YORK, NEB. — As an undergraduate student at York University and a graduate student at Oklahoma Christian University in Oklahoma City, two institutions associated with Churches of Christ, Darrel Sears had a community full of people he could go to for support.
After serving in various churches across the Midwest as a youth minister and preaching minister since 2001, in 2019 he began noticing symptoms of what he would later come to know as burnout.
“I didn’t even know what to call it at the time. I thought I might be depressed or just unfaithful,” Sears said. “Even though I had to write all those papers that stressed me out, I had a great network of minister friends in school. I didn’t realize how much I missed that until I was out of it.”
“I didn’t even know what to call it at the time. I thought I might be depressed or just unfaithful.”
After he began a doctorate in ministry at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn., which is also associated with Churches of Christ, Sears’ experience in ministry inspired him to complete a dissertation focused on minister burnout in 2023. Leaving full-time ministry, he began teaching at York.
“Part of the reason that I got out of full-time preaching was I wanted to be a person that got to help train students going into ministry,” Sears said. “But I also felt a calling in my heart from God to be some kind of lifeline for ministers that are in the field.”
In his office, Darrel Sears prepares for one of the THRIVE Cohort’s meetings.
While teaching at York, Sears approached the university’s Kite Center for Ministry. He offered to be a tool for the center, unsure of where this calling might go.
The connection led Sears to create the THRIVE Cohort. Started in January 2026, the cohort consists of Sears and seven ministers who meet online eight times throughout the year, with breaks during summer and December. Sears plans to start another cohort every year “as long as it’s beneficial.”
“It’s called THRIVE because we’re not supposed to just survive in ministry or in our Christian life, but God made … us to flourish,” Sears said. “I want ministers to really love what they’re doing and thrive in ministry.”
While Sears’ research has focused on burnout, he emphasized that isn’t the cohort’s sole focus — it’s to offer community and support for those in every stage of ministry.
Rion Curtis
Rion Curtis, preaching minister for the Clearwater Church of Christ in Kansas, is early on in his ministry. But he said the THRIVE Cohort has helped him look out for the warning signs of burnout — and prevent it before it starts.
“We make sure we know we’re not alone as ministers because it’s not an easy job,” Curtis said.
Connor Lewis, preacher for the Trinity Baptist Church in Douglas, Wy., has also only been in ministry for a few months, but he’s found valuable support with THRIVE. At 26, he’s the youngest in the group and says he’s been able to learn from the more experienced members.
“I look forward to learning more from their experience and their wisdom,” Lewis said, “And for this cohort to be a safe place to have other ministers to rely on.”
During their meetings, cohort members have time to check in with one another and enjoy a unique kind of community they may not find elsewhere. “I have lots of good friends in the church, but there’s something that only ministers will understand,” Sears said. “They know what it’s like to always be ‘on.’”
He explained the difficulty of maintaining a work-life balance when he was in full-time ministry: “I was always ‘Preacher Darrel’ or ‘Youth Minister Darrel,’ but I needed spaces for myself where I could just be ‘Darrel,’” Sears said. “So I’m trying to create a space for these guys where they don’t have to be ‘preacher’ or ‘teacher,’ but they’re just ‘disciple of Jesus’ — and hopefully that’s what makes this cohort lifegiving for them.”
Darrel Sears, far right, meets with students and future ministers in York University’s cafeteria.
As cohort members talk, read, learn and practice spiritual disciplines together, Sears’ goal is to ensure ministers aren’t trying to give life to their churches apart from the source of life.
“I just feel like there’s far too many of us in ministry that are disconnected from the vine,” he said, referencing Jesus’ metaphor in John 15.
“We preach and we teach all the time, but I’ve realized I would go an entire day of doing ministry without thinking about Jesus.” Sears said. “How did that happen?
“I want us to be connected to the vine and thinking about Jesus. I want us to be able to give life to our congregants, but we also have to have life within us. I’m just passionate about making sure we’re thriving through the Spirit, not just surviving.”
ELIZA ROHDA is a senior at York University in Nebraska double majoring in vocational ministry and English — with an emphasis in professional and media writing — and minoring in Greek. She’s written for the Seward County Independent in Seward, Neb.
