Pastor & Staff Appreciation

I was a student pastor for just over 20 years and I know what it means to serve the Lord in a full-time occupation. My spiritual journey didn’t radically change when I officially left any type of salary in church. Since leaving the full-time ministry, I have become an advocate for taking care of church staff – those who make ministry a full-time occupation. I believe they deserve honor, respect and a good salary. I am troubled by churches who do the minimum and keep their staff barely above the poverty level. It is my opinion that a church shouldn’t add staff until they can gainfully support them.

John spoke to his friend Gaius about this very thing. He complimented Gaius on how he treated the traveling teachers. Check this out….

⁵ Dear friend, you are being faithful to God when you care for the traveling teachers who pass through, even though they are strangers to you. ⁶ They have told the church here of your loving friendship. Please continue providing for such teachers in a manner that pleases God. ⁷ For they are traveling for the Lord, and they accept nothing from people who are not believers. ⁸ So we ourselves should support them so that we can be their partners as they teach the truth. (3 John 1:5-8 NLT)

I really believe that our church staff are partners in sharing the gospel to the world. I can love, encourage and serve them as they work diligently for the Lord and the expansion of the kingdom. I also have a responsibility as a fellow believer to share the good news with others. I should not depend on the church staff to share the gospel with others – that’s my role too as a Christ follower.

I am thankful to part of the leadership at Southern Hill Christian Church in Carrollton, GA. Our Lead Pastor is Shannon Lovelady and he has assembled a fantastic team of Pastors and staff around him. The church is growing deeper in faith and accepting the call of God upon their heart. In just over a month, we will move into the community center that the Lord is using us to build, called City Station. www.citystation.org– It is a tool for ministry to be used by our community and our church.

I believe that people who serve honorably in ministry should be respected and blessed from all directions. They are giving up the chance to succeed in business so that they can share the gospel to the world. It is a high and holy calling and I’m very thankful for their call to serve.

Pressing On!

Dwayne