Supporting Church Staff Through Times of Change
How can you, a congregation member, provide ways to encourage your church leadership team in their ministry as well as in their everyday life?
Everyone within a church community is called to ministry whether it be teaching, giving, serving, encouraging, supporting the broken, the grieving, the overwhelmed, or those with physical, spiritual, and financial difficulties (just to name a few!).
Our God is highly relational and made in His image, we have been designed to be better together; we serve better together and grow stronger when we meet together. This is the nature of community.
While there are usually paid staff in churches, we all have a role to play as we meet together. During this time of Covid-19 we have all had to learn to manage our lives differently, and this is particularly true of church workers as they have navigated ministry in uncharted waters. So how can we support them now that we’re on the other side of lockdown?
Scripture is riddled with advice for us. Galatians 6:10 suggests we take on a readiness for good action,
‘ Therefore as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people especially those who belong to the family of believers’.
When we read 1 Thessalonians 5: 12-13, we’re posed a challenge,
‘We ask you brothers to respect those who labour 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’.
Finally, Hebrews 13: 7 takes it a step further –
‘Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watching over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you’.
So let’s look at some practical ways we can put these verses into practice as we honour those who serve us:
Be appreciative: Everyone likes to be appreciated for the work they do and church workers are no different. A kind word, a friendly smile and a promise to pray goes a long way! For more ideas on how to be appreciative, read our article ‘Caring for Volunteers’.
Be patient: Church workers are thinly spread, particularly on a Sunday. The phrase ‘rivers of grace’ is particularly applicable here. If there isn’t an opportunity for them to talk to you personally, don’t interpret their busyness as disinterest – offer a smile or wave on your way out the door and set up a time to catch up another time if necessary.
Be gracious: You are not going to agree with every decision that your leaders make and that is okay. Draw upon the Fruits of the Spirit to help guide your response as you approach your church leadership to discuss your concerns. Leaders make such decisions with a lot more information that we have – we can tend to see things from our perspective and the somewhat-limited information we have. Embrace difference of thought as a welcome challenge and an opportunity to revisit your convictions.
Be interested: Like many of us, church workers may enjoy being asked how their families are and share about the things they are interested in. We can have a tendency to approach our relationship with church workers as one-way, as we share everything about us as they remain somewhat of an enigma. While there is wisdom in how much and when we share with each other, the level of depth of relationship may be disproportionate… there’s no hard rule as to the relationship between church workers and congregation members!
Be helpful: How can you practically help and support your church leaders? Are they asking for more people to volunteer in roles around the church? Sign up! For example, are you gifted at IT but know your church staff struggle in this area? Offer to set things up, innovate with new solutions, and take initiative while respecting the direction they’ve given you.
It might be time to consider what you expect from your church staff. Do you expect them to be available 24/7? Are your expectations reasonable or are there some changes you can make?
How can you show your church workers this week that they are valued and important?