Encouraging Pastors to Treasure their Pastoral Journey.

My husband and I celebrated 9 years of marriage this week. It's crazy how time passes! It feels like yesterday, while also eons ago that we, a barely 20-year-old and a still 19-year-old walked down the aisle. We've learned so much on this journey together, but I want to share about the place we're in now. My husband is the Associate Pastor of Music and Children Ministries at our church. He wears many other hats that most don't know about and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a challenge to know how to support him sometimes. I've heard it often asked, "What do pastors do everyday?". That statement use to make me wince. But, honestly most people do not know what pastors do day in and day out. Pastoral roles might look different from church to church. But, in a nutshell, the role of every pastor is to pour out themselves into the lives of others in the hopes that Jesus' light is shone. Sometimes, they pour out so much, their cup begins to dry out and at times, it cracks.

I could not do my husband's job. But, I can support him. One way I can do that is to recognize when his cup is drying out and encourage him to refresh. We did this exact thing this past weekend on a short beach getaway with our daughters. While away, I reflected much on how to support my husband in his pastoral ministry. In case you are like me and don't always know how to support your pastors, here's a few ways you can encourage them:

1. Share specific encouragements with them. Sure, it's nice to say the service went well. But did the Lord use a specific song or sermon point to speak to you? Tell your pastors those specific things. It lets them know that the time they took to prepare even the smallest (or largest) of details was meaningful. Often times, pastors are given more negative comments/complaints than they are positive words. I urge you, don't let this be the case for you. Flood your pastors with specific encouragement. It's impact is greater than you'll ever know.

2. Be intentional with them. A small act of intentionality goes a long way. Do you know their interests, their families, their struggles? Are you intentional to get to know them on a personal level? Sometimes, there is this unspoken expectation that it should always be the pastor's responsibility to be reaching out and initiating the formations of relationships. If it is always this way, then who is reaching out to our pastors? Reach out to your pastors in a personal way. Get to know them. I promise, they are just like you.

3. Pray for them. Yes, it is as simple as it reads. Pray for your pastors daily. Prayer is powerful, so do it.

I pray to always be my husband's greatest encourager, supporter, and advocate. I'm learning to put into practice these very things, not just in my marriage with Jason, but specifically in how I can encourage him in his pastoral ministry. I'm learning to treasure the lessons we're learning together in ministry. I'm learning to treasure all the moments, good and hard, because I feel I could write a book on all the Lord has taught us and we're only in year 6 of this journey. I'm looking forward to all the Lord has planned for us as we keep learning to treasure this journey of ministry.

My prayer is that, by encouraging our pastors, we can help them treasure their pastoral journeys as well.