Fall is a special time of year for many of us as the temperatures drop and we enjoy time doing many activities with our family outdoors. It is also a special time in the life of a church as we have the privilege of recognizing our pastors who serve tirelessly to lead our congregations. The role of a pastor in our culture is certainly challenging and difficult in this day. Most pastors sacrifice an awful lot to lead a local body of Christ and at times may not feel loved and appreciated, as they should be. Given that we are now in the month that is designated as “Pastor’s Appreciation Month” – here are a few ideas that you and/or your church can do to honor your pastor and ministers this October.
1) Send them a personal, hand-written note or an email sharing how much they mean to you.
2) Invite them to lunch or dinner.
3) Buy them a gift card to their favorite restaurant.
4) Pound them – Collect grocery and household goods and present to them at the end of a service.
5) Have all your small groups/Sunday School classes come up with their own themed gift basket of “What they love about their pastor” and present all of the baskets at the end of a service.
6) For a pastor who has some tenure, perhaps the church can send them on a nice all-expense paid vacation.
7) Take a love offering for the pastor and his family.
At the end of the day, your pastor wants to feel and know their work for the Lord is having a positive impact on your life. Sometimes that is difficult to measure, but showing your love to this shepherd of the flock means more than you will ever know. May we as Christ-followers lift up these men and women of God who serve so faithfully each day and honor them this October.
