Pastor Burnout and What You Can Do to Help
News Flash! Pastors and ministry leaders are human! They may speak from a stage but their emotions are the same as you and me. Loneliness, depression, unreasonable expectations, cultural shifts, and the advancement of technology have led many leaders in our churches to discouragement, burn out, and exiting ministry altogether.
Your words and actions can be of great encouragement to your pastor. You may not know all the challenges they are facing and your kindness and compassion might be exactly what they need at that moment in time.
How do you show appreciation to your pastor?
4 Simple Ways to Show Your Pastor Your Appreciation
- Tell them you appreciate them. Perhaps the simplest yet oft-forgotten thing we can do for our pastors is to tell them how much we appreciate them and all that they do for us. …
- Volunteer your time and talents.
- Gift cards to Starbucks, restaurants, bookstore, or other gift cards to place you know what they like. My current pastor loves Fricker’s!
- Ordering pizza for their family or providing another meal (organizing a date in advance).
- If they have children at home, you can offer to babysit so the pastor can have a date night! This is an excellent idea for pastor and wife appreciation (or pastor and husband).
What does the Bible say about pastors’ appreciation?
“And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:17-19). When a man of God draws from the congregation, the motive is important.
Ideas for encouraging notes to a pastor
- I want to thank you for your message last Sunday. I will be taking action and making some changes in my life. I felt like your words were meant for me.
- Your messages in the current series on [topic] have been excellent. I have been looking for ways to implement the ideas. Yesterday at work was a start when I told a friend about [topic]. Thanking you for sharing your inspiring words.
Your sermon last Sunday was just wanted I needed to hear. Thank you for preaching in a way that I can relate to. I’m learning more about the Bible and Jesus than ever before. And I’m excited to share my faith with others.- You are a wonderful preacher. Thank you for sharing God’s Word with us each week. I can tell that you spend a lot of time preparing. The lessons on Jonah challenged me.
- Thank you for your sermon last week. It was a refreshing way to hear about [Topic from Bible]. I will be memorizing the verses that you pointed out.
- I am excited to attend church every Sunday. The way you tell stories is relatable and funny. I am sharing them with my coworkers on Monday and hope that one day they will decide to follow Jesus too. Thank you for sharing with the church every week.
- I am grateful for your preaching. I am growing closer to God because of what I’m learning on Sundays and studying during the week. Keep up the great work!
-David Towne