TO HONOR AND APPRECIATE
Every year, on the second Sunday of October, churches celebrate Pastor Appreciation Day. That’s this weekend! We encourage you to honor, appreciate, and bless not only the pastor who delivers your Sunday message, but every ministry leader who works, week in and week out, to provide a place for you to enjoy, worship, and serve God.
So much of what a church staff person does goes unnoticed. Usually, what we see on a Sunday is the “polished” version of a ministry leader and his or her service to the local community. So, what else goes into the life of ministry leaders throughout the week? Here are some things to name a few:
- Care meetings with congregants going through life circumstances that can range from birth of a child to loss of a job, death of a loved one, discernment about a major life choice, difficult parenting or relationship situations, and so on.
- From casting vision and leading a staff, to being a staff person who implement these realities, staff and leadership meetings are integral and can be a big portion of time in the implementing of God’s vision for your church!
- Planning for services or events: planning is a HUGE part of ministry, whether it includes 20+hrs of sermon prep or researching and practicing music, studying/learning content to lead small groups, teach classes and Bible studies, evaluating children’s curriculum, performing administrative work, organizing supplies, and/or developing media and web content.
- Conducting weddings, funerals, and child dedications.
- Visiting the sick or elderly at home or the hospital.
- Scheduling and shepherding volunteers.
- Physically tending to buildings, spaces, and environments.
With all of this to attend to, church ministry leaders have incredibly full schedules. Care meetings alone could fill every day. Peoples needs are many, and ministry leaders are deeply invested in what happens to their congregants!
As we consider how to honor and appreciate these busy ministry leaders, it’s important to ask what can be left out of their lives of when schedules become overloaded. At Standing Stone, we find that church ministry leaders often miss…
- Margin to slow down, physically, mentally, and spiritually.
- People to listen without giving advice or presenting problems for them to fix.
- True friendship removed from the ministry spheres in which they serve.
- A rich prayer life and time for spiritual practices to undergird the life and responsibilities of ministry work.
- Third party insight, accountability, and discernment for their calling.
Standing Stone exists to guide ministry leaders into healthy ministry, equipping pastors and other Kingdom leaders to address some of these “missing elements” in their lives. We also provide this for our own staff. One of our lead staff care people shared this with me:
One of the major reasons I joined Standing Stone was because I experienced first-hand care in the midst of my ministry work from a Standing Stone shepherd. I finally found provision for elements that were left out of my practice as a worship pastor. I loved it so much that I joined this team of nonprofit leaders in 2019! I invite my partners to join with me this Pastor Appreciation Day by considering a couple things:
1) Write a note of gratitude to one or two staff people at the church you attend. A little goes a long way in this! Maybe give them a gift card or invite them out to lunch. Not only will this lift their spirits, but it will make them feel less alone and “on an island.”
2) Share about Standing Stone with someone that works in church or parachurch ministry. We have over 260 shepherds across the nation who serve those in ministry (pastors, missionaries, staff administrators, elders, non-profit workers, and family members of ministry leaders).
Our shepherd said it so well and we encourage you to follow his lead. As you celebrate Pastor Appreciation Day, we also invite you to prayerfully consider donating to our work at Standing Stone. Your gifts of financial resources and prayer keep our work with ministry leaders going strong all year. Thank you!
Weekly Encouragement
It seems like there’s a “National Day” for everything now. Whether it’s something as silly as “National Hot Dog Day” or something as significant as Veteran’s Day, people have opinions about who or what should be celebrated, as well as why, when, and how often.
Even God has an opinion! The Bible speaks clearly about honoring parents and treating government officials with respect, for instance. Those aren’t “options.” Showing appreciation for ministry leaders is commanded in God’s Word as well.
Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work.
1 Thessalonians 5:12-13a
This verse doesn’t mean you’re required to celebrated Pastor Appreciation Day on the second Sunday in October or obligated to by your pastor lunch. Pastor Appreciation Day was only established to give shape and set aside a specific time to do what God wants all of us to do regularly and joyfully. Through the verses from 1 Thessalonians that you just read, the Lord commands us to respect (hold in highest regard) and love (care for, attend to, and meet the needs of) those who work hard among us, caring for us spiritually.
I want to honor God by following this command. What about you? Let’s take action this weekend to honor and appreciate our ministry leaders.
