When is pastor appreciation month

Prepare a beautifully framed photo or painting of your church building. Even better: Take a group photo of church members in front of the building. Use extra wide matting and ask every church member to sign the mat before adding the frame. Enlist skilled photographers to capture moments of worship and ministry throughout the month. Compile the images in a beautiful custom photo album for the pastor to reflect on throughout the year. Even better: Treat the pastor and other church staff to individual photo shoots for each of their families.

Gift them framed prints or a custom photo album or both. Purchase select volumes or a full set of Bible commentaries to aid your pastor and other church staff members in research and study for sermons, Bible studies, and discipliship classes. Encourage various groups, such as Bible classes, committees, or church ministry teams, to present one book of the set, individually wrapped with their personal notes of appreciation on the inside pages.

Most likely, your pastor has a large and growing library of resources comprised of both personal interests as well as volumes on church ministry and growth , leadership , and theology. Encourage his love of study and reading by adding some new books to his stack of must-reads.

As we see how wonderful it is to belong to God's family and be a part of his amazing witness to both the earthly and the heavenly realms, we'll grow in our love for and commitment to our local church. This is a great book for every churchgoer to read, whether they're new or have been attending for some time but need re-energizing with God's vision for the local church.

With a discussion guide at the end of the book, this book is also a great resource for small groups. He sets out eight privileges and responsibilities of a church member: to belong, to welcome, to gather, to care, to serve, to honor, to witness and to send.

They both come from dirt. Every facet of American culture is multiethnic. Yet, the church is not. The church is segregated. Drawing from Scripture, Derwin L. Gray shows how the modern church is suffering from being homogenous and how we are not fulfilling our calling as effectively as we should be. This book is a call for churches and their leaders to grow out of ignorance, classism, racism, and greed into a flourishing, vibrant, and grace-filled community of believers by: learning the practices essential to building a missional and multiethnic church; diving deep into the book of Ephesians and understanding that a foundational principle of the Christian faith is to bring salvation to everyone; and becoming agents of love, grace, and reconciliation united by devotion to serving God and sharing his gospel with the world.

Previously published as The High-Definition Leader , this revised, retitled, and repackaged edition will include a new introduction and light updates to the main text. Gray","name":"Gray, Derwin L. Digital eBook Rental. When Eric Peterson became the pastor of a brand-new church, he quickly and wisely turned to his dad for guidance. Eugene Peterson, author of more than thirty books including his bestselling memoir The Pastor and his groundbreaking Bible The Message , here in Letters to a Young Pastor , reflects on pastoral ministry in all its complexity--from relationships to administration to the sheer audacity of leading God's people in a particular place.

This is Eugene Peterson at his best--lifelong wisdom written with deep love. As the reader, you will glimpse into the tender, witty, personal side of Eugene mentoring his own son. These intimate letters will be treasured by all who read, and applicable to church leaders around the globe.

Peterson","name":"Peterson, Eric E. The question is: what is discipling us? The majority of Christians today are being discipled by popular media, flashy events, and folk theology because churches have neglected their responsibility to make disciples.

But the church is not a secondary platform in the mission of God; it is the primary platform God uses to grow people into the image of Jesus. Therefore, as church leaders, it is our primary responsibility to establish environments and relationships where people can be trained, grow, and be sent as disciples.

There are three indispensable elements of discipleship: Learning to participate in the biblical story the Bible Growing in our confession of who God is and who we are theology Regularly participating in private and corporate intentional action spiritual disciplines Deep Discipleship equips churches to reclaim the responsibility of discipling people at any point on their journey.

Previously, J. He is married to Macy English, and they have two children, Thomas and Bailey. English","name":"English, J. The journal has 23 sections corresponding to book chapters, along with key Bible texts, theology quotes, book excerpts, and space for notes. Ortlund","name":"Ortlund, Dane C. Take out a full-page ad in your local newspaper, featuring a photo of your pastor and a declaration of your church's love and appreciation.

Even better: List every member's signature in the ad. Create a presentation of photos and video of the pastor s in action during the past year. Set it to music and play it as a pre-worship service video each Sunday during October. Do a surprise office makeover, with the pastor's wife's input, of course. Ask different Sunday School classes and small groups to tackle a different aspect of the redo.

Ask each member or ministry group to bring a small momento related to one of these favorites, i. Designate a drop off area for the treats and surprise him at the end of your worship service one Sunday in October. Most churches have a shortage of volunteers to serve in various ministry roles each week. And it's a source of stress for most pastors and church staff.

This year give them the gift of your time and commitment for Pastor Appreciation Month — volunteer to serve on a consistent basis if you don't already. It will make his day and he will appreciate the support every time you serve.

Showing your love and support to your pastor's wife and all church staff members' wives will bless and encourage your church leaders more than you know. Include your pastor's wife when you write your note of appreciation — or better yet — send one speficially to her.

Pray for her and their family, and let her know when you do. Remember that being a pastor's wife is challening and comes with a lot of unrealistic expectations. On a daily basis, clergy members prepare weekly messages, manage the maintenance and financial obligations of their church, and, most importantly, nurture the spiritual well-being of their congregants.

Reason 2. Pastors and clergy serve the church and community during major life moments. Aside from these daily duties, clergy members participate in the highs and lows of the lives of their church-goers and other members of the community.

Clergy members lead mourners during funerals, pray over the sick, and minister to the imprisoned and abandoned. Moreover, clergy members bear the emotional pressure heaped upon them by disgruntled congregants and also absorb the hostile criticism of an increasingly anti-religious society.

Our clergy members also oversee our most joyous occasions. The clergy play a vital role in marriages, baptisms, Holy First Communions, and requests for special blessings. Reason 3. Missionaries sacrifice their comfort and safety for the gospel. Clergy serve as missionaries in hostile areas worldwide, cares for people with contagious diseases, and literally stands at the front lines of social justice movements. Given everything that the people who serve pastorally do, we should take time to appreciate and encourage them and their staff members.

Whether you choose to honor your spiritual leaders and their staff during Pastor Appreciation Month or another time of year, here are 7 ways to show your gratitude for their service and sacrifice:. Send your religious leader a clergy appreciation greeting card or a hand-written note with a message of gratitude for him or her. Ask your children to draw a picture or create other artwork for a clergy member or Sunday school leader.

Lend your pastor a hand by volunteering at the organization where he or she ministers, such as a hospital or nursing home. Take a group photo with fellow church-goers in front of the church or other organization where the clergy member works. Present the photo as an already-framed gift. Create a photo calendar with a picture of saints or inspiring Bible passages for each month of the year. Dear God, We pray for our pastors to be encouraged.

We ask that you would minister to them and give them a deeper sense of hope. Here are 4 practical ways to prepare for the 2 types of guests you should expect. See how churches have partnered with church tech companies to continue the work of the Kingdom of God. Is Money Messing with Your Marriage?

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