October! Need I say more? This year has flown by and it continues to pick up momentum. October is pastor appreciation month, do you have anything planned? How does your church plan to celebrate? Are you lead in the planning or flying solo? It is not be wrong in any way to honor your husband pastor for the work he does through the avenue of the church, so no guilt needed.
What are some ways your church honors the pastor? Well I asked this question to a group of pastor’s wives and this was my response:
- Letters and card showering from the congregation– it is such a blessing to know how much the congregation has be positively influenced by the pastor. So often pastors hear only the negative voiced, sentiments of appreciation and small tokens of kind words go a long way.
- Set of commentaries- pastors and church staff LOVE having the resources to better meet the needs of others. Are any of those things absolutely necessary, no. But just as the world become more technologically advanced to better serve others and serve more individuals, with the right recousrces and tools, so can your pastor.
- A new book- perhaps not commentaries, but a new book. Most men of God have a favorite3 author ortheology books they desire in their pastoral library, why not help your pastor build that resource cabinet to better serve your church? It’s a win win if you ask me.
- Office Supplies- woohoo! It is always nice to have a restock of office supplies to have everything in reach.
- A Dinner- What better way to say thanks than to have a wonderful dinner with public expression of thanks!
- A Party- why stop with food- let’s make it a full celebration with the whole church or community. Food, cake, and wonderful enjoyment to honor and celebration the wonderful friendship and leadership of your pastor!
- How about a makeover- okay not for the pastor, but his office. How does it look? If this would be welcomed (you know your pastor best) you could consider a new coat of pain, furniture, flowers, decor, plants, bookcases, better lighting and even upgrades to electronics. We all know pastors use their laptops, printers, copiers, projectors and technology more and more.
- A church clean- A great way to help out, give your pastor a break AND encourage him is to clean over the entire church or have a work day. It really shows you want and desire the church to be it’s best. (Since that is probably his desire, it will mean a lot.)
- His favorite things. Perhaps your pastor has a favorite hobby or interest, be a blessing in that area. Things like:
- A travel mug
- Fishing lures
- Bags of candy
- Gift cards
- treats
- camping equipment
- coffees
- foods & treats
- a weekend away
- reservations with a paid meal at his favorite restaurant
- gift cards
- Anything personal- shower him as a church!
- Volunteer
- Join the church- have not found the time to actually join the church, commit to doing so and jump in serving him!
- Celebrate his family- While he loves the Lord, serving the church, his family means a ton t o him, include the family. Ministry life can be challenging, commit to praying for the pastor and his family everyday for the year.
- Medical Insurance- not every church can pay for the pastor’s medical insurance, but a great long term goal is to be able to. So many pastor’s and their families would love to invest into the church but the biggest reason for not leaving their full-time job is medical insurance. Even if the church could partially pay for medical insurance many more pastors would have more time to invest into their church!
- Vacation- Get the church together to help the men of God have sweet fellowship with their own families again- a relaxing vacation and quality time together as a family.
- Bring the pastor and his family food. It may seem like a small deed, but isn’t it so nice when people bring you delicious meals you did not have to prepare!? Coordinate with your church members, to arrange several days or weeks of meals to shower your pastoral family. A beautiful church family did this for their small town church pastor’s family not knowing how meaningful this ‘small gesture’ really helped. They soon heard how this simple gift of food was a huge blessing; allowing the pastoral family to complete undone projects and prepare for cold, snowy, winter months just days ahead.
- Babysitting- Just the offer of babysitting is a blessing! But, finding the time to allow your pastor and his wife the ability to go out would be a sweet gesture and gift of thanks!
- Celebrate-gather and have music, fun, games and food!
- Conversation- let’s face it, each year is different. Seasons of life happen, but a meaningful conversation with your pastor is a way to encourage and give thanks to your pastor.
- Yard Work- two things that never go away, even while you are in the ministry is housework and yard work. Yard work tends to be the last on the list that gets done, it would be a great way to bless your pastor and his family- helping with a day of yard work!
- Show up- a huge encouragement to anyone is showing up. We all want people to show they care by simply showing up, it means a lot!
- Be active or an energetic participant- get involved in the church and its functions! Be apart of its growth!
- Pray- I wrote this separate, because something that stuck out in my mind years ago as a new believer was a man that went to the pastor; I over heard him tell the pastor he was going to commit to praying for the pastor, his marriage and family and ministry daily! He wanted to let the pastor know he was not alone. While he did not know we heard him make this commitment from the next room over, we witnessed this man partner in prayer and devoted his days serving the Lord and men of God placed before him. A true friend to the pastor and his family through thick and thin!
- Support your pastor financially. God has called all of us to tithe, yes. But how much do you pay your pastor? Does he receive a salary? Perhaps he does not get the pay of a full time job, but did you know you could give anonymous financial gifts to your pastor in the offering plate? Why not try to support your pastor, it is amazing when someone starts this and then the congregation quickly realizes, they could actually support the pastor better when other follow suite! Whether your pastor knows or not, is not important, but the small cash gifts given in the offering plate encourage the pastor, his family and supply needs you do not know of- trust God if he puts it on your heart!
Whichever way you choose to bless the man of God that leads your congregation, be sure to include all ages in the participation! Teens, young adults and all the kiddos can collaborate and prepare a way to say thanks!
Whether you take 5 minutes or dedicate a service of surprises to the pastor and his family or whatever great ideas you have, just know he will be grateful for all that you do!
Happy serving Christ!