1. Laugh often and laugh at yourself. A lot of funny stuff happens in children’s ministry. Learn to enjoy it.
2. Agree with Jesus that you have a secure reward coming for serving kids. (Matthew 10:42)
3. Don’t let failure get you down. Not everything you try will succeed. Don’t sweat it. It happens to all of us. Use the failure to make your ministry better.
4. Don’t beg for workers. Recruit directly the ones you want. You’ll get better workers this way.
5. Multiply yourself. If you try to do it all, you will implode. But don’t merely delegate tasks. Teach others to do what you do. Give others real responsibility. This will lighten your load.
6. Enjoy solving problems. Every ministry has ‘em. Learn to solve them without letting them get you down and you will rock in ministry.
7. Exercise. Figure out how to fit it into your weekly routine. Your body and mind are connected. If your body is worn out, you will feel down.
8. Don’t work for a church that contradicts your values. Submission to authority is great. But if your church leadership is dishonest, immoral or doctrinally contrary to your beliefs, get out.
9. Never let criticism from parents get to you. Some people are not happy unless they are complaining about something. They could never do your job.
10. Use good curriculum. OK, I just threw this in so I could promote our stuff. But the link is http://www.kidzblitz.com 
11. Trust God. None of us has this all figured out. Accept that there will be times when you will not see an immediate solution. God knows what to do.
12. Know that your joy comes from your eternal relationship with the Lord. Your name is written in heaven. (Luke 10:20)
I am entering my 11th year in full time ministry. It is sad (and probably stupid) but I have worked most of those years in churches I would never of attended. Because of where I was in life when God called me, I never did learn a trade or get a degree to earn a living outside of the church. It is hard for me to stay happy in those situations. Leaving places makes me look like something is wrong with me,(too many of them) and taking ministry positions for the sole purpose of just providing for my family has almost always ended in me being unhappy and unfulfilled. Any advice?
(P.S.) We’ve met but a while ago (Dream conference)
Mike, I am saddened to hear that the ministry you are doing is not working for you. It sounds like you have never been in the right church or maybe this is not what God has called you to do. I believe God puts desires in our heart to do what He has called you to. So I would start by asking yourself what you REALLY enjoy doing. Find out what pushes your buttons. Then I would develop a step by step plan. This is the hard part because the plan may take time. It is also critical to understand that God might interrupt your plan with a better plan. But as hard as it is to change directions it is almost always better than going down a path you know is not right for you. Don’t worry about a degree. Many highly successful people/ministers do not have degrees. The important thing is to learn somehow. But find out what YOU are passionate about. I will pray for you.
Thanks Roger for the fantastic article! We discussed it during episode 50 of the Children’s Ministry Talk podcast at http://www.childrensministrytalk.com/50.html. We’d love to get you on the podcast sometime!