Your pastors work so hard.
If you’re tempted to think that most of the hours they’re on the clock are Saturdays or Sundays, consider how many hours they spend organizing, counseling, leading, administrating, planning, and preparing.
It’s not uncommon for pastors to log 50, 60, or 70 hours more in a week. Some do this through being bi-vocational.
October is Pastor’s Appreciation Month. This is the time of year to go beyond saying, “Nice sermon,” or “Thanks for being there.” This is the month when you can go out of your way to pour into them through thoughtful gifts and meaningful expressions.
Here are 10 ideas for how to appreciate your pastor and church staff:
1. A Gift Card Goes A Long Way. Most people who work for churches live on tight budgets. A gift card to a local restaurant or their favorite store can be a huge encouragement.
2. Those Extra Tickets Do A Lot. Do you have season tickets to a sporting event, concert, or theater? If so, considering offering your tickets so your pastor and their family can enjoy the event.
3. Pass Along Your Airline Miles. If you’re a frequent flyer, consider giving the equivalent of a pair of tickets to your pastor and spouse for a getaway.
4. Make Your Family Cabin or Condo Available. If you have a family cabin or cottage, consider giving your pastor’s family a week to use it each year. This can provide a much-needed respite and time to be together.
5. Don’t Shy From Giving Cash. A meaningful note of thanks accompanied by some cash can be such an encouragement and provided much needed groceries or fun family night.
6. Pre-Pay for a Handy Man Service.
In serving so many needs, a pastor’s home can soon become a collection of I’ll-get-to-it-later projects. The pastor (or spouse) may not be comfortable with having a church member fix items around the house but several hours of pre-paid service can be a huge blessing.
7. Pimp Your Pastor’s Ride. Take your pastor’s car to be detailed and while you’re at it, top off the gas tank.
8. Make a Pastor’s Kids Dreams Come True. Do something over the top to spoil your pastor’s kids. Maybe it’s a camp or concert they’ve always wanted to attend. T.S. Anyone? Find out what they dream of—and make it reality.
9. Give the Pastor a Date Night. Cover the cost of an upscale dinner. Provide childcare. Make it a getaway.
10. Dedicate time to pray for your pastor each week, but let them know what you are specifically praying.
Very good ideas until I got to number 7 and saw that “P” word! Very disappointed to see that in a Christian article. That is a highly glamorized secular word describing slavery and sex! Please do not use that as an adjective to make something nice! That word is FAR from nice!
I’m very passionate about that (I work with teens who have been trafficked by those type of “p”eople)…
These are great ideas, but to me, they really point out a problem in our churches that we do not seem to address and maybe pastor appreciation month is the time to address it. We, as a church, are expecting our pastors, often young men or women who are married and have one or two small children, to spend, as you said, 50, 60 or 70 hours a week at work and then smugly justify it by saying it’s all “ministry”…for God. Why are we not equally expecting that they, like most other jobs, get two days a week off? We want to hear about engaging culture and strengthening marriages and families, but we want them to cheat their own families out of their time and energy. Many pastors I know not only work at the church, but also either work another job or find extra ways to earn money. Or their spouses are working one or two jobs, out of necessity, not necessarily out of choice. They are struggling to live in communities and maintain often much less than the median income of their communities. And we are saying it’s acceptable and they are appreciated by giving them a gift card or gas? Instead of planting more campuses or locations or hiring more part time people, why are we as a church not making sure our pastors and their families are paid well? By well, I’m not saying exceedingly great salaries, but well enough that they can make a life on one income if they want to choose to have one spouse care for their infants or even homeschool their children, if they choose. Why, as a church, is it ok to say they should be on a tighter budget than most of our members? We are expecting them to be on call with their time and leave their families to meet needs; we are expecting that they be hospitable and welcome people into their homes for a meal or coffee; we are expecting them to do things we should be doing for one another. While it is a real blessing to give them a date night, where are the elders who are asking them if they are having a date night regularly, or how much time are they spending daily with their spouse or children? We have seen so often these young pastors’ marriages and families get chewed up and spit out by expecting so much and then offer to help them with their marriages and families after there is a problem. Let’s help them before their own families are also statistics of another failed Christian marriage. Why are we not stepping up and being the body of Christ and using our gifts for the body and lightening the load on our pastors? I am not a pastor or a pastor’s spouse, but an older member of the body saddened to see so many young pastors drained of time, energy and resources for their own families, too. (Sometimes, these young pastors are not the “lead” pastors, and even as they are sacrificing so much time and getting drained, we miss all that they are doing.)
I love generously blessing our pastors. Your ideas come from a sweet, pure heart and will be so much more of a real blessing to so many pastors …if they are shown care and appreciation the rest of the year through our loving, generous actions, affirming words, and faithful prayers.