In a couple weeks I am leading a “Breakout Session” in a conference for key leaders in churches from across the Baptist General Association of Virginia. The breakout session is titled: “How To Energize Your Pastor and Staff.”
I prepared a full session, with a slide show, video, bells & whistles – you know what I mean. The aim of the session is to equip some lay-leaders to go back to their congregations and engage in some intentional acts aimed at encouraging pastor and staff.
Below you will find a rough outline of what I have titled: “A Twelve Month Plan To Energize Your Staff.”
What do you think?
January | Send Your Staff Away (For A Day) – Pastors and staff need time away to pray and plan. Provide for them with time and resources for a planning retreat. |
February | Dinner & A Movie – Pool resources to get gift cards for staff to enjoy a “night out” with their spouse. Get church teenagers to provide free child-care for the night! |
March | Pray WITH Your Staff – Organize a prayer team to meet with each staff member to hear their personal burdens and then pray for them. |
April | De-Stress Month – Lent, Holy Week and Easter can be stressful. Send your staff to the spa for a massage; or get them tickets to a sporting event; or provide them something they enjoy in order to de-stress. |
May | Spouse Appreciation Month – Staff spouses sacrifice much to support their husband/wife. Show your appreciation with a special gift and recognition. |
June | Summer Reading List – Encourage each adult Sunday School Class to purchase a gift card at any bookstore to purchase summer reading materials. |
July | Take A Staff Member To Lunch – Arrange for a few folks to individually take a staff member out to lunch with no agenda except to be present as a friend. |
August | Send Your Staff To The VBMB Minister’s Family Retreat – Held the first full week of the month on the campus of Oak Hill Academy, this retreat allows pastors, staff, and their families a full week of rest and relaxation. |
September | Back To School – Staff kids are like all other kids. They hate going back to school. Arrange for as many adults as possible to send staff children a card wishing them well in the new school year. |
October | Pastor Appreciation Month – Overwhelm your pastor with daily acts of kindness and love for the entire month. Lots of small things add up quickly. |
November | Buy Your Staff A Turkey – Give staff a gift card at a local grocery store so they can purchase their thanksgiving dinner. Include a person note of gratitude. |
December | Christmas – Bonus checks from the church budget are taxable income. Encourage members to also personally send each staff a gift card or monetary gift. |
Bill – dead on… only thing I would add would be that they insist that every 6 or 7 years the pastor take a sabbatical.
You nailed it. Lets hope those who sit in on your breakout session “get it”
Thanks…
Yeah – I will hit the sabbatical thing earlier on
Have a publication from from of our denominational people who hits on that
This is just something to give them to get folks thinking about loving
their staff as a habit of love
Hope I can figure out how to post the conference online (the slide show)
after I have presented it life
Oh, and thanks a bunch, too. 😀
THIS IS AWESOME!!! Can you send this to every personnel committee and deacon ministry team in the BGAV?!?! I would be a HAPPY PASTOR and have a HAPPY FAMILY if we were loved and appreciated in these small tangible ways!
These were a collection from several of the Facebook posts from questions asked over the last month or so.
That and many in my church actually do some of these things – which explains why I am pretty happy most of the time.
I have friends. My church loves my family. They are kind and generous. They don’t have it mapped out, mind you, like the “plan” describes it. Which makes it so much better. They just love us.