SHOW and SHARE

Equipping Churches to

SHOW and SHARE

God’s Love to Their Pastors

Toolkit of Resources for Churches

Join the movement to

show

and

God’s love to pastors!

Bless Your Pastor is a national generosity campaign from the

National Association of Evangelicals. It is an opportunity for

church congregations to ﬁnd creative ways to care for their

shepherds.

Bless Your Pastor focuses on resourcing church leaders to disciple their

people in generous living that leads to transformed hearts and generous spirits. The campaign

will guide believers to relieve some of the ﬁnancial and emotional pressures that pastors often

feel as a result of their sacriﬁcial service to their churches. Many churches may also decide to

extend the campaign to church sta members in addition to their pastors.

The Bible instructs Christians and churches in 1 Thessalonians 5:12 to “Make sure that you

show

your deep appreciation for those who cherish you and diligently work as ministers among you.”

And, Galatians 6:6 says, “The one who receives instruction in the Word should

all good

things with their instructor.”

We hope these free resources will help your church

show

and

God’s love for your pastor

and church sta. See the following page about how easy it is to launch and spark excitement

for the Bless Your Pastor campaign in your church.

TAKE NOTE...

The Bless Your Pastor campaign should be organized

lay leaders

for

the pastor

(and church sta, if applicable). This is a behind-the-scenes eort between the

lay leaders and the families in your congregation. While it is appropriate for the

pastor to know about this eort, the promotion, distribution of materials, and the

oering request should be handled by lay leaders and the admin/communications

sta members. Materials can be sent out by mail and/or email to the families in the

congregation, instead of being distributed during worship services. Do what works

best for your church! Treat this eort as if you were planning a birthday party for

someone special — they might know the event is happening, but they shouldn’t be

involved in planning the party, sending out the invitations, or requesting birthday gifts!

Bless Your Pastor Toolkit

0919

STEP 1: Share Bless Your Pastor with your church leadership team.

• Email the Bless Your Pastor welcome video (Vimeo.com/NAEvangelicals/leaders-byp) and church

toolkit (BlessYourPastor.org/churchtoolkit) to your church leaders for them to watch and review.

STEP 2: Discuss Bless Your Pastor as a leadership team.

Note: While it is appropriate for the pastor to know about this eort, they would not normally be involved in the

planning process.

• Print out copies of this 5 Simple Steps sheet (BlessYourPastor.org/steps) and the list of 50 Creative

Ways to Bless Your Pastor and Sta (BlessYourPastor.org/50ways) to inspire ideas and make plans for

your church.

• Watch the Bless Your Pastor training video (Vimeo.com/NAEvangelicals/byp) together, or email the

video to your leaders to watch before the meeting.

• Decide what weekend to publicly honor your pastor during your worship service. Many churches will

pick a weekend in October as part of Pastor Appreciation Month. Other ideas include November in

connection with Thanksgiving, December in connection with Christmas, or anytime that ﬁts best in your

church calendar.

• Decide if an Appreciation Oering will be received for the pastor and/or church sta.

• In addition to sharing the list of 50 Creative Ways to Bless Your Pastor with your church, brainstorm

other ideas for how your church can Bless Your Pastor.

• Identify one or two individuals to coordinate this behind-the-scenes eort.

STEP 3: Spark excitement at your church.

• Connect with the admin/communications sta members to plan the best ways to share about the Bless

Your Pastor eort and oering with your congregation.

• Review the materials in this toolkit and decide which ones will work well for your church (See Page 5).

STEP 4: Celebrate Bless Your Pastor Weekend.

• Decide how you will honor your pastor during the worship service.

• If your church collected an Appreciation Oering, present the gift to the pastor (and church sta

members, if applicable) during the service. Visit BlessYourPastor.org/oeringtips for tips and

BlessYourPastor.org/oeringspreadsheet for a spreadsheet to prorate the oering if given to multiple

people.

STEP 5: Report your Appreciation Oering.

• Go to BlessYourPastor.org/giftcard to report the Appreciation Oering amount your church received.

The NAE team will then email your senior pastor a $150 Amazon gift card to be an additional blessing to

your pastor. (This will also help us measure the impact of Bless Your Pastor across America!)

Bless Your Pastor Toolkit

5 Simple Steps to Bless Your Pastor

START HERE

BEFORE BLESS YOUR PASTOR WEEKEND

FIRST

• Meet as a leadership team and decide which weekend will work best to celebrate

your pastor.

• Connect with the admin/communications sta members to make a plan to spark

excitement for the Bless Your Pastor campaign and Appreciation Oering.

SECOND

• Send out the Bless Your Pastor email/letter, list of 50 Creative Ways and

Appreciation Oering instructions.

• Consider using graphics and #BlessYourPastor sharing on social media. Collect

social media input/photos/testimonies about how people are blessing pastor.*

THIRD

• Send out reminder email/letter as follow-up to ﬁrst email.

• Continue sharing about Bless Your Pastor on social media.*

• Put an announcement in church weekend bulletin.*

*Consider your pastor’s preferences. Some may be sensitive to information about this

eort being shared on social media or in announcements in your church bulletins or other

communications.

ON THE BLESS YOUR PASTOR WEEKEND

• Bring pastor (and church sta, if applicable) on to stage to give them the oering

and pray for them.

AFTER THE BLESS YOUR PASTOR WEEKEND

• Continue to celebrate what God did in your church through an email to your church

and/or sharing on social channels.

• Remind church members to consider the 50 Creative Ways to Bless Your Pastor

(and Sta) and to continue showing and sharing God’s love throughout the year.

• Report your Appreciation Oering at BlessYourPastor.org/giftcard.

Bless Your Pastor Toolkit

Timing to Implement Bless Your Pastor

TIMELINE

This timeline of major milestones is a tool to help you and your church plan. Some churches

may only need one month to plan the Bless Your Pastor campaign, while others will start

working on it 3 months or more before the Bless Your Pastor weekend. Do what works best

for your church!

Bless Your Pastor Toolkit

0719

This 50 Ways list is available in several formats, including

versions to “Bless Your Pastor” and “Bless Your Pastor & Staﬀ.”

Formats include: a one sheet, half sheet and tri-fold brochure.

Each format is available in black/white and in color.

FAITHFULLY PRAY

The best way to help your pastor

and church sta is to pray for:

• Intimacy with God

• Marital love and unity

• Spiritual protection

• Divine guidance

• Emotional and physical

well-being

• Parenting skills

• Genuine friendships

• Financial provisions

• Daily wisdom

• Personal encouragement

• Helpful mentors

• Eective ministry

• Time management

• Quality study and prayer times

• Helpful training and books

• Leadership skills

FONDNESS

• Let them know how God is

speciﬁcally using them to

bless, help and teach you to

follow God.

• Remember their birthdays and

anniversaries with a card, gift

or social media post.

• Show appreciation for their

strengths and give grace in

their weaknesses.

FREEDOM

• Give their spouses the freedom

to be themselves and to ﬁnd

their own niche at the church.

• Let their children “be kids,”

care about them, and pray for

them.

FOOD, FELLOWSHIP & FUN

• Prepare meals or baked goods

for them (ask about favorite

meals or certain foods to

avoid).

• Give them gift cards for

restaurants, fast food or coee

shops.

• Give them food from your

garden, orchard, hunting or

ﬁshing trips.

• Invite them and their families

to your home or a restaurant

for a meal.

• Invite them and their families

to go ﬁshing, sailing, camping,

hunting, to the gym, concerts,

plays or sporting events. Oer

to cover some or all of the

costs.

• Oer your pastor and sta

members sports, concert or

event tickets.

• If you have a vacation home,

timeshare, recreational vehicle

or camping gear, oer to let

them use it.

• Share frequent ﬂyer miles that

can be used for conferences,

vacation, mission trips or

holiday travel.

• Oer them the use of your

dependable vehicle for a

holiday family trip or vacation.

FREELY SHARE

Share your skills and time to help

with any of the following items:

• Babysitting

• Auto maintenance and repair

• Home repairs, maintenance

and projects

• Decorating, painting and

wallpapering

• Haircuts and beauty

treatments

• Medical, dental and

chiropractic care

• Lawn and garden upkeep

• Legal, estate and ﬁnancial

services

• Tutoring or lessons for children

If needed, communicate in advance

if there are any out-of-pocket costs

the pastor or church sta members

will need to cover (e.g., parts for a

car repair or materials for home

repair).

FINANCES

Faithfully give to your church, so

your pastor and church sta can be

properly compensated. Beyond the

church salary, the Lord may prompt

certain individuals to provide

personal funding to help with any

of the following items:

• Bless Your Pastor & Sta

oering

• Marriage retreat costs

• Christian camp fees

• Back to school fees, clothing

or supplies

• Children’s college tuition

• Mission trips

• Lessons or tutoring

• Family or couple’s vacation or

getaway

• Pastor’s conference, seminar or

training

• Seminary courses or sabbatical

• Student loan debt

• Retirement savings

• Medical expenses

PAY IT FORWARD

Most people have heard about

“paying it forward.” Do you know

you can also pay it forward by

passing along possessions you no

longer use or need? Possible items

could include appliances, furniture,

musical equipment, clothing, sports

equipment or electronics. Ask if the

items you may have available are

actually needed and wanted by the

pastor or church sta members.

Also, be sure they are in good

condition and will not need costly

repairs.

Note: Please be prepared to

graciously allow your pastor or church

sta to decline anything that you oer.

Also note that most items mentioned

here are not normally tax-deductible

to the giver, but are to be given out of

gratefulness to God for what he has

given to you.

Over 50

Creative

Ways to

and

S taff

1) Training video

Training video for your church leadership team

2) Template letters/emails from your church leaders to your church

Bless Your Pastor letter template

Bless Your Pastor email template

Bless Your Pastor and Church Sta letter template

Bless Your Pastor and Church Sta email template

3) Appreciation Oering information

Oering envelope tips and tax information

Appreciation Oering chart spreadsheet

CHOOSE WHICH “50 WAYS” TO USE

4) 50 Creative Ways one sheet

Bless Your Pastor one sheet in b/w

Bless Your Pastor one sheet in color

Bless Your Pastor and Church Sta one sheet in b/w

Bless Your Pastor and Church Sta one sheet in color

5) 50 Creative Ways tri-fold brochure

Bless Your Pastor brochure in b/w

Bless Your Pastor brochure in color

Bless Your Pastor and Church Sta brochure in b/w

Bless Your Pastor and Church Sta brochure in color

6) 50 Creative Ways half sheet

Bless Your Pastor half sheet in b/w

Bless Your Pastor half sheet in color

Bless Your Pastor and Church Sta half sheet in b/w

Bless Your Pastor and Church Sta half sheet in color

7) 50 Creative Ways article

MS Word article to post online

8) Social media toolkit

This social media toolkit includes an inspirational video, downloadable logos, social

cards, sample posts, graphics and Scripture verses so that you can create excitement

for the Bless Your Pastor initiative through social media.

Bless Your Pastor Toolkit

Everything You Need to Make Bless Your Pastor a Success

Click on the bold blue text to download any of these resources.

RESOURCES

Compensate Your Pastor and

Sta Using National Research

The best way for church boards or

leadership teams to properly compensate

church personnel is by using nationally

recognized research, recommendations or

regulations from their denominations or

respected national research (ChurchSalary.

com, CompStudy.Lifeway.com and

MinistryPay.com). Using objective outside

information will give church leaders

guidance for what is appropriate and

fair based on church size, location,

denomination, church budget, experience

and education.

Plan an Annual Bless Your Pastor

Campaign & Oering

While many churches have limited budgets

for pastor and sta compensation, most

people in churches have been blessed

by God with skills, abilities, interests and

resources that they can use to bless their

pastors and church sta members. Over

the years, many churches in America have

celebrated October as Pastor Appreciation

Month. Through the Bless Your Pastor

campaign and resources, we trust that many

churches will plan an annual Bless Your

Pastor (and sta, if applicable) campaign

and oering. Every year, this will be a

reminder to church families regarding how

they can creatively show and share God’s

love to their pastors and sta members.

And for the pastor and sta families, these

intentional acts of kindness throughout

the year and through the annual oering

will help them feel loved, valued and

appreciated.

Provide Employee Beneﬁts in

Your Compensation Package

Most pastors do not receive the typical

employment beneﬁts that many working

Americans receive. Church boards, ﬁnance

teams or personnel committees should work

with their denominations or other ﬁnancial

groups that serve pastors and churches to

make sure their pastors and sta members

receive retirement contributions, healthcare

coverage, and life and disability insurance.

Properly Set Up a Plan to

Reimburse for Ministry Expenses

Pastors regularly need to purchase books

and software for sermon preparation,

to attend conferences and events for

connection and encouragement, to take

people out for meals to discuss pastoral

needs or church business, to drive to

hospital and visitation meetings, to host

ministry events at their homes and much

more. Many pastors have to pay for these

expenses from their already limited salaries.

In the past, they could deduct these

expenses for tax purposes, but the IRS no

longer allows these tax deductions. So,

it is important that churches make sure

they properly set up ministry expense

reimbursement plans to cover these

ministry related costs.

Bless Your Pastor Toolkit

How Churches Can Properly Care for Their Pastors & Staff

BEST PRACTICES

Most pastors have advanced degrees and work 50 to 60 hours each week caring for their

congregations, but most Christians are not aware that their pastors and church sta members may not

be paid well.

A pastor’s week is ﬁlled with early morning meetings, oce hours, visitations, counseling, sermon

preparation and prayer, evening committee meetings and weekend worship services. Yet research

shows many pastor families struggle due to low compensation and a lack of proper employee beneﬁts.

So, here is a list of seven things a church board and congregation can do to make sure their pastor and

church sta are properly cared for, loved and blessed.

Bless Your Pastor Toolkit

How Churches Can Properly Care for Their Pastors & Staff

BEST PRACTICES (cont.)

Oer Time O and Time Away

Pastors work long hours every week. The

demands of leading the church, preparing

for worship services, and caring for the

ﬂock can be non-stop. Church leaders and

congregations need to honor their pastors’

weekly time o and vacation time. Some

pastors say they can’t aord to take time

o with their families. Church members

who have access to vacation properties,

timeshares, RV equipment, unused frequent

ﬂyer points, etc., can oer these to their

pastors or church sta members who need

time away but can’t aord it. Also, after

pastors have served for six years, consider

providing them with some God-honoring

sabbatical time to help them rest, restore

and refocus their lives and ministry.

Legally Approve Housing

Allowances for Pastoral Sta

In America, current laws allow pastors to

receive parsonage or housing allowances

free of federal income taxes. This is a

major ﬁnancial beneﬁt for pastors that

can be easily implemented by churches.

But it is important for churches to

properly follow IRS guidelines to make

this legal for their pastoral sta members.

If housing allowances are not properly

approved, pastors and churches can

face back taxes, ﬁnes and penalties.

Visit NAEﬁnancialhealth.org for Pastor

Compensation resources and IRS guidelines

for legally approving housing allowances.

Conduct Annual Reviews and

Planning Sessions

Being a pastor can sometimes be a lonely

and dicult job. Oftentimes pastors hear

negative comments about all sorts of topics

— the sanctuary is too cold or warm, the

music is too loud, the sermon is too long

and on and on. A good practice for a pastor

is for a small group of two or three lay

leaders to conduct an annual review with

the pastor and review together the good

things that have happened, possible areas

of improvement, a compensation discussion

and review, and positive plans for the coming

year.

Pastors and church sta members are God’s servants, and church boards,

leaders and congregations are responsible to God to care for them

well. Galatians 6:6 (NLT) says, “Those who are taught the Word of God

should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them.” By

taking steps to follow many of these Best Practices, church leaders and

congregations can bless their pastors, allowing them to do their service

with joy and ﬁnancial freedom.

Brian Kluth is national director of NAE Financial Health

and spokesperson for the Bless Your Pastor movement.

Church Compensation Research and Resources

• Many denominations have research and resources on compensation. Be sure to contact your

denomination to see what is available.

• Christianity Today’s ChurchSalary.com

• LifeWay Research Compensation Study

• The Church Network’s Annual Salary Research

• NAE Financial Health (Pastor Compensation Resources)

NAE Financial Health Free Online Training

• Bless Your Church | A 13-minute video training session to equip, empower and encourage your

church to receive generous gifts of assets and estate bequests

• Generous Life Devotional | A 10-minute video training session to inspire generosity through the use

of a 40-day church-wide devotional

• God Is Your Provider Personal Finances | A six-session at-home interactive training for couples and

individuals to improve their ﬁnancial health regardless of their age or income

• Church Generosity | A six-session interactive training for church leadership teams to grow givers

and giving in their churches

Bless Your Pastor Toolkit

Additional Resources to Continue Blessing Your Pastor and

Church Throughout the Year

Click on the bold blue text to download any of these resources.

BEYOND BLESS YOUR PASTOR