It is October, which means it is Pastor Appreciation Month! As we have been part of ministry, I can tell you first hand that gifts are SO appreciated.

Gift an experience:

As it can be difficult to find time to vacation, offer a lake house, book a trip to a cooking class, or tickets to a local event. You can get gift cards to the movies if your pastor loves movies, or a national park pass if they love going outside. If nothing else, gift a hotel! Even a weekend trip could mean so much to them!

Write a note.

As silly as this may sound, ministry is rough. Pastors can often go months with a lot of criticism and little encouragement. To know that they have had an impact on your life, or have helped in pointing you to God, can mean so much. Take some time to write how their ministry has effected you. Not just a general “thank you”, but specific stories can be so special. Even though it may seem like just words, it truly can be just what they need in a rough season.

Offer to help.

We don’t have any kids yet, but offer a service or a way to help like babysitting for a date night (if you are close enough and it wouldn’t be weird, of course). Bring them a dinner one evening. Get them a lawn care/ mowing service for a week. Give their car a detail. They are most likely exhausted. Enabling them to have an evening to breath could be an answer in a rough season.