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If we truly want to honor our pastors, we need to do more than watch them serve, we need to step in, serve alongside them, and use our unique gifts to help carry the weight.
In our last post, we said the most powerful way you can appreciate and support your pastor is simple: pray for them. Really pray. Intentionally pray.
And we stand by that. Prayer is the foundation, the first line of defense, and the greatest gift you can give. That’s why we created the Prayer Pledge Drive Journal, to help people not just say they’ll pray, but actually follow through with intentional, daily intercession.
But prayer, as essential as it is, isn’t the only way to care for your pastor. Scripture tells us that every believer has been given spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12), and those gifts are meant to build up the body of Christ. That includes lightening the load on the shepherds who so often carry it all themselves.
If we truly want to honor our pastors, we need to do more than watch them serve, we need to step in, serve alongside them, and use our unique gifts to help carry the weight.
The Problem: Pastors Doing Everything
Let’s be honest: in too many churches, pastors do far too much. They:
- Preach every week.
- Visit hospitals.
- Counsel marriages.
- Plan events.
- Organize volunteers.
- Manage budgets.
- Handle facility needs.
- Lead small groups.
- Provide personal discipleship.
It’s not that pastors are unwilling, they’re often wired to serve sacrificially. But when one person (or even a small handful of leaders) shoulders all the work of the church, burnout isn’t just likely, it’s inevitable.
This isn’t how God designed the church to function. In Ephesians 4:11–12, Paul says pastors and teachers are given “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” In other words, the pastor’s job isn’t to do everything. Their role is to equip others to do the work alongside them.
Why Serving Matters
When you serve, you’re not just lightening the pastor’s schedule, you’re strengthening the entire church. Here’s why:
- Shared Load = Greater Health: Many hands make light work. When church members serve, pastors can focus on their core calling instead of drowning in tasks.
- Discipleship Through Service: Serving is discipleship in action. It grows your faith while blessing others.
- Protecting Pastors’ Families: Every meeting you lead, every task you take on, is one less evening your pastor has to miss dinner with their family.
- Obedience to Scripture: The New Testament is full of commands to serve one another, use our gifts, and bear each other’s burdens.
Serving is not optional. It’s obedience. And when we obey, we bless both the church and its leaders.
Discovering Your Giftings
Many people don’t serve because they don’t know where to start. But here’s the truth: you already have gifts. Scripture promises it.
Some of us are gifted in hospitality. Others in teaching. Others in encouragement, administration, giving, leadership, or mercy. When we use those gifts intentionally, pastors are freed to focus on shepherding rather than scrambling.
Here are some practical ways gifts can meet real needs:
- Hospitality: Hosting small groups or meals for newcomers.
- Encouragement: Writing notes or sending texts to uplift leaders.
- Administration: Handling schedules, events, or budgets.
- Teaching: Leading Bible studies or children’s ministry.
- Mercy: Visiting the sick or helping those in need.
- Counseling/Discipleship: Walking with people through struggles so the pastor isn’t the only counselor.
The question isn’t if you have a gift, it’s where and how you will use it.
The Role of Biblical Counseling Training
One of the biggest weights pastors carry is counseling. Marriage struggles. Addiction. Depression. Parenting. Crisis after crisis. And too often, they’re the only ones providing care.
But here’s the good news: laypeople can be trained to provide faithful, biblical counseling.
At Cedar Creek Ministries, we believe strongly in equipping the church body to counsel one another with Scripture. That’s why we point people to training resources like:
- IBCD (Institute for Biblical Counseling and Discipleship): Practical, accessible training for everyday believers. We use IBCD because it’s simple, biblical, and designed to equip laypeople.
- ACBC (Association of Certified Biblical Counselors): The gold standard of certification for those who want to go deeper. It’s rigorous, widely respected, and provides in-depth theological and practical training.
Both IBCD and ACBC emphasize this truth: counseling is discipleship. Every believer can grow in helping others apply the Word of God to life’s struggles. And when more church members are equipped to counsel, pastors aren’t carrying the entire counseling load alone.
Prayer + Service: A Double Gift
When we combine prayer and service, the results are powerful. Prayer covers our pastors in spiritual strength. Service covers them in practical support. Together, they create a culture where pastors are encouraged, families are protected, and the church thrives.
Here’s how you can put it into practice:
- Pray intentionally: Use the
Prayer Pledge Drive Journal. Start today, anytime is a good time to begin praying daily for your pastor.
- Serve faithfully: Ask your pastor where you can step in. Don’t wait for a sign-up sheet, volunteer your gifts.
- Equip yourself: Consider biblical counseling training through
IBCD or
ACBC. Even one or two trained lay counselors can make a world of difference.
- Encourage others to join: Share the vision. Tell your church that serving is everyone’s responsibility.
Why Cedar Creek Ministries Champions Both
At Cedar Creek Ministries, our mission is simple: Rest, Restore, Revive.
- Rest: By giving pastors space for sabbaticals and preventative rest.
- Restore: By offering counseling for leaders and encouraging lay counseling training for churches.
- Revive: By equipping leaders and churches to thrive in Christ’s mission.
But rest doesn’t happen if pastors are doing everything themselves. That’s why we keep pointing the church back to prayer and service, because when we pray and step in, pastors can lead from strength instead of survival.
How You Can Start Today
Here’s your challenge:
- Pick up a
Prayer Pledge Drive Journal. Don’t wait for Pastor Appreciation Month. Anytime is a good time to begin praying intentionally.
- Ask, “Where can I serve?” Don’t assume someone else will do it. Step up and use your giftings.
- Consider training. Explore
IBCD’s resources or
ACBC certification. Imagine the impact if your church had 5–10 trained biblical counselors walking alongside others.
- Encourage others. Share this vision with your small group, Bible study, or friends. Help build a culture of shared ministry.
Final Word: Don’t Let Them Carry It Alone
Prayer is the first step. It always will be. But prayer isn’t the end of the story. Pastors need churches that pray and serve. They need people who will cover them in prayer and use their God-given gifts to shoulder the work of ministry.
So don’t let your pastor carry it all alone. Pray with intention. Serve with purpose. Get trained to counsel and disciple. And together, let’s build churches where pastors and families can rest, restore, and revive.
Because when pastors are free to focus on shepherding, and the church is equipped to serve one another, the whole body thrives, and Christ is glorified.
