?

A CLOSING WORD

If nothing is working right now, you are not alone—and you are not failing. You may be in a season where God is doing quieter, deeper work than you expected; work that doesn’t show up in metrics, but shapes hearts. Starting with yours. And that work, Scripture assures us, is never wasted.

Consider this verse in the book of James.

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.

Jas 5.7–8

A farmer can do everything right—prepare the soil, plant the seed, water faithfully, yet for a long season there is nothing visible above the ground. If you walked past the field, you might assume nothing is happening. However, beneath the surface, roots are forming, nutrients are being absorbed, and life is quietly taking hold. If the farmer dug up the seed every week to ‘check progress,’ he would destroy what he planted.

Church leadership often works ‘underground’. Sermons reshape thinking long before behaviour changes. Pastoral conversations soften hearts long before repentance shows. Prayer alters spiritual ground long before revival appears. Faithful leadership is less like managing a factory and more like tending a field. And remember that the Bible does not call leaders to produce results.

He calls them to be faithful stewards (1 Cor 4.2).

Growth belongs to God. Even Paul makes use of the agricultural metaphor. ‘I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.’ (1 Cor 3.6)

So be encouraged.

• Invisible work is still real work.

• Delayed fruit is still fruit.

Jesus himself led crowds that later vanished, preached sermons that thinned his following, and invested years in just twelve men—one of whom failed him badly. Yet no leadership in history was more fruitful. If you are teaching truth, loving people, praying faithfully, and walking in integrity, then success is already happening. Even if heaven alone can see it for now.

So . . .

‘Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.’

Gal 6.9