18 Ways for Clubbers to Show Appreciation to Their Pastor

October is Pastor Appreciation Month and many congregations are thinking about ways they can show appreciation to their pastor.

Why not encourage your clubbers to honor him too?

Whether or not your pastor is a consistent presence in your club or he’s not even at the church on Awana night, your clubbers can show their appreciation. (If your pastor doesn’t have much to do with Awana, here is a good opportunity for you to introduce him to what Awana is all about.)

Here are some ideas:

1. Write letters or design cards for your pastor. If most of your clubbers personally know the pastor, ask them to write letters or draw pictures to give to him.  If your clubbers don’t know the pastor very well – why not do one large card and have them all sign it (or draw on it)?

2. Invite him to club and serve him cake, cookies or another snack. Make him feel honored.

3. Design a t-shirt with a “best pastor ever” or “we love our pastor” logo. Give each clubber opportunity to sign the shirt with fabric paint.

4. Ask clubbers to draw pictures of different parts of the church (auditorium, Awana room, outside, lobby, etc.). Ask other clubbers to write a paragraph or so about why they like Awana/church. Put it all together in a book and present it to him.

5. Collect money to buy him a gift card to a bookstore (this could be a brick and mortar store or one online). All pastors like and need books. Even $l per clubber can quickly add up.

6. Write a song about your pastor, practice it and then invite him to a concert. This can be a lot of fun.

7. Write to his favorite author. Does your pastor often quote a particular theologian/author from the pulpit? Write to the author and ask if he would autograph a book for the pastor. Have all your clubbers sign the letter. (Authors need to buy their own books, so don’t expect to get the book for free.) Or, better yet, if the author lives in the area or will be in the area, arrange a time when he can get together for coffee with the pastor. (You never know until you ask and think what a great memory this would be.)

8. Secretly invite parents to write a letter or send a card of appreciation to the pastor.

9. Buy a ceramic coffee mug for him and have the clubbers sign it.

10. Invite him to club and interview him. Allow the kids to get to know him and what he does. Does he have kids? What pets does he have? Does he cheer for a sports team? What hobbies does he have? (If his hobby is something he can easily display, ask him to bring in some examples.) Did he go to Awana as a kid? When did he trust Christ (what were the circumstances)? When did he decide to become a pastor? What does he do all week?

11. Make something for his office. Can an artist paint his favorite verse? Can you get a poster made of the Awana kids with a “We love our pastor” sign? Be creative.

12. Put on a presentation for him. Clubbers could sing, quote verses and/or put on a skit.

13. Let him know that the club prays for him each week (and make sure you do so).

14. Make something more elaborate such as a handprint quilt. Do you have a quilter in your church? Ask each of the kids to trace their hands on a quilt block and then write their names on the handprint. Have a willing expert seamstress embroider over the handprints and the names and put the quilt together.

15. Make something not so elaborate. Or, the clubbers could work together making a fleece tie blanket. (Directions on the web.) Choose colors of his favorite sports team or a print that has something to do with his life (fishing, gardening, golfing). These blankets are easy and inexpensive to make. The directions are easy to find on the internet. (And which is why we have a Pittsburgh Steelers fleece-tie blanket at our house – made by the T&T girls.)

16. Have kids write out their favorite Bible verses (using markers on cloth) and then frame it.

17. Make a collage of the kids’ pictures with a “thank you” verse in the middle.

 18. Play off his favorite snack. Is it Reese’s Pieces? Buy several packages and stack them on his desk with “Thanks for always being there to pick up the pieces.” Is it Mountain Dew? Put a stack of Mountain Dew cans on his desk with a sign that says, “Thanks for all you dew.” Is it a Mounds Bar? Again stack some on his desk with a sign that says “We have a mound of appreciation for all you teach us about God’s Word.”

Allow the kids to have fun and be creative.