Pastors are people. They are susceptible to the same emotional challenges everyone else faces. From time to time, they question their abilities, skills, direction and effectiveness.
But unlike every other member of the church, most pastors do not have a pastor to counsel them through such challenging times. Life in the pulpit can be very lonely.
For that reason, most pastors are hungry for encouragement from their congregation. Sadly, when pastors hear from their membership, it is anything other than encouraging.
Church members, then, have a major opportunity and responsibility to support their pastor through their words. Whether it is face-to-face, written in a card, typed in an email, or texted to his phone; the timely words of a church member can impact the life of the pastor, and in effect, the life of the church.
Here are five things that your pastor would love to hear from you:
1) God used your sermon to transform my heart.
2) I appreciate the way your represent our church with character and integrity.
3) Would you like to go to lunch? I’ll pay!
4) I pray for you daily. Please let me know anything specific I can be praying about on your behalf.
5) Put me on the top of your list of people to call when you need a volunteer to serve.
Those are just a few ideas. I’m sure you can think of better ideas specifically for your pastor. So go ahead, take a moment right now to text, email, call, write, or visit!
“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” (1 Thess. 5:11).
“A word fitly spoken
is like apples of gold in a setting of silver” (Proverbs 25:11).