Most Pastor’s are faithful men of God who earnestly strive to honor the Lord in their work and witness.
There should be great love for the God-called men who stand in our pulpits and faithfully proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ Sunday by Sunday.
Pastors are human and have their faults and idiosyncrasies, but most are faithful men of God who earnestly strive to honor the Lord in their work and witness.
The apostle Paul declares that pastors are God’s gift to the church and in the book of Revelation the pastor is referred to as the angel of the church
Love your pastor. Remember he is the only member of your church without a pastor. Bless him with words of encouragement and letters or emails of affirmation. Invite him and his family into your home for a meal. When a pastor knows that he is appreciated he will work even harder to meet the needs of the flock of God.
Pray for your pastor. Ask God to give him the wisdom of Solomon, the compassion of Barnabas, the leadership ability of Nehemiah and the preaching power of Paul. Ask God to grant him a healthy family and joy in the building of a healthy church. Support your pastor. Be faithful in your attendance, sacrificial and systematic in your giving, available for service and positive in your attitude about him and his ministry. Say “amen” when the pastor drives home a poignant truth in his sermons. Your vocal encouragement of his sermons will challenge him to preach with greater vim, vigor and vitality.
Promote your pastor. Talk him up. The pastor should be the most frequently discussed man in the community. Introduce him to your friends. Speak well of him in the marketplace.
Recommend your pastor. Suggest your pastor as a fitting speaker for civic club events, school functions, community gatherings, corporate meetings, revivals, etc.
Recognize the demands on your pastor’s time. Small churches can be as demanding as larger ones. Sometimes the pastor who does not have a staff to assist him in ministry can be as burdened with responsibilities as the pastor of a megachurch.
Preparing messages, visiting the sick, counseling, performing weddings, conducting funerals, mobilizing volunteers for service, planning and implementing the church calendar, personal quiet time and a myriad of other responsibilities can sometimes consume all the hours of the day and require the faithful pastor to burn the midnight oil.
Pay your pastor a livable wage. The Bible says the servant of God is worthy of double honor. Failing to pay your pastor a suitable wage will cause him to feel unappreciated and require him to be preoccupied with financial concerns. Help him to become financially free so that he can concentrate his time and energy on matters that are spiritually productive.
See that your pastor has the help he needs. Some pastors labor without the aid of needed commentaries, study helps, computers, office supplies as well as travel allowances and convention and conference expenses. Offer to drive him to out of town engagements or to ministry assignments where a traveling companion would be welcome.
Help the pastor protect his time with his family. See that he takes a reasonable amount of time off to be with his family and that he has a sufficient amount of vacation time. Give him at least a week for study leave each year the purpose of praying and planning.
Recognize him on special days. Such as the yearly anniversary of his coming to the church, his birthday, etc. Each year October is set aside as pastor appreciation month. Find a way to make that month significant in the life of the pastor and in the life of the church. Appoint a committee to plan for a meaningful “Pastor Appreciation Sunday” in the month of October.
God’s Word urges us to support our pastors. In I Thessalonians 5:12-13 the Bible says, “And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves.”
Risks must be taken for the church to grow. In your pastor’s attempts to grow the church he will make mistakes. The bigger the church, the bigger the impact of the mistakes. But all pastors make them. The best pastors make them regularly and admit them freely. The key is in not making the same mistake over and over again. If a pastor is not making many mistakes, he’s not taking enough risks. You can support your pastor by encouraging him to make a few mistakes this month! Laugh about them, and learn from them together. Pastors tend to report success quicker than failures, but you can make a difference by letting your pastor know you realize he is human.”
“How committed to your church are you? Your church needs you to help it become better. Commitment is necessary for your own spiritual growth as well is the growth of your church. Your pastor needs your commitment and support in order to fulfill the great commission of Matthew 28 – “to go and make disciples.”
“Your pastor is your “spiritual coach.” He is responsible to cast vision, motivate, teach spiritual truths, train you in the basics of your faith, and show you how to fit on the ministry team. Your job is to get off the bench by getting in the game.” “What is nonnegotiable is whether or not you are part of the team. You are on the team-congratulations! Now the question is, will you spend it on the sidelines or in the game?”
Are you praying for your pastor? Are you committed to your church, pastor, and God in a way that supports your pastor? As you pray for your pastor God will change and grow your heart. I have a picture of my pastors on my desk to remind me to pray for them every day. I have made that commitment and have even told one of them that I am committed to supporting him through daily prayer. Nothing has changed my heart and commitment to my church more than praying for and supporting my pastors. It has been such a blessing for me. I can only hope it is a blessing for them too.
Pastors are servants of God who have offered themselves either professionally or by calling to be shepherds of His flock, the people of God. I would like to start by explaining the difference between the two. There are pastors, who initially were not even believers, let alone planning to be pastors, but God called them to the ministry and they found themselves preaching and taking care of God’s people. There are those that because of one reason or the other, decided to take on the task by going to school to train as pastors.
In the Bible, you find that Paul was intercepted by God, made an about turn, and started preaching. Then there are the likes of Peter, who had to undergo training by being a disciple so as to learn how to go about that business. Do not underestimate a pastor, no matter whether his profession comes by calling or by study, because God has allowed them to labor in His vineyard.
Being a pastor is not an easy task. There are those with small churches that can hardly meet the church budget, let alone meet the pastor’s needs, while there are those with great churches with such enormous resources that the local businessmen and politicians envy them. Both the pastors that I have mentioned need encouragement and support from the church members and Christians at large. Many a time, you may have wondered how to support these men and women of God, but not known how to go about it. Here are some tips on how to support your pastor:
Pray for them. Pastors and other church leaders face the most dangerous attacks from the enemy, the devil. The devil knows that for him to scatter the flock, he must first deal with the shepherd and that explains why most of his arrows target church leaders and pastors. It is therefore upon you to stand in the gap and pray for their protection. Remember that most of their prayers are about the church, members, and God’s work, so they sometimes don’t manage to pray for themselves. That is where you come in. Pray for them in your daily devotions and beseech God to protect from the arrows that fly by day and the spears that are thrown in the night.
Visit and encourage them. Take time to visit their homes, offices and websites to appreciate and encourage them. Let your mouth speak encouragement to these humble servants of God. Let them feel appreciated as they commit their lives to do the work of God. Make surprise visits to their homes and share with them, visit their sites and leave comments that encourage them. Doing these gives them the ability to minister and move on, knowing they don’t labor in vain.
Bless them with material things. Apostle Paul says this in the Bible: “As we minister to you spiritual things, ye also minister unto us with material things.” Common sense states that if a person has five bags of sugar and you give him a sixth one, he will not refuse. Many people say that my pastor looks as if he has enough, so no need to give him more. I say to go out and be a blessing to your pastor by being a blessing to both him and his family. Do what you can within your limits–if possible, give them material gifts, such as clothes, foodstuffs, cars, tents, etc., according to how God leads you.
Run with their vision. Pastors are vision carriers of any given church and they need your support. If your pastor comes up with an idea of a new project within the church premises, members ought to equally embrace the vision and provide what is needed. If the project is completed, the whole church is a beneficiary and God is exalted. Pastors should not be seen struggling alone–church members are there to embrace and support their vision/s.
Talk well of them. Whenever you open your mouth to speak about your pastor, speak nice words. Let people know him/her by the good reports you give. “Do not point a finger at my anointed servant, do my prophet no harm,” says the Lord of hosts. You therefore speak ill of God’s servants at your own peril. But if you do well by the servants of God, be assured of blessings.