A LETTER FROM THE PASTOR
October is a month when many churches take time to recognize and appreciate their pastor. Pastor Appreciation Sunday is a meaningful opportunity to say thank you, and I am always grateful for the kindness, encouragement, and support that is shown to me and my family.
But as I thought about appreciation this year, I kept coming back to one simple truth: A church does not move forward because of one person. It takes a team. It takes ministers, leaders, volunteers, servants, teachers, musicians, greeters, prayer warriors, helpers, and faithful people who are willing to give their time and energy to the work of God.
So this month, I want to take some time to turn the attention toward the many people who help make ministry happen at Calvary Church.
There are people who teach lessons, prepare music, run sound, work with children, clean, organize, decorate, greet, pray, plan, troubleshoot, answer questions, make phone calls, handle details, and step in whenever something needs to be done. There are people who arrive early and stay late. There are people who prepare long before anyone else walks through the doors.
Much of what happens in a church is never seen by most people. Someone has to unlock the doors. Someone has to turn on the lights, the heat and the air conditioning. Someone has to make sure the sound works. Someone has to prepare the classrooms. Someone has to pay the bills.
Someone has to welcome the visitor who walks through the door not knowing anyone. Someone has to comfort the person who is hurting. Someone has to teach the child who may one day become a preacher, missionary, worship leader, or faithful saint of God. Someone has to notice what needs to be done and simply say, “I’ll take care of it.”
Week after week, so many of you do exactly that. You give your time. You give your energy. You give your attention. You give up evenings, weekends, and moments that could have been spent doing something else because you believe in the mission of the church. That matters.
Sometimes the work of ministry can seem ordinary. Honoring people on their birthday may not feel spiritual. Running a soundboard may not feel like ministry. Cleaning up after an event may not feel like something significant. But when it is done for the work of God, it matters.
The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:58 to be “steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” I love that promise: Your labor is not in vain.
God sees the things other people never notice. He sees the preparation. He sees the sacrifice. He sees the prayer before the lesson. He sees the time spent practicing. He sees the person who arrives tired but serves anyway. He sees the volunteer who quietly fills a need without looking for recognition. He sees the minister who carries burdens that very few people know about.
He sees faithfulness. And faithfulness matters greatly to God, and you are making an impact, even when you cannot see it.
There are many names I could mention, but I want to personally recognize some of our ministers and volunteers who faithfully serve this church.
Bishop & Sis Dibble, Bro Marcus, Bro Andrew, Bro Kent & Sis Heidi, Bro Zach & Sis Ashley, Bro Zach & Sis Carley, Sis Joan, Sis Karen, Sis Becca and Sis Janellie.
These are our ministry leaders here at Calvary Church. Each person serves differently, but together they help create an environment where ministry can happen. That is one of the beautiful things about the church. We do not all have the same gifts. We do not all serve in the same way. We do not all stand in the same places.
But we are all part of the same body.
Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12 that the body is made up of many members. Every part is needed. No part can look at another and say, “I don’t need you.”
The same is true at Calvary. We need one another! The person on the platform needs the person in the sound booth. The teacher needs someone to teach. The ministry leader needs volunteers who are willing to help. The pastor needs people who will pray, serve, support, and carry the vision alongside him.
There is no “unimportant” ministry when it is being done for the Lord.
To every minister and volunteer at Calvary Church, I simply want to say: Thank you.
Thank you for believing in this church. Thank you for serving when it is convenient and when it is not. Thank you for being dependable. Thank you for caring about people. Thank you for seeing a need and responding. Thank you for helping carry the responsibility of ministry. Thank you for making my job as pastor easier.
And thank you for helping Calvary continue to move forward. I hope we never become a church that takes faithful people for granted.
A healthy church develops a culture of appreciation. We should notice one another. We should encourage one another. We should say thank you. We should honor faithfulness.
So during this month of appreciation, I encourage everyone to look around and notice the people who serve beside you. Tell a Sunday school or youth class teacher thank you. Encourage a musician. Thank the sound and media team. Tell a ministry leader that you appreciate their faithfulness. Sometimes just a few sincere words can give someone the encouragement they need to keep going.
I also want to extend my appreciation beyond those who hold specific ministry titles or volunteer positions. To every person who faithfully calls Calvary Church home, thank you.
Thank you for attending. Thank you for praying. Thank you for giving. Thank you for worshiping. Thank you for inviting others. Thank you for standing behind the ministries of this church. Thank you for loving one another. Our church would be incomplete without you. We value you and we need you!
I give honor to my family. They do much behind the scenes to help me, to encourage me and to bless this church. I get to see the excitement that they have when something good happens in the church, and that is because they care about each of you. I get most of the attention, but I would be nothing without my family. Melissa, Abry and Jack, the three of you are the most important people in my life. I am incredibly thankful to God for blessing me with each of you. Every day, I consider myself a lucky man and I love you all!
Calvary Church is not one person. It is all of us. It is people with different gifts, backgrounds, personalities, and abilities coming together around one mission and one Lord. And when every person brings what they have and says, “Lord, You can use me,” the church moves forward.
So to our ministers, our volunteers, and our entire church family:
Thank you for being faithful. Thank you for serving. Thank you for believing in what God is doing at Calvary. I am grateful for every one of you. And never forget: a church moves forward TOGETHER!
God bless you all,
- Pastor Dan