It should go without saying that you should be praying daily for your pastor. I need to expand that to say that you should pray daily for your pastors, assuming you have more than one. Today I am specifically going to talk about youth pastors and children’s pastors. These are the ones that teach, shape, and mold your children from the nursery up through high school and sometimes college age.
These pastors are not babysitters for you while you sit in the adult service or, I shudder to mention, drop them off and go off to breakfast or elsewhere. They pour their hearts and best efforts into the spiritual lives of your children, who represent the next generation to carry out the Great Commission. Your children are the future pastors, teachers, and leaders to ensure that the Gospel is spread to the generation that follows them.
Pray daily for the pastors and teachers that sacrifice their time and energy to teach your children each Sunday and/or Wednesday. Very few are paid and most are volunteers. The ones that are paid are usually minimum wage or slightly higher, so their motivation certainly isn’t money. Pray for strength, energy, patience, and joy. Pray for more helpers to assist them in their ministry so they do not burn out trying to do so much with so little. Take the time to thank them and show your appreciation in creative ways.
Be an example of Christ to your young ones so that, when they transition into the adulthood, they will follow in your footsteps. Your active presence in their lives, setting a godly example, combined with a wonderful pastoral team at church, will set them up for a successful Christian life as they grow into strong, mature adults. A positive influence at home, reinforced at church, will help counter the negative influences the world has to offer. Pray daily for all of your pastors and thank them for their service and sacrifice!
Proverbs 22:6 (NLT) - “Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.”