And watch for a new article I’m finalizing with some fresh new ideas for pastor appreciation.

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Fresh Ideas

Gold Apples

by Diana Davis

“A word spoken at the right time is like golden apples on a silver tray.” Proverbs 25:11 HCSB

I love hearing how churches honor their pastors and pastoral families for Clergy Appreciation Month each October. But how can you, as an individual church member, honor and encourage your ministers? Here are 25 simple ideas. Pick one!

• Write your minister an encouraging note the first day of every month this year.
• Present him a “Best Pastor in Winchester” t-shirt, substituting your town’s name.
• Actively listen during the sermon.  Nod your head.  Take notes. Say “amen.”
• Write a letter to the editor of the local paper to compliment your minister.
• Brag about your pastor every chance you get – and not just at church.
• Faithfully and joyfully use your spiritual gifts within the church body.
• Provide a generous book allowance for him in your church budget.
• If he has houseguests coming again, deliver a great casserole.
• Sit near the front of the sanctuary each Sunday this month.
• Borrow his car for an hour, gas it and wash it squeaky clean.
• Tell him how last Sunday’s sermon impacted your week.
• Be the first church member to volunteer for something.
• Exempt clergy from bringing dishes to pitch-in dinners.
• Pay for his teens to attend the church’s youth retreat.
• Show up early for church and help.  Stay late and help.
• Baby-sit his kids for free during a wedding or funeral.
• Introduce him to your friends and work associates.
• Help his children apply for college scholarships.
• Treat him for lunch. Listen more than you talk.
• Ascertain that he’s paid an appropriate salary.
• Include his family in a holiday celebration.
• Show respect by calling him “Pastor.”
• Anonymously mow and edge his lawn.
• Accompany him on ministry visits.
• Quit complaining.

© Diana Davis www.keeponshining.com 2011

October is Pastor Appreciation Month! Many churches take a few minutes of one Sunday’s worship service to say “thanks” to their spiritual leaders. I’m posting a previous article below, with a few ideas for celebrating your pastor and ministry staff. I’ll also post a second article of ideas for an individual church member to do to help celebrate Pastor Appreciation Day.

I’m finalizing a new article on the subject, too, with current new ideas, and I’ll post that soon. Also, there are more ideas for pastor anniversaries, welcoming new pastors, etc. in my book, Fresh Ideas-1000 Ways to Grow a Thriving and Energetic Church.

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PASTOR APPRECIATION DAY

“…give recognition to those who labor among you and lead you in the Lord.”

I Thessalonians 5:12-13

Each October, many churches designate a day to show appreciation to their pastor and church ministerial staff member.  Need fresh ideas?

One Fishing Lure

Determine one small item your pastor enjoys, such as M&Ms, fishing lures, popcorn, coffee, or golf balls. Ask each church member, including youth and children, to bring one of that item on Pastor Appreciation Sunday. For example, each family member will bring one bag, any size, of peanut M&Ms. Bring extras for guests and forgetful members. As your church thanks God for your pastor on Sunday, each member can walk to the front and place their token of love in a large basket.

The Church Building & the Church

Present your pastor with a beautifully framed photo or painting of the church building. Use an extra wide matting and ask all church members to sign the mat before adding glass.

E-Pounding

Distribute your minister’s e-mail address to all church or class members, asking each one to send an e-mail note, describing something specific that they appreciate about their pastor. E-mails should be sent one specific day or week, creating an e-pounding of blessings!

Text-Pounding

Use the same basic idea, but ask each member to send a text-message to the pastor or staff member.

Puzzle Gift

Order a jigsaw puzzle with a photo of your church family or church building.  Internet puzzle companies make 100 or 1000 piece puzzles from a photo.

Love Our Pastor

Take out a full-page ad in your local newspaper, featuring a photo of your pastor with each church member’s signature around it.  Include a declaration of your church’s love and appreciation for your pastor.

Lotsa Notes

Give each church member a stamped envelope that is pre-addressed to your minister’s home. Ask them to send a very specific, personal note of appreciation this week.

Make It a Month

As a church, deacon body, ladies group, choir or youth group, make October a true month of appreciation for your pastor. Ask individual volunteers from the group to write their name on one day of an October calendar. On the assigned day, that person expresses appreciation to the pastor in a unique way. Each day will be different. The pastor might receive a letter or gift. It could be a meal, a shoeshine or a “thank you” balloon bouquet. After a whole month of pleasant surprises, won’t your pastor feel appreciated? And won’t God be honored by your acts of love for His servant?

While You Were Out

Hanover Baptist in Indiana surprised their pastor with a gorgeous new home office. With his wife’s input, of course, they worked with a decorator and volunteers to turn a spare room into a home office while the pastor was out of town. They did paint, wallpaper, window coverings, shelves, desk, chair, computer, and decorator items.

Gift of Prayer

Give your pastor the gift of prayer. Create a chart, and allow members to choose a specific time that they will commit to pray weekly for the pastor this next year.  They do not need to come to a specific place—just pray on their way to work or pray each Tuesday at 2 PM. The project could be done by a deacon group, choir, class or the entire church. Present the prayer promise chart to the pastor as a gift. Then remember to pray!

A Class Idea

All the Sunday School classes of the church could pool their resources to purchase a full set of Bible commentaries. Every individual class could sign inside one of the books, then present it as a gift from their class.

Gift from Deacons

Each deacon purchases a gift certificate to a restaurant, carwash, coffee shop, or book store. He writes a personal note on the back, then all coupons are placed inside a card for the pastor.

Gift from Kids

Wouldn’t it be fun for every child at church to create a signed bookmark for their pastor or children’s pastor, using cardstock paper, crayons or markers?  Laminate the bookmarks, and then call all the children forward at the end of worship to put their bookmarks in a basket for the pastor.

Gift from Youth

Create huge poster board hearts and a giant love note for everyone to read. Place them on stakes in your pastor’s front yard during pastor appreciation day. You could add balloons, but not toilet paper.

More Ideas for a Gift from the Church

Restaurant certificates, magazine subscription, tires, Bible software, a trip, a book, theatre or sports tickets, flowers for his wife, babysitting coupons, a new car, a grandfather clock, a suit for pastor and a dress for his wife, a new car, a new desk, home landscaping.

© Diana Davis www.keeponshining.com 2011

I am a 44 year old Deacon wife, … that said, your book “Deacon Wives” has become a spiritual guide to me not only as a Deacon wife, but more simply as a Christian in such a way that nothing else in my life could even begin to compare. I think the truths in this book are something not just for Deacon wives but also for Christian women as a whole. May God continue to bless your ministry and give you the direction to do His perfect will!

Here’s an idea you might use for a conference theme.  “Fresh Winds of Change”

West Virginia’s ABW state retreat for women’s ministry leaders used that theme for this weekend’s retreat, with this Scripture:

“Bring me back from gray exile, put a fresh wind in my sails!”                        (Psalm 51:7b The Message)

The decor included huge colorful banners hung from the ceiling and behind the stage, with fans to create a gentle breeze.  They were using my book, Fresh Ideas for Women’s Ministry, to show how to do women’s ministry with an “upward and outward” focus, called LIGHT, so the table decor was all sorts of lanterns and lights. 

Each retreat attendee received a soft, colorful scarf as a gift, and their reteat closing sent all 250 women outside, with the scarfs blowing in the breeze. What a lovely visual–rolling West Virginia hills, blossoming trees and flowers all around, and scarves billowing.

It was such a fun weekend, and a great honor  for me to get to share with all those ladies.  Praying for “fresh winds of change” as they go back to their ministries across that state.

I’m looking forward to leading a conference for West Virginia women’s ministry leaders this weekend. You’re welcome to register if you live in that area! It’s for the American Baptist Churches of that state and guests are welcome.  Last week they had 250 preregistered, so it should be a great group.

The title is “Winds of Change”. Their planning team has done an amazing job, and I can’t wait to see how God uses the conference.  Pray for all those who will lead and attend.

As I’m sorting files and papers from 2009, I’ve found dozens of notes about my new book for Deacon Wives. I received another one online today, and thought you might enjoy reading a few (below).

If you’re a pastor’s wife or deacon’s wife, get a file folder right now, and label it “2010 Love Notes.” Every time you get an encouraging letter or email, put it in that file. Then, when you’re having a bad day or you’re discouraged, glance at that file.  You’ll be amazed at how God can use those to reignite your enthusiasm for loving people and serving Him.

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A few notes  about Deacon Wives (B&H Publishing 2009):

“I am a new Deacons wife and while shopping in LifeWay yesterday the only copy of your book, Deacon Wives jumped up and got my attention. I immediately started reading it in the store. The first thing that caught my attention was “If your husband is not your favorite deacon” made me laugh. Then I read page 4 and almost cried in the store….”

“Our pastor asked the deacon wives to meet at the same time as deacons’ meetings for six sessions, and to use Deacon Wives as a guide. We’re having a blast!”

“I am planning a six-week study of Deacon Wives for our church, and have followed your teaching plan exactly. I am so excited that 100% of our deacon wives are committed to attend!”

“We lost our pastor last year when a gunman entered the church and killed our pastor during the 8:15 a.m. service.  Being a deacon has taken on a whole new meaning since then…I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your article and your wife’s in the Deacon magazine. It is amazing over the past issues how they have been the right thing at the right time for me and the rest of the deacons at our church.  Thank you.”

From a woman I knew when she was a teen…”As a new deacon’s wife, our pastor and his wife recently gave me your book! It makes me want to be a better woman and a better servant of Christ…”

It’s not too late! If you need a gift for a deacon’s wife, pick up a copy of this book at your local Christian bookstore or order at Amazon.com 

I hope she’ll love it!

LifeWay’s Pastors’ newsletter printed my article today. It’s a really simple idea to help faithful church members intentionally welcome guests to church:

The Three Minute Rule.  Read it here–

http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/article_main_page/0%2C1703%2CA%25253D169430%252526M%25253D200826%2C00.html?rss=20090728

It seemed like they were everywhere!  There were hundreds of Indiana Baptists who attended the Southern Baptist Convention in Louisville. It was like a fun reunion! 

I found six full tables of Ministers Wives at the SBC ministers wives luncheons, plus lots of others at different tables.  It’s always such a celebration time, hearing all our missions reports and exciting challenges and Bible preaching and music, visiting with Christian friends, and missing out on sleep. We enjoyed the 150th anniversary for Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, a tour of Kentucky Baptists’ gorgeous new facility, and more banquets and meetings than I can remember.

I had the privilege of doing my book signing beside Mrs. Joyce (Adrian) Rogers. What a delightful woman of God.  She has a wonderful new book for widows.

  Next year’s SBC is in Orlando. See you there.    

You’re going to LOVE this story. It’s a follow-up on that last post about our daughter and son-in-law moving to Indianapolis. I’m just in awe of how God continues to put this all together. I pasted Autumn’s post on Facebook below. Enjoy!

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