Who doesn’t like a gift, especially when it’s unexpected? While Pastor Appreciation Month is a great time to honor your pastor and his family, we encourage you to do some things throughout the year to love your church leaders well. Here is a short list of ways people served us that made a difference in our years of pastoral ministry.
Send practical help.
We’ll never forget the night pizza showed up at our house. We had not ordered it, and the delivery person said a family in our church had sent it to us. We had been in the middle of moving from one house to another. These dear people knew we were busy and decided to bless us with dinner. Another generous gesture was the gift of a cleaning service. By the time we had our fourth child, we did not need any sort of baby gear; we needed help! So one church member arranged for a cleaning service to come to our house for a year. This amazing gift was out of the box! Especially if your pastor and his wife have children at home, they are busy people! Even one dinner or a one-time cleaning can give them some much appreciated rest and relief.
Issue a vacation invitation.
Do you know a ministry leader who could use a vacation? If you own a vacation home or have a timeshare, consider donating a few days of usage to this staff person and his family. Is it difficult for your pastor to get time away with his family? This may be the permission he and his wife need to say yes to special time with their family. The best way to love your pastor is to love his family, which brings us to our next point.
Love their kids well.
Reflecting on what people have done for our children is heartwarming and humbling. I have a son who loves to do woodwork, and someone told me, “I want to bring your son into my shop and show him how to make a cabinet.” This is an example of what it looks like to take an interest in a pastor’s kid or do something for the family that does not bring any kind of glory to the situation. It means the world to us when people take the time to see our kids as individuals and encourage them.
Give a gift card — for the whole family.
The pastor’s family sacrifices as much as the pastor to serve your congregation, so give gift cards that bless the whole family and not just the pastor: Think a meal at Chick-fil-A® versus 10 cups of coffee at Starbucks®. Those are the best ones to give!
Offer genuine, specific words of affirmation.
We cannot think of a greater compliment than something like, “I am so glad God called you here” or “It is such a blessing to be a part of the church under your leadership.” Affirming words are nice to hear when it seems you only hear the negative. This also goes for prayer. Think of some specific prayers to pray over your pastor and his family — and tell them what you are praying! When someone sent a letter telling us they were praying for us — or they would even write their prayer — their written words meant so much because we knew they were not just saying it; they were doing it. One last thing: If you are a pastor, his wife, or his child, just know you are appreciated, even if you do not hear it. We are so grateful for your ministry. And let us say this: There are seasons in ministry when you feel appreciated, and there are seasons when you are there because God has called you there. There were times in ministry life when we felt loved. And there were times of tension because difficult changes were happening in the church. Be encouraged. Jesus sees you, knows you, and values what you are doing for Him!
BEN and LYNLEY MANDRELL have been married for more than 20 years and have served churches together in Tennessee and Colorado while raising their four kids: Ava, Max, Miles and Jack. Ben serves as the 10th president of Lifeway Christian Resources. In their free time, the family enjoys exploring national parks, searching for chips and queso, and playing with their two golden retrievers, Finn and Sully.
