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Love Your Leaders Vision New England - Encouragement is important to all of us and leaders are no exception. Their work is demanding and consuming and we want to be sure they know they are greatly appreciated. Affirming those that work alongside us in ministry is an on-going endeavor. In a past issue of our Vision New England Woman to Woman newsletter, I asked several women leaders to share their thoughts on how they have been encouraged or how they have ‘loved their leaders.’ Even though these examples are for leaders, anyone would appreciate being the recipient of these creative, loving ways of encouragement! “My approach to "Loving My Leaders" has been more intentional than creative, more informal than formal, but loving nevertheless. I have handwritten personal notes of appreciation for character rather than performance, although thank you notes are important, too. I have personally delivered a rose bud with note attached to each member of a particular team. I have arrived, with a gift-wrapped book in hand, at the beginning of a women's small group Bible Study to "publicly" appreciate the leader's faithful service. Recently, I purchased two dozen 99-cent packages of postcards in readiness for my next burst of appreciation. Informally (that's more my style), I am intentionally modeling appreciation, so that my leaders will do likewise.” Joyce Edwards, First Congregational Church, Haverhill, MA
“Several months ago I invited our pastor's wife, Melissa, and a mutual friend to lunch. She thought it was to be just the three of us. What I'd done was to call women who had been directly impacted by her love and ministry and asked them to come and bring a little snowman for Melissa's collection. I ordered a cake that said "....just because we love you." When she walked in the restaurant and realized the women were there just to say how much they appreciated her- well she just cried. It was a lovely expression of our love for her.....Also, when I accepted my position as U.S. Director of Aglow over New England I visited each state leadership team of 5-8 women. I brought and served a meal which I had prepared at home. My heart was to mentor servant leadership.” Sandra Wezowicz; National Board for Women Aglow, Somers, CT
“Besides on occasions giving gifts, I have had a person whose life has been changed by that particular ministry share their testimony. Other times we have had a dinner together and shared the highlights of the year. I think the way we show love the most is at our leadership meetings. We do some skill and character development study, but our main time is spent sharing where we have seen God working and where we need prayer or brainstorming. The leaders love it. It helps the ministries to feel connected, the leaders valued and prayed for. A deacon also calls them once a month to hear how they personally are doing and how the deacons can help them in the ministry. I also budget money for leadership training, the bulk of which goes to underwrite their cost to Women in the Word, the rest to books and resources to help the leaders grow.” Gigi Busa, Brookville Baptist Church, Holbrook, MA
“One of our favorite encouragement gifts was from a friend whom my husband had counseled. She gave us a silver basket, filled with yellow delicious apples, and a pretty bow on the handles of the basket. With it was a card with this verse -" A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver" Proverbs 25:11 Joyce Bergman, South Windsor, CT “I will call and leave a word of encouragement for my pastor on the answering machine at church during my early morning commute. I make it a point to do one encouraging thing each month for my pastor--a card, a call, a post-it. I share the holiday treats of our family with the pastor and his family--Easter bread, Christmas cookies. They are often too busy to prepare their own during that season. I also write notes out of the blue to the unrecognized heroes of the congregation--the faithful sound person, the janitor to thank them for their behind the scenes efforts. I will fax a note of praise to the church secretary.
One thing I do for my women’s ministry volunteers is to write them a thank you note after the event, even if it was decorating the tables, or keeping track of the money. I make a point to mention some positive character quality about the lady in the note so that I acknowledge not only what they have done, but who they are. I will periodically call up someone and tell them it's "Recognize Someone Special" day, and they're "it" for the day. I make a HUGE point of NOT asking them to do anything in that call, so the ONLY reason I called was to acknowledge they are special. Jean Marrapodi, Providence Assembly of God, Providence, RI
“One of our leader’s husband was hospitalized with Huntington’s Chorea and not expected to recover. We knew she needed a big boost so our team planned an all-day “Queen for the Day” surprise event for her 40th birthday. We started with an elegant breakfast in bed, then a shopping spree at a local store. We met members of her family at a tea room for an intimate lunch together. While we were gone, one woman from church came and cleaned her house. After lunch, it was off to a photography studio where we treated her to a glamour shot makeover and photo shoot. Next we went to the hospital where we had a small birthday party with her husband and children. The day finished with a church-wide barbecue at a parishioner’s home and then dessert at another home where we concluded the day with sharing and prayer. It was a gift we all thoroughly enjoyed giving and it became a special memory for our special woman and her family.” Linda Moore, Immanuel Church, Chelmsford, MA
“The best way to love your leaders is to pray for them regularly. I try to affirm them with notes, small gifts that just say "thank you." We generally have 2 morning coffees or brunches a year -one at Christmas in my home with all the china tea cups and silver, and one at the end of the school year so that we can connect and share God's blessings and answers to prayer. Our Bible study children's volunteers are especially honored and thanked with a nice gift. An overnight at the beginning of the year gives our leaders a time of encouragement, connection, and in depth prayer for the days ahead. It is essential to keep them informed of changes in format, schedule and personnel so they have ownership. I do try to personally connect with each one at least once a month.” Karen Hearl, Trinity Covenant Church, Manchester, CT
“At a recent women's leadership ministry team meeting, I decorated with flats of pansies (6/pack) that I placed in baskets. At the close of the meeting I invited each leader to take a flat home with her. As we care for them in our gardens, we will remember to pray for each other and the women at our church. They loved the idea and were most appreciative of the beautiful flowers. Nancy Lafferty, Londonderry Presbyterian Church, Londonderry, NH "The need for affirmation and encouragement within the body of Christ is obvious, and yet it is often overlooked in the busyness of our day-to-day lives. When we began Osterville Women's Ministries within our local church ten years ago, we felt it was important to continually affirm the leaders God was raising up. We have done so through a variety of means over this past decade: verbal "well done!"s at events, written notes of encouragement, invitations to brunch or tea at another leader's home, as well as recognition at our end-of-the-year finale in May. Often we have given each member of our Women's Advisory team a specially chosen book as a tangible symbol of her service throughout the past year. When a longtime member of our team moved out of our area, the rest of us made a point of traveling into Boston and taking her out for a special friendship tea at the Four Seasons hotel. We take very seriously the biblical mandate to encourage one another!" Maggie Rowe Osterville Baptist Church, Osterville, MA |
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