“We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13

Ever thought of the need to minister to your pastor? This is something we often times forget to do or think it not necessary because of their “profession”, but it is quite the opposite that is actually true. Because of their work, we must minister to them all the more. Please be encouraged of our responsibility to minister to our shepherds that the Lord has entrusted over us. Paul said in Galatians 4:19 that he was in anguish as in childbirth over the church at Galatia. After giving a long list of his struggles and daily dangers, as if that were not enough, he states that “apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.” (2 Cor 11:28). Knowing our shepherds have this same heart,  I urge our members to encourage them often through our faith (Rom 1:11-12), by living lives marked with unity, knowing nothing of each other except Jesus Christ and him crucified (1 Cor 2:2), and also through prayer and service.

Here a few ways to minister to our shepherds:

Pray for them daily. (Pray specifics: health, family, faithfulness to the Word, that we would know how to encourage them, etc)

Go above and beyond to offer words of encouragement (as well as acts of service)

Take some of the burden off of them by offering to do some of the admin responsibilities

Ask the Lord to help you determine your spiritual gifts and use them in service to the church

Arrive early on Sundays and assist with the setup

Stay a little later on Sundays and assist with the tear down

(These are just a few – there are thousands more, but most importantly know that there can never be a time that we minister to them enough.)