Jenifer Metzger : church

My family has been in ministry since I was a young child. My parents were saved and began going to church when I was only a year old. Very soon my parents began leading the preschool class with almost 100 preschoolers every Sunday. A few years later my dad became part of the deacon board. Then my mom became the children's pastor. Dad served on a deacon board for almost 30 years and my mom served as children's pastor for almost 30 years. Four years ago my parents became the lead pastors at our church. My parents are my pastors.

My husband is our associate pastor and I am the children's pastor. My brother just became a youth pastor and my 18 year old daughter is studying to be a youth pastor. Ministry runs in our family.

Because ministry runs in our family, I know all the ins and outs, all the hours and heart put in to it, and all of the hardships and blessings. I often hear people say a pastor preaches on Sunday then spends the rest of the week playing golf and having lunch dates with other pastors. These assumptions make me giggle. Oh if they only knew!

I've watched my parents spend endless hours at the church whether for meetings, counseling sessions, or preparations for services. I remember the Saturdays spent shopping for batteries for the church microphones and clocks, light bulbs, supplies for children's church, the list went on and on. I remember fabulous Christmas and Easter programs then coming to church on Monday to put everything away and cleaning so that when the congregation arrived on Wednesday, everything was in place and ready for service. I've seen my mom and husband put hours into praying over and studying for a sermon and preparing for it, I've even done it myself. I watch my husband work a full time job, come home to shower and have dinner, then go to church for several hours to study for his Wednesday sermon. Then Wednesday come home from work, shower and sit with his sermon praying over it and studying through it one more time before service.

I see first hand the hospital visits, phone calls at all hours of the day and night, the heartache when one of your church family is hurting, the pain when someone leaves the church, the hours and hours of prayer over your church people, and the physical work inside the church. There is so much behind the scenes outside of Sunday that so many do not understand.

Please believe me that I do not tell you all of this for one ounce of sympathy or pity. I don't even tell you for a thank you! I tell you because I hope that it gives you a glimpse into all your pastor does for your church family. Ministry is not just a Sunday job. Heart and soul go into caring for a congregation. This is literally a 24/7 thing. But I tell you so in hopes to encourage you to return the blessing to your pastor. The biggest, most appreciated way you can do that, is to pray. Pray daily for your pastor. Pray for their marriage, their health, their relationships, their finances, and their ministry. Your pastor is human and has struggles just like you. So cover your pastor in prayer continually. Believe me friends, we need it. Let your pastor know that you are praying for them. There are tons of other ways to return the blessing to your pastor, all deeply appreciated. But we covet your prayers.

October is Pastor Appreciation Month and Dayspring has an amazing campaign going on right now called Return the Blessing. They are encouraging church goers to return the blessing your pastor has given to you. They offer many great gifts and cards that center around ministry work. They also have ideas for you to bless your pastor. Click here to see the different ways Dayspring suggests as a blessing. They are offering an amazing deal right now, get $200 off any $60 purchase by using the code FALL20. To browse their beautiful gifts, click the image below.

I love their beautiful Faithful Servant Framed Artwork! This is what I gave to my pastor/mom. This is a lovely piece that can grace the walls of your pastor's church office or home. It talks about being a faithful servant and says thank you. This is something your pastor will love!

To my pastor, my mom, and to my associate pastor, my husband, I thank you both. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all that you do for our church. I deeply love and appreciate you.

To enter Dayspring's giveaway, click here.

I remember many years ago when my family would be the first ones at church. We were also the last ones to leave. If the doors were opened, we were there. We loved church. Sunday nights especially. We went early for choir practice, then fellowshiped for awhile. Then service began with praise music. We sang, clapped and worshiped. Then the preacher began and that was followed by time at the altar. This was even more special. I remember times when my parents would pull us kids into the corner of the altar and we would kneel together and pray. Sometimes mom would have to snap her fingers to get us to focus. But we prayed together as a family. And sometimes the altar times were so powerful! The Spirit of the Lord fell hard. People shouted, danced, and fell under the Spirit. People were saved, delivered and healed. People encountered God. It was amazing!

Fast forward many years, church is hard. My family is in ministry, my husband and I are the children's pastors and my husband is the associate pastor. Every single service we have ministry work to do. Which is great.

Can I just be honest here? Sometimes we leave church and I feel like we worked instead of encountered God. Going to church is a job for us. Yes it is ministry, but it is still a job. If you are a pastor you understand this, it is your ministry but also your job.

We are still the first ones there and last to leave. We are still there every time the doors are opened. We adore our church family and feel so blessed by them. Our church is wonderful. But there are times, seasons, when I don't feel that same fire or passion.

I want to encounter God. I want to bless His name. I want to feel His presence. I want to bless others. I want to be on fire.

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Here are a few ways to make church more than work:

Remember that your corporate worship at church should be an overflow of your private worship at home. Church should never be our only time of worship, Bible reading or encountering God. Spend time with God each and every day. Read the Bible, listen to praise music and worship Him. We have a precious mature lady in our church, she openly worships God each service. But one time she told my husband and I that her worship at church is nothing compared to her worship at home. Did you know that even at home you can lift your hands in worship? Even at home you can bow down in reverence. Make sure you are spending time with God each day, not just Sunday.
Don't skip your quiet time on Sunday just because you're going to church. For a long time I wouldn't have my quiet time on Sunday morning because Sunday mornings were just too crazy. Sunday was the only day my husband got to sleep past 5am, so I took it upon myself to get all 4 of the kids ready alone. Some days I even cooked breakfast, but don't worry, some days it was just cereal. I had to get ready. Even though the Saturday before I had everything out and prepared, it always seemed there were last minute things to do. Plus, we were going to church, so it was okay to skip quiet time right? Yet I've found over the past year that when I make it a point to meet with God in my own home before church, I have a greater encounter with Him at church. Remember the whole 'corporate worship is an overflow of private worship'?
Pray at church before service starts. We get to church every Sunday by 8:30am. For the next hour and a half we are doing last minute prep work and getting things ready for children to come to their church. Most Sunday mornings we already have a room full of kids during this time (other leader's kids). So we are already in full on work mode. Our other pastors and our worship team are the same way. So we purposely pause for prayer together before the service starts. At 10:00am we all gather around at the altar, hold hands and pray. This prepares our hearts and let's us touch God before service even begins. Even if your church doesn't do this, you can!
If you work at church, strive to attend a service that you don't have to work at. Sometimes this is really hard. Our job is at every service. So for my husband and I, this means going to revival services or sometimes visiting other church's services that may be on a different night. Many of our workers in our church rotate so that they minister/work and have time to simply be in the service and encounter God. If you work in every service, try to attend a few services a year that you are not working in. This is a great time to visit friend's churches.
Have an accountability partner. A pastor wife friend of mine was sharing at our women's night recently. She shared how she has accountability partners in place that will gently reminder her when she is taking on too much and they help her say no. Sometimes we just need a break. Maybe it's cutting back from several small groups at church to only 1 small group, maybe it's a break from leading a Bible study and just becoming an attender for awhile, maybe it's cutting down from working 3 weeks in the nursery to working 2 weeks. Have a mature Christian in place who can guide you and pray with you in this area.

Recently the Christian music group Sanctus Real came out with a song. This song brings me to tears every single time. I want you to turn up your speakers and listen. Think back to that time you were so on fire for God. You couldn't wait to get to church, to minister, to share with others of your faith. You didn't care who saw you raise your hands in worship. You just wanted God. You were so hungry for Him. Friends, it's time to get back to that.