12/8/2023 0 Comments Pastor appreciation month verseIf the pastor is far from her families of origin, invite her family to your house for holidays and other celebrations, no strings attached. Get to know your pastor as a person - what he likes, special anniversaries and birthdays (send a note, card or flowers!) Invite him to participate in a shared interest and do so without an agenda. Stop the rumor mill - don’t spread gossip, no matter how juicy or under what disguise. Could you stuff bulletins, pick up left-behind articles after the service, make the coffee for fellowship time or come in early to open the building? Take an ongoing responsibility off the pastor’s shoulders. Offer assistance on a personal project (mow the pastor’s grass when he is not at home) or a project around the church (do a little spring cleaning or straighten up the church library.). As you’ll see, there are lots of ways to get started. Need a little inspiration? Follow the examples above or thoughtfully read the list below. Make your expressions of gratitude both tangible and meaningful. October is the perfect time to tell your pastors how much you appreciate their faithfulness to God and their service to your church.īe creative. One pastor talks about the elderly woman whose weekly notes (each accompanied by a piece of his favorite candy) tell him that she’s praying for him.Īnother minister’s face softens at the memory of a parishioner who offered to watch her children one afternoon so the pastor could have some time for herself.Ī clergy couple smiles widely as they remember the gift certificate to a nice restaurant, complete with free babysitting, given to them by a small group in the congregation. These three real-life examples give a partial picture: But they also must contend with their own families, personal lives, and finite resources of time, energy, and finances.Īt Pastors Retreat Network, we hear great stories of churches and individuals who already understand the importance of thanking their pastors in meaningful, tangible ways. As our shepherds, teachers, mentors and God’s chosen servants, pastors exercise great love for the people of their congregation. His reluctant daughter, sporting a new tattoo, is angry and tired of being under the “pastor’s kid” microscope… With a salary that is markedly less than the average income of those he serves, his personal financial pressures are unrelenting… His schedule never seems to allow enough time alone, time with his spouse or time with his children… And denominational duties often make it seem that his professional life is one big meeting after another.Ī pastor’s job is as difficult as it is important. It’s a story that those in the congregation may not know: As the service begins, he bows his head and prays that the words he speaks will be the words of God - words that will comfort, confront, encourage and engage his people to more authentic life in Christ.īut even as he ministers to and for his flock, the pastor and his family have their own story. Yes, the pastor knows all these stories - and many more. The grandmother struggling with the effects of her chemo and radiation therapy.The newlyweds whose ceremony he conducted just last month.The couple he saw on Tuesday for a counseling session.The family grieving the son they recently lost in a motorcycle accident.The pastor quietly considers the people sitting in the pews that morning. It’s Sunday morning, and the church is beginning to fill.
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