BETHANY BELUE | CONTRIBUTOR

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers!” Anne of Anne of Green Gables gleefully made this statement as the season changed on beautiful Prince Edward Island in the iconic 1980s movie. Although it might be remembered as a funny statement from a silly adolescent girl in a movie, I don’t think Anne is alone in her sentiments about the month. October is a month that many anticipate with cooler temperatures, pumpkin patches, changing leaves, and the cozy feeling that comes with a new season. Although there is much to anticipate about this month, there is something in our churches that we also have the opportunity to celebrate. October has long been known in the local church as “Pastor Appreciation Month.”

I grew up with my dad as my pastor. I remember every October, when Pastor Appreciation Month rolled around, a few of the ruling elders would come to the front and take a few minutes of the service to show appreciation to my dad. I have memories as a young girl of them recognizing him as their pastor and leader of our church. It wasn’t that my dad wasn’t thanked or celebrated at other times in the year, but I have very specific memories of October being set aside as special. My dad is now retired, but when October rolls around each year, I’m reminded of those memories and often think about how it impacted him and our family.

Pastors play a lot of roles in a church. They prepare weekly to preach God’s Word to the congregation (sometimes multiple times). They shepherd the hearts of the congregants. They counsel hard situations in people’s lives. They reach out to the community to connect with those outside the church. They also often complete many administrative tasks that are very rarely known or seen. The role of a pastor is not 8-5, but can often include early mornings and late nights, interrupted meals, and missed bedtimes with children. But my guess is if you asked your pastor why he signed up for the role, he would say something to the effect of “because God called me to it.” My husband is the assistant pastor at our church, and there have been times I have asked him during hard weeks, “Do you think you want to keep doing this?” Even on the hardest days, his response is always a yes!—not because it’s easy, but because he knows the Lord has called him to this role and the Lord is using him!

During Pastor Appreciation Month, I want to encourage us to think about our own pastors, even our pastors’ wives and families. How can we individually and as a church thank those who are leading our congregations? Our pastors have great responsibility to the Lord and to their congregations. What a gift it is to take time to celebrate them and to thank them! 1 Timothy 5:17 says, “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.” We thank them not because they expect it, but because it is an opportunity for us, the saints, to be reminded of the gift our pastor(s) are to us!

“Thank You” Goes a Long Way 

I often hear my husband say to our children, “Nothing is too small to say thank you for.” He wants our children to know that those two words go a long way with others. As we think about showing appreciation to our pastors, saying thank you or writing a note of thanks can go a long way them. It can be easy to go to our pastors if there is something we think should change in the church, but what if we went to them with what we appreciate about them? It can be as simple as walking up to your pastor with words of encouragement or taking five minutes to write them a note of thanksgiving and putting it in the mailbox. Words are powerful, and we often forget how far a few simple words of thanks can go with others.

Include the Whole Covenant Family 

The Lord can often use our covenant children to remind pastors of their roles. Last year, our children’s director had all the children in our church draw or write cards to our two pastors. It was an opportunity for them to think about what they appreciated about Pastor Jim and Pastor Dustin, as well as a very intentional way for them to feel a part of the church. Almost a year later, my husband still has those cards on his desk. They are reminders to him that the youngest congregants see him and that the big and small things he does to help lead our church impact the next generation. The words of our children matter, and their appreciation goes further than they realize.

Get to Know Your Pastors

Pastors have the unique privilege to know a lot of people in the church. They spend much of their time thinking about the members of the church and getting to know their hearts, marriages, and families. Although we hear from our pastors each week from the pulpit, have we taken the time to get to know what they love? What’s their favorite food? Favorite restaurant? A hobby they enjoy on a day off? An intentional way we can show someone we appreciate them is simply by getting to know them and giving them something that we know they will love.

Think About Their Family 

I remember when my husband was ordained, our senior pastor gave a challenge to me. He knew that for my husband to be a pastor, my role as his wife was crucial to his success. I have thought about this often as my husband serves our church. While my role can be more in the background, I must often remind myself (and my husband reminds me) that being a helper impacts his ability to do his job. Because pastors are shepherds for the entire flock, they need to be intentional about shepherding their own marriages and children. My husband often says that he needs our marriage and family to be healthy for him to be healthy in his role. Pastor Appreciation Month is a time to not just thank your pastor but to thank his family! This may look like a simple thank you, but it also may look like offering to babysit one night so he and his wife can go on a date, giving money to allow for an evening out or time away, or making a meal for your pastor’s family when you know it’s a busy week for them. There are many ways to show appreciation but letting them feel seen and appreciated will encourage them in the marathon of ministry.

Pray for Your Pastor 

Pastors need prayer! Satan does not like the role of a pastor, and they are often under attack in more ways than we realize. The most powerful thing we can do for our leaders is to go before the Lord on their behalf. Pray for their walk with the Lord. Pray for their families. Pray for their role as your pastor. Although we do not have to tell our pastors we are praying for them, one of the greatest ways we can bless them is to tell them. Find out which day your pastor is preparing his sermon and make a note to pray for him that day. Ask him or his wife a few specific things you can pray for him or their family. If you have a prayer plan, add your pastor to it and tell him what day you are praying for him. Just as we need our pastors to pray for us, they need us to pray for them! “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16).

The role of the pastor is a great privilege and responsibility. Whether you have one pastor at your church or five, know that they are working hard to lead your congregation. Their hearts’ desire is to fulfill the calling the Lord has placed on them, but it is not always easy, and there are many costs. What a privilege it is for us as members of a church to show appreciation to our pastors. Not only will it fuel their hearts to keep serving in their roles, but it will most likely fuel our hearts as well.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash