Staff Appreciation Ideas

Walk into a Hallmark Greeting Card store or a Christian book store during late September and you’ll find reminders that “Pastor Appreciation Day” will be coming in October. Presbyterian Churches encourage congregations to observe an appreciation day for the all church employees. Church Staff Appreciation Day (the second Sunday of October) does not have to be a major, expensive event. It simply needs to be a simple reminder that the people who give their lives to the service of God and His church are appreciated. Here are a few ideas:

1. Invite members to contribute a few dollars to a fund (put a box in the narthex) so the staff can go to a special restaurant together with their spouses (who also make sacrifices for the church).
2. Invite members to send cards and letters of appreciation directly to the staff members, or to contribute to a display of cards on a bulletin board.
3. In churches that have flowers donated for each Sunday in memory or honor of someone, arrange for the 2nd Sunday of October’s flowers to be in honor of the staff. In churches with few staff members, each week in October might be honor of a particular staff person.
4. Encourage each Sunday School and Small Group to do something special.
5. A financial gift
6. A cake and ice cream social
7. Provide a bouquet of flowers or candy basket to the spouses of the staff.
8. Grant a mini-vacation, in addition to the vacation provided by policy. Close the church office for a couple of days.
9. Arrange a retreat to Presbytery’s camp or conference center, or a trip to Montreat.
10. Organize a 24 hour prayer vigil, organizing all church members to covenant together to pray for their church’s staff.
11. Reserve a banquet room at an area restaurant and host a special lunch on a Sunday with the staff, their families, and the Session members and families in attendance.
12. Arrange for a week of surprises – a meal one day, dessert the next, flowers, then gift certificates, etc.
13. An article in the newsletter thanking the staff and encouraging others to take an opportunity to thank the staff.
14. Arrange for a day for the staff to enjoy a local “tourist” attraction – a zoo, a theme park, a water park, a kayaking tour, charter fishing excursion, etc. Let them take the church van or bus.
15. Have each member of the Session write a personal thank you note to each staff member.
16. If your church has a committee structure in which each staff person is assigned a different committee – have that committee take charge of a thank you lunch for that specific employee (but be sure each staff member’s committee follows through).