[TRAILER] Hey Pastor, You Don't Have to Keep Going at This Alone

Hey Pastor,

You know that feeling, right? It's 5:30 AM on Sunday. The alarm starts going off, but it's possible you've already been awake for hours. There's that familiar heaviness settling over you—the one you can't quite shake.

In a few hours, you'll stand in front of your church family, expected to bring a message of hope. You have hospital visits tomorrow. A funeral on Tuesday. Counseling sessions throughout the week.

And inside? You're breaking.

The painful irony of pastoral ministry is that while we're called to bring healing to others, we often suffer in silence ourselves.

- 70% of pastors struggle with depression

- 75% experience debilitating levels of stress

- Nearly 1 in 5 pastors have contemplated self-harm or suicide in the last year

- And 38% have considered leaving ministry altogether

These aren't just numbers. They're real shepherds with real pain. People just like you and me who find themselves in the challenging position of leading others while wrestling with their own battles.

I'm Zakk, and I've been there, both as a pastor who has known the grip of burnout and depression, and as a licensed Christian counselor who has walked alongside ministry leaders through their darkest valleys.

I created The Hopeful Pastor because I believe something radical: your struggles don't disqualify you from ministry. In fact, they might become one of your most powerful tools for authentic, compassionate leadership.

On this podcast, we're going to have real conversations about the real challenges only pastors understand:

- How do you preach about God's goodness when you can't feel it yourself?

- Where do you turn when you're the one everyone else turns to?

- How do you balance ministry demands with your family's needs?

- And how do you find hope when you're responsible for bringing hope to everyone else?

This isn't about quick fixes or shallow advice. We're going deeper than that. In each episode, we'll tackle the real issues of ministry life with Biblical wisdom, practical strategies, and the honest truth that sometimes, following God's calling is just plain hard.

But here's what I know for certain: you don't have to walk this path alone.

That's what The Hopeful Pastor is all about: helping weary pastors find hope, rediscover joy, and lead from a place of strength rather than depletion.

Whether you're in the pulpit every Sunday or leading in another ministry capacity, this podcast is for you. It's for the worn out, the burned out, and the ones wondering if they can keep going. It's for the person who wants to know they're not alone. It's for the shepherds who need someone to shepherd them for a change.

The Hopeful Pastor Podcast is coming soon. Subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts so you don't miss our first episode.

Because pastor, you pour into others every single day. Isn't it time someone poured into you?

The Hopeful Pastor Podcast. Ministry is hard, but you don't have to face it alone.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit podcast.hopefulpastor.com