What Does a Hard-Working Preacher Actually Do?

A while back, someone asked what it would take to define a hard-working preacher. Not just someone with a title, but a minister who really puts in the work. The New Testament has plenty to say about that. It paints a picture of someone who is dedicated, persistent, and fully invested in the gospel. Not in some abstract, disconnected philosophical way, but in the daily grind of teaching, praying, guiding, and serving.

Here’s what that looks like:

1. Teaching Like It’s Their Job (Because It Is)

A hard-working preacher is always teaching — Whether from a pulpit, in a Bible study, the gym, or through the way they live. Paul told Timothy:

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:3–5, ESV)

“Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.” (1 Timothy 4:13)

For those fully committed to the work, This isn’t about scrambling to throw a lesson together on Saturday night. This is a life spent helping people understand and live out the gospel.

What makes this work hard? Teaching isn’t just about standing up and talking—it’s about staying deeply rooted in Scripture, communicating clearly, and pressing forward even when people resist or don’t seem to listen.

2. Wrestling with Scripture (Not Just Skimming)

Paul describes ministers as people who labor in the Word. Not just reading it, but working through it, sitting with it, and teaching it in a way that actually transforms lives.

“Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.” (1 Timothy 5:17)

This means no shortcuts. No pulling verses out of context to fit a personal agenda. No avoiding tough questions. A faithful minister digs deep and helps others do the same.

What makes this work hard? Scripture demands time, patience, and humility. A preacher has to be willing to rethink their own assumptions, admit when they were wrong, and guide others through challenging passages without watering them down.

3. Actually Telling People About Jesus

A preacher isn’t just a teacher—they’re a messenger. The gospel isn’t something to keep locked inside the walls of a church. Paul made it his mission to take the good news where it hadn’t been preached before:

“I have made it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation.” (Romans 15:20)

And to Timothy, he gave a clear charge:

“Do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:5)

This takes courage. It’s easy to talk about faith in a room full of believers. It’s much harder to bring Jesus into a conversation that might get awkward or uncomfortable.

What makes this work hard? Fear of rejection is real. It’s one thing to prepare a sermon, but another to have a one-on-one conversation where someone might argue, dismiss, or even mock what you’re saying. A preacher has to push past that and keep speaking.

4. Praying Like It Matters

Prayer isn’t an afterthought for a hard-working minister. It’s not just something to do before a meal or to close a service. The early church leaders made it a priority:

“We will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:4)

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father…” (Ephesians 3:14-21)

A preacher who isn’t praying isn’t really working. This job isn’t about personal wisdom or clever words—it’s about calling on God’s power and seeking His wisdom.

What makes this work hard? Prayer takes discipline. It’s easy to get caught up in the visible work of ministry and neglect the unseen but far more important work of bringing everything before God.

5. Living What They Preach

It’s one thing to deliver a well-crafted sermon. It’s another to live in a way that backs it up. Paul told Timothy:

“Set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12)

And to the Philippians:

“Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice.” (Philippians 4:9)

A hard-working preacher isn’t just trying to get people to believe the right things. They’re showing what faith looks like in real life.

What makes this work hard? People are watching, and hypocrisy kills credibility. The pressure to be an example, even on the hard days, can be exhausting.

6. Pushing Through When It Gets Hard

Ministry isn’t always well-received. Sometimes, the message is met with pushback, criticism, or worse. Paul understood this better than most:

“For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.” (Colossians 1:29)

“We toil, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure.” (1 Corinthians 4:12)

Preaching the gospel isn’t about being liked. It’s about being faithful. And that sometimes means facing rejection, opposition, or burnout.

What makes this work hard? It’s draining to give and give, only to see little response—or to be met with hostility. It takes deep conviction and trust in God to keep going when the work feels thankless.

7. Training Others to Carry the Work Forward

A good preacher isn’t trying to do everything alone. They’re investing in others, raising up new leaders who will continue the work. Paul puts it this way:

“He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-12)

A church isn’t built on one person. A hard-working preacher knows their job isn’t to do all the ministry—it’s to train others so the work continues long after they’re gone.

What makes this work hard? Letting go. Investing in people takes time, and sometimes they fail, walk away, or take a different path than expected. A preacher has to trust God with the results.

So, What’s the Big Picture?

A hard-working preacher teaches, wrestles with Scripture, shares the gospel, prays, lives out what they believe, pushes through the hard seasons, and trains others to do the same.

It’s not a work that runs on autopilot. It takes effort, sacrifice, and endurance. But if the New Testament makes anything clear, it’s that the work is worth it.

~PW 🌮🛶‌