It’s October! This means that it is officially (drum roll, please...) Pastor and Ministry Appreciation month.
Does your church take advantage of this opportunity to thank your pastor, ministry leaders, and volunteers? If not, this is a great year to start!
Over the next few weeks, The Network wants to join with you in brainstorming simple and thoughtful ways to say “THANKS!” to the leaders in your church. Look for blogs, resources, and discussions about Pastor and Ministry appreciation.
We’d LOVE for you to join in by posting a blog or asking a question. Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing:
- Are you a pastor, leader or volunteer? Do you have a memory of a time that you felt appreciated? If so, we'd love to hear about it.
- Are you a Youth Group, Sunday School, Small Group leader, etc.? How has your congregation supported you and shown their appreciation?
- Share creative ways you’ve expressed your thanks to a pastor or church volunteer.
- Are you looking for a specific idea or resource (i.e. a book or website that would encourage a young pastor)? Post your question and get feedback!
By thanking our church leaders, we hope they feel appreciated and encouraged as they continue to serve.
Anyone is welcome to post on The Network (you’ll just need an account). If this is your first time posting, I’m happy to help! Simply email [email protected] and I can help you get started.
Comments
Thanks for this post Staci and drawing attention to recognizing and thanking those involved in various ministry capacities. This is an area that often gets overlooked in churches - or where there's maybe only one day when some recognition is given. ServiceLink has a document posted on their website with 10 Tips for Recognizing volunteers which provides ideas for showing thankfulness outside the giving of gifts. We have other ideas as well, but thought to share this one for now. I look forward to hearing other people's ideas.
When it's pastor appreciation week, I look forward to encouraging not only the pastor but his family as well. So often we forget about the sacrifices the family is making by allowing their dad/husband to serve us. It's a great time to say thank you!
A few years ago, I moved to a new town and church, and was elected to council. One of the first acts of business of this group of elders and deacons was to begin a season of confession for how they had treated their past pastors. Over the next few months, they wrote individual letters of confession to their former pastors, confessing their sins of pride and unChristian behavior.
That took a lot of humility and reflected the integrity of those elders and deacons. So, as an incredible show of support for our pastors -- especially former pastors -- consider how they were treated by the church's leadership and by members of the congregation. Repent. Then proceed to treat your current pastor with the love and honor that they deserve.
Let's Discuss
We love your comments! Thank you for helping us uphold the Community Guidelines to make this an encouraging and respectful community for everyone.