I have seen too many congregations that do not celebrate Pastors Appreciation Month. I pray that you will honor your Pastor this month! There is a shortage of Pastors in America, particularly in rural areas. See: America’s pastor pipeline is collapsing. Show your love and respect for your Pastor more than ever this month. This message is from 2021, but it rings true here in 2026!
Baptist Press
By Jason Lowe, posted October 18, 2021 in Churches & Ministry
If you’re an active church member, you probably know that October is Pastor Appreciation Month. It’s a time set aside each year for churches to show their pastors how much they love and appreciate them and their families. From the pastor’s perspective, it’s such a joy and encouragement to their soul whenever a church member writes a handwritten note of thanks or the preschool class makes a homemade sign or someone gives him a gift card to take his wife out to dinner at a nice restaurant.
The Bible teaches that honoring and encouraging pastors in these and other ways is right. The Apostle Paul teaches, “The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching” (1 Timothy 5:17). In Hebrews 13, we read, “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith…Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”
If you’re a church member, you have no idea how much your simple act of appreciation encourages those whom God has appointed as the spiritual shepherd of your souls.
Except when it doesn’t.
You see, sometimes churches fail to show appreciation to their pastors during Pastor Appreciation Month. And during a time when pastors are meant to be encouraged, the sad reality is that many pastors end up becoming discouraged, simply because their church remained silent. In my ministry role, I work with a lot of pastors, and not all are encouraged during this month.
Please don’t misunderstand. Pastors don’t shepherd their flocks for the praise of others. Paul tells the Galatians, “If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10). They serve to please their Master who purchased them by His own blood. They “press on toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). They long for the day when they will hear the Lord say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” More Here
