Home Pastors Top 10 Ways to Appreciate Your Pastor

Top 10 Ways to Appreciate Your Pastor

appreciate your pastor

MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) shares the top 10 ways to appreciate your pastor in this article.

After 45 years of partnering with the church, MOPS continues to further the mission of the church: spreading the kingdom to the places of the world that need the message of the Gospel, and cultivating communities by engaging in encouragement and equipping.

Our MOPS groups become the most evangelically effective when they have a solid connection with the church where they gather. When MOPS can gather moms from the community, and establish friendships of safety and trust, we prepare entire families for a natural progression into the life of the church where your MOPS group resides. This is why MOPS is SO valuable to pastors. You and our MOPS moms are the front door to the church, and the church’s first friendship that could lead to the foot of the cross.

It is for this cause that our relationship with our pastoral teams needs to be continually cultivated. One of the best ways to progress a relationship in a healthy way is to honor the other person in it. To further our pastors’ calls and encourage them to keep going through the tough times, let’s be generous with our appreciation.

Here is our Top 10 Ways to Appreciate Your Pastor. Drumroll please …

  1. DATE NIGHT + CHILD CARE If you have read any articles regarding Pastor Appreciation Month, you will always see this one on the list. There is a reason for that. Ministry can be extremely taxing on a marriage. Feel free to go all out and cover transportation, dinner and child care.
  2. CATER LUNCH Does your church staff have a favorite restaurant they go to for their meetings? See if you can bring the restaurant to them! This is a great way to create a space to connect with your church staff. Create a place to share stories and memories of your pastoral team. Always a great idea to arrange with the office coordinator to maximize getting all the logistics effectively planned.
  3. SURPRISE PARTY Reserve a room at a restaurant or event space, and invite your community in to honor your pastor. Keeping it a secret from your pastor might be tough, but a surprise of that caliber is worth the work. At the gathering, create spaces for sharing stories and maybe even invite a couple guests who mean a lot to your pastor, who may not even attend your church.
  4. HONOR JOURNAL Sometimes reading past encouragements from others can really bring pastors through the tough times, reminding them of their true identity, and how they are intricately created by and connected to Him. Coordinate people during several Sunday service gatherings to write a letter to the pastor.
  5. THIRTY-DAYS OF KINDNESS Make every day in October an act of kindness for your pastor. A little planning will go far to make sure your pastor doesn’t simply receive free lunches for a month. What is the newest book by their favorite author? Does your pastor’s car need a detail? You get the idea! Be creative, have fun. #30congregants30actsofkindness
  6. FAMILY BLESSING Is there a need in the pastor’s family such as an auto repair, plumbing issue like kitchen plumbing issues, lawn care, or other home/ car related expense that your MOPS group or church can rally around? Meet the need and share the story with the rest of your church.
  7. OFFICE MAKEOVER Does your pastor’s office look like it’s straight out of 1974 or covered in Post-it notes? A pastor’s space often becomes the place where study, business and spirit meet. Connect with your pastor about what he or she has envisioned for this sacred space or could envision in the future. Have fun with it – film the transformation and make a recap video to show for Sunday service.
  8. SOLITUDE AND SILENCE RETREAT This gesture can be the toughest logistically, but can be the most fruit bearing spiritually. Get 48 hours on their books, rent a cabin or reserve a hotel room or camping site to get them out of the office. Encourage this time to be a reflection on personal life and the direction of the church.
  9. SUNDAY SERVICE REEL Sunday gatherings can be a great place to honor your pastor by including the entire church community. Make a video highlighting your pastor’s impact on the people of the church. Gather stories of life change that your pastor has been involved in and interview families and individuals who can speak to this. If your church does not have a “video person,” consider hiring someone who has the ability to make it a quality product. This way your church and your pastor will be able to share it on social media, as well as with friends and family.
  10. PASTOR BOX Pastoring in the information age has presented itself with new challenges, like having to sift through all the blogs, podcasts, articles, new digital books and TED Talks. This is why Pastor Box made our list as number 1. Sign up your pastor to receive, on a quarterly basis, a box full of offerings and resources that help further the kingdom in churches all over the world. Because Pastor Box believes in the mission of MOPS and the importance of the pastor connection within the MOPS group, they are offering an exclusive discount to MOPS Members: 20% off a one year subscription (both for the prepay or pay quarterly option)! Use promo code: MOPS at PastorBox.comGo to mops.org to find more ways to bless your pastor this October.