Pastor’s Appreciation – 2025

Pastor’s Appreciation – 2025

Subject – How to Truly Show Appreciation to Your Pastors

By Rick Welborne

Romans 13:7 (NLT2) ⁷ …Give respect and honor to those who are in authority.

Proverbs 21:21 (NKJV) ²¹ He who follows righteousness and mercy Finds life, righteousness and honor. 

1 Timothy 5:17 (NKJV) ¹⁷  Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.

--First of all, let me say thank you for your cards and generous gifts. What you express in your cards, your love, support, and kindness is priceless.

--Let me say, thank you to the Board of Deacons for allowing a day like this to honor our pastors, not just the lead pastor. Your love and support means so much to us.

--Thank you to Jimmy and Brandi Robbins, I think Jimmy drew the short straw, for all your hard work and effort in putting this together. Actually, Jimmy was more than wiling.

--I knew my time would be limited today so as I thought about and prayed about this service, I felt like the Lord impressed on me how you can truly show your appreciation for your pastors.

--Don’t misunderstand me, pastors love cards, gifts, and financial blessings but there is something more valuable than these things. Here we go!

1. To Show Your Appreciation to Us, Love God.

Matthew 22:36-38 (NKJV) ³⁶ "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"
³⁷  Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'
³⁸  This is the first and great commandment.

--If you love God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, most of your problems, and ours, will be taken care of. Jesus said this should be first.

--Love for God has helped people thru millions of problems, while not loving God has created more problems than we can count.

2. To Show Your Appreciation to Us, Love Each Other.

Matthew 22:39-40 (NKJV) ³⁹ And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
⁴⁰  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

--How wonderful it would be in a pastor’s life if the people he ministered to would simple love each other. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples. Love and forgiveness go together.

Matthew 6:14-15 (NLT2) ¹⁴ “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.
¹⁵  But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.

3. To Show Your Appreciation to Us, Serve God and One Another.

--Jesus said that He didn’t come to be served but to serve. People who serve are less likely to be problems. 

Matthew 23:11-12 (NLT2) ¹¹  The greatest among you must be a servant.
¹²  But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

4. To Show Your Appreciation to Us, Help Grow the Church.

--I do not know a pastor who doesn’t want his church to grow, by new converts coming into the church. Jesus said He would build His Church; we are to work with Him.

--A lady said she wanted to talk to me after church. Ok. Pastor, we are growing too much and it feels like we don’t have that personal home type feeling anymore. I was shocked.

--I thought for a second, and then, I said how many people do we get to so we keep you happy. 150, 200, 250? At what point do you get where you can tell the rest of the community to go to hell?

--We kept growing and she left. She didn’t want new people getting the attention she craved.

Luke 14:21-23 (NKJV) ²¹ 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.'
²²  And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.'
²³  Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

5. To Show Your Appreciation to Us, Love and Support Missions.

Mark 16:15 (NKJV) ¹⁵ And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

Matthew 24:14 (NKJV) ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Dan Betzer – Churches must have a world-view and care about the lost all over the world. Therefore, we send missionaries to the ends of the earth. In heaven you will never regret the money you gave to missions.

6. To Show Your Appreciation to Us, Have Passion for God’s House.

Psalm 69:9 (NLT2) ⁹ Passion for your house has consumed me... 

--Hebrews tells us not to forsake meeting together in God’s House and the closer to the coming of Christ, be even more faithful.

Question: Do you have a passion for God’s House to be here, to meet with your brothers and sisters, and even a desire to make sure the House of God is well taken care of?

--Sometimes taking care of God’s House is overwhelming. Sound systems, a/c units, leaking roofs, trees falling, electrical issues with the lighting, etc. Help us by caring about God’s House.

7. To Show Your Appreciation to Us, Be Generous on Every Occasion.

2 Corinthians 9:11-12 (NIV)
¹¹  You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
¹²  This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 

--Make us happy and thankful…Bring your tithe, be generous with missions, help us care for God’s House, help the poor. Your generosity rises as thanksgiving to God.