Grateful for Our Spiritual Leaders
October is Pastor Appreciation Month—a season in which we are reminded to be grateful for the spiritual leaders that God has set over our lives.
A couple weeks ago, we invited our readers to enter to win a free resource library for their pastors. To enter the drawing, we asked respondents to finish the following sentence: “In the last year, I have appreciated my pastor because he . . .”
In total, we received nearly 900 responses detailing the many reasons people appreciate, love, and respect their spiritual leaders. We were so encouraged by what we read that we wanted to share 50 of our favorite responses below.
“In the last year, I have appreciated my pastor because he . . .”
“. . . faithfully preaches through the Scriptures, verse by verse, not skipping over hard texts, but working through them.”
—Jaclyn, Benson, NC
“. . . has continually demonstrated a shepherd’s heart, full of grace and a zeal for the gospel. He feeds the sheep well, excels in administration and has been a great mentor to me (an associate pastor on staff), encouraging and enabling me to pursue my MDiv online.”
—Matt, Elmira, NY
“. . . has a heart for discipleship and leadership training. Every Tuesday, he meets with me and other men in our congregation to pray with us, encourage us and work through a Bible study with us, in order to train us to do so with others.”
—Dave, Houston, TX
“. . . has taught me how to share the truth with love and grace, and opened my eyes to see that the body of Christ is more than who’s in our building.”
—Pamela, Benson, NC
“. . . a palpable love for those whom God has called him to shepherd.”
—Jon, West Chester, PA
“. . . joins together doctrine and devotion, theology and doxology, belief and practice, being and making disciples.”
—Dave, Sioux City, IA
“. . . truly loves the Lord and loves our church. He is not flashy but he is faithful. He works diligently in preaching God’s Word and is a great example to our people in personal holiness. He is far from perfect but I am thankful to call him my pastor.”
—Ryan, Rio Rancho, NM
“. . . has been a major encouragement to me and others. He has led with his life and not just his words. He is also a tremendous husband to me, father to our children, and pastor to us and our congregation.”
—Rachael, Robinson Creek, KY
“. . . has persevered and shown so much patience and grace during our new church plant. He has taken homeless and broken people into his home to live and experience gospel family life and has shared it with all of us as well.”
—Cody, Cleveland, TN
“. . . places a biblical emphasis on getting the gospel to all nations! We, as a local body, recently sent out our first long-term missions team to Peru to preach the gospel and plant a church among a certain unreached people group living in the mountains there! What a joy!”
—Paige, Jackson, MS
“. . . has taught our young adults and teens about systematic theology, helping to widen and expand our knowledge of God. He has been integral to leading us to grow in biblical literacy and worshiping God rightly.”
—Sarah, Paoli, IN
“. . . speaks with great conviction, does not equivocate in order to gain favor from the congregation, cares for his members (tirelessly worked in house reparation in the wake of Hurricane Harvey), exegetes with diligence and determination, and loves the Lord before anyone or anything else.”
—Maxwell, Houston, TX
“. . . through wisdom, a passion for God, and a love for God’s people, has led our congregation to think biblically about membership, ministry, evangelism and discipline. He has preached the gospel faithfully and shown by example how the church leadership is called to graciously carry each others’ burdens and give thoughtful consideration to the calling of the church.”
—Suzanne, Alexandria, VA
“. . . has served faithfully in the face of great personal pain and loss.”
—Jessica, Madison, IN
“. . . displayed an amazing humility in his leadership and his preaching and I know it’s because he loves and trusts the Lord.”
—Jennifer, Tempe, AZ
“. . . continues to lead the flock in a godly way that honors the Word and presents ‘first things first’—the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
—Zachary, Martinsville, VA
“. . . is full of grace and truth. He stands firm with God’s Word as the ultimate authority, not swaying because of popular opinion or societal pressures, and offers truth even when it may be difficult or unpopular.”
—Sarah, Louisville, OH
“. . . has continually taken big risks for the glory of God. I know of no other man who is so humbled by the grace of God while also bold and confident in the face of adversity. The Lord has used him to grow our church, reach our city, and inspire so many husbands and dads to be more like Christ.”
—Dustin, Huntington, WV
