Today is Pastor Appreciation Sunday. As the daughter of a man who was a pastor at churches for over 30 years, I know first hand how difficult being a pastor can be. Your pastor needs all the support he can get. I wanted to take a moment to share with you how you can support and encourage your pastor with 5 easy steps.
How to support and encourage your pastor
- Pray for Him
Your pastor needs the support of your prayers. Spiritual attacks and the stress of caring for his family and his church family can cause a lot of stress. Pray that God will give you pastor strength to endure all of the challenges that ministry can bring.
2. Encourage Him
An easy way you can encourage your pastor by making a conscious effort to share what God is doing in your life. How can you share what God is doing? If you liked the sermon, let him know! If what he said touched you, tell him how. You can always find words to uplift and encourage your pastor. If you need help with that, ask God to give you the words to say.
3. Obey Him: Hebrews 13:17 says “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Source). Church, if your pastor ask you to do something to help, do it with joy. Your pastor works to care for your soul. Be willing to help him in other areas as you are able.
4. Respect Him
It says in 1 Thessalonians 5:17
“We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves”. Make sure that you give honor where honor is due. Respect the man of God who helps you.
5. Share in His Trouble:
Fulfilling the call of God on your life does not make you immune from difficult circumstances. Just because your pastor is serving the Lord does not mean he will never face a difficult time. Difficult times will come. Actually, according to statistics, there are many preachers who are going through difficult times.
According to one report, 34% of pastors battle discouragement and depression and 35% battle fear on a regular basis (Source). In one of Paul’s letters he shared with the church at Philippi that he appreciated their concern for him and he admonished them stating it was “kind of them to share his trouble” (see Philippians 4:10-19). Show the love of God by sharing in your pastor’s trouble and being kind to him in the difficult times.
Conclusion
Pastor Appreciation Sunday is a great time to show your pastor how much you care. Show gratitude to the one that watches over and cares for your soul. Don’t show your pastor you support him today only, but but every day. He needs to know you care and that you support him. Do you have a pastor you love and support, give a shout out below. Do you have a way that you like to show your support for your pastor that was not listed here? Be sure to share it with us. To read more posts like this, make sure you subscribe to my blog.