Well, it is pastor’s appreciation month again when all pastor’s secretly hope their congregation will remember them in some way to encourage them. My church has always done a pretty good job at remembering this month and it’s always appreciated. Last year, some gift cards and a surprise moment of honor was heart felt and went a long way. If you do not do a little something for you pastor at your church, I recommend you change that. It goes a long way.
At the same time, I felt led to post some things beyond gift cards that would help your pastor all year long. On top of that, they are Biblical and honor God too! This will make a HUGE difference if you really want to be an encourager and faithful.
1. Pray for your church leaders (and let them know you are) – They are in warfare and the enemy tries to drag them and their families down in small and large ways. It makes a big difference to know others are praying for them and their families.
2. Show Up – Nothing is more disheartening than serving and preparing all week and then at public gathering times (service, gatherings, community events, service projects), hardly anyone shows up. It teaches us to appreciate the “faithful few” but it’s a kick in the gut sometimes. Also, you need it for community and serving yourself. Not to mention, when someone is talking to someone for a long time about how great their church is and then when they finally visit, only a few are there because it’s a nice weekend. Showing up is huge!
3. Tithes and Offerings – God commands and blesses it. The church ministry needs it. Yet this is consistently an area people drop the ball. On the average, only about 30% of church goers tithe (not sure of the percentage of those that actually give more than the bare minimum). That means 70% of church goers are taking of the resources of the store house but not participating in it’s needs. This could be due to fear, not caring, or whatever but it impacts the ministry greatly.
A lot of people will assume since the pastor shows up and the light bill is payed, that all is well. Not so at all. You are being effected by not being faithful and so is the church and it’s leaders. At our church, everyone is excited about how the church is growing but there are at least five areas that are not moving forward yet due to something as trifle as money. If everyone pulled their weight, it would changed the flow in your church ministry and be a huge encouragement to your pastor.
4. Watching your public witness – Pastors (as well as other teachers) are charged in helping you be prepared for your ministry outside of the church walls. It would do your pastor, yourself, and those who watch you well to live and speak like an ambassador of God.
Not too long ago, someone was surprised to find out that someone who went to our church (at the time) was a church goer. They talked about how much time they spent with her at their kid’s events and never would have guessed this person was a Christian or went to church. I think this would break my friend’s heart that others viewed her for what they saw in her and not what she wanted them to see.
5. Communicate (when appropriate) – Some people want to complain about everything. Some people don’t like to communicate at all. There is a happy middle ground where we are prayerfully seeking God on our views and then sharing them in love. Pastor’s (at least should) love to hear people’s ideas, concerns and thoughts. They should prayerfully discern these and follow God with the benefit of the input. However, it sucks the life right out of you when someone is always on the war path because they are not getting their way. Then again, it also hurts when people you care about sneak out the back door without ever talking about what is on their hearts. Communicate well.
I’m sure there are others but those are the ones hitting me in the moment. Add others below if you have thoughts. Blessings!
Pastor Thomas Hypes
www.theshepherdsfellowship.org
About Tom Hypes
