Okay, so, today I wanted to talk about something I did a while back – writing a pastor appreciation letter. It’s not something I do every day, but it felt really important at the time.
First, I started thinking about what our pastor really does for us. He’s always there, you know? Giving sermons, sure, but also visiting folks when they’re sick, counseling people who are going through tough times, and just being a steady presence in our community.
So I sat down, grabbed a pen and some nice paper – yeah, I went old school with this one, no typing. I wanted it to feel personal, like a real conversation on paper. Then I just started writing. I think the first thing I wrote was something like, “Thank you for being such a great pastor.” It wasn’t fancy, but it was from the heart.
Then, I got a little more specific. I remembered a particular time when our pastor’s words really helped me during a rough patch. I put that down on paper, too. It felt good to share that with him, to let him know his work makes a real difference.
- I recalled a sermon that really hit home for me. It was about facing your fears, and boy, did I need to hear that at the time. So I wrote about that, too.
- I also made sure to thank him for the less visible stuff. Like, I know he spends hours preparing for sermons and meetings. So I thanked him for his dedication and hard work.
I kept writing until I felt like I’d said everything I wanted to say. It wasn’t a super long letter, maybe a page or so, but it felt substantial, you know? Like it really captured my appreciation.
Oh, and I added a little Bible verse at the end, “May Your favor rest upon our pastor(s) and establish the work of their hands (Psa. 90:17)“. It felt like a nice touch, a way to offer a blessing back to him. And I thought it was a good verse to express my feelings.
After I finished writing, I read it over a couple of times, just to make sure it sounded right. Then I folded it up, put it in an envelope, and addressed it to our pastor.
The next Sunday, I brought the letter with me to church. After the service, I went up to our pastor, handed him the letter, and said, “This is for you.” He smiled and thanked me. I could tell he appreciated it. I guess I just wanted to thank our pastor properly, you know? Show him that we see all the hard work he does and that we’re grateful for him. It felt really good to do that, to express my gratitude in a tangible way.
So, that’s the story of how I wrote a pastor appreciation letter. It wasn’t a big, grand gesture, but it was meaningful, at least to me. And I hope it was meaningful to our pastor, too.
