By David Evans
TBC Evangelism Specialist
David Evans
Steve Parr and Tom Crites surveyed around 1,200 Millennials to find out why they continue to attend church. Out of the 15 factors that they identified, one was viewing their pastor in a loving manner. They found that the children/youth that viewed with affection their pastor were 70 percent more likely to attend church as a young adult as compared to those that did not appreciate the pastor.
October is Pastor Appreciation Month. Not only is this a good month to show kindness to the man who diligently shepherds you but it can also be a great time to plant seeds of church commitment and renewal in your children’s lives. Can you imagine those car rides home where the parents are criticizing the pastor? They are essentially planting seeds of unchurchedness in the hearts of their children. Here are a few ideas for the month of October: (1) Do something that shows kindness and appreciation for your pastor and be sure to include your children on the adventure. (2) Pray for your pastor and his family when your family sits down to eat every evening in October. (3) Have your children do something kind for his children during the month.
Here are questions to ponder: (1) As a parent, how do you instill in your children a love/affection for your pastor? How do you disciple them to appreciate the man that God has called to be your pastor?
(2) As a pastor, what can be done to make yourself available to be appreciated? You may modestly say that you do not desire to be appreciated, but children need the opportunity to respect, appreciate, and affectionately view their pastor.
— Evans is the evangelism specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Convention. If you would like to connect with your local community and young families contact Evans via e-mail at devans@tnbaptist.org. Also, you may want to consider purchasing Parr and Crite’s book Why They Stay to know why Millennial adults currently stay in church.
