Toolbox For Faith

I was in a meeting last week and Pastor James Armentrout of St. Mark Lutheran Church in Roanoke, Virginia who shared a story about his desire to create a culture of gratitude at St. Mark. I thought James had a simple and helpful way of saying “Thank You”, so I asked him to write about it. Here is what James had to say and an example of what his “Thank You” space looks like.

As a pastor new to my current congregation I have worked very deliberately to develop a culture of gratitude. One of the first things I did after I arrived was to create dedicated “Thank You” space at the end of the weekly worship bulletin. Here I list, by name, every person who has been involved in some facet of congregational mission or ministry that week. The list includes the folks who folded bulletins or the newsletter, helped with the food pantry or clothes closet, those who came and read to or prepared lunch for the children in our preschool, prepared a meal after a funeral, etc. I keep a notepad handy at all times so that when some individual or group is doing something mission/ministry related I can write their names down. I’ve done this enough in my five months at St. Mark that now when ministry coordinators see me coming with my notepad they know right away what I’m doing and make sure I haven’t missed any names. In the bulletin I list everyone alphabetically with their names in bold type. At times, I do miss a name, but we simply acknowledge the mistake and print the name the next Sunday. Not surprisingly, people respond well when you express your gratitude publicly.

Thank You

I saw the following idea in the January Newsletter from Trinity Lutheran Church in Pulaski, VA. Pastor Terrie Sternberg suggests that a “ministry of encouragement is rather key to sharing the light of Christ.” In the coming year, Trinity is inviting members of the congregation to “make use of a new pew card, called the ‘Barnabas Card,’ with which you can recognize a person or a group for the work they do in the kingdom of God and share a word of appreciation and encouragement. Barnabas was the new name for one who was generous in supporting the work of the early church, so we will use his name to thank one another. If you think of someone you want to thank for their kingdom work, just send them a Barnabas Card!”

I really like the ‘Barnabas Card’ idea because it encourages people to support one another in their ministry and it invites people to recognize the various ways that we use our gifts to proclaim God’s love in the world.

For many years, I have had a sign by my desk that says, “God Loves You! Be at Peace! Have Fun! Say ‘Thank You!’” When I remember those four things I tend to be at my best in ministry and in life.

I read a wonderful article last week about the power of saying “Thank You” by Nancy Lublin the CEO of Do Something. She points out that saying “Thank You” is one of the most basic, most effective and, unfortunately, least utilized tools for any non-profit organization. You can read her article on Fast Company’s website: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/150/do-something-two-little-words.html.

My good friend, Gary LaCroix who is pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in Cape Coral, Florida, was hospitalized on February 27 and underwent major surgery a few days later. Last Sunday was the first time since his hospitalization that Gary was able to preach and lead worship. As he stood to make the announcements but before he could say anything, the congregation stood and applauded. Gary was overwhelmed! The joyous welcome back was a magnificent reinforcement of his ministry.

As Gary described what had happened, I kept thinking that we in the church do not thank people enough. We need to thank them and thank them again both informally and formally.

Informally, we can develop a life style that reflects our thankfulness that comes from God’s grace. I still remember the tears on the face of the head usher as I was leaving the church where he had served in that position for over 30 years. He grabbed my hand, then gave me a big hug and told me, “You were the only person to ever thank me for doing my job. That meant so much to me.”

Formally, we sometimes run into barriers because we do not want to leave anyone out and because we feel we are only doing what we should be doing. Don’t be afraid of leaving someone out so go ahead and list the names of all the people. If you leave someone out, list them next week. Even though we are doing what we feel we are called to do, we can still thank people for their ministry. A great example is the church where Pastor John, the other writer on this blog, thanks people in such a dynamic way by using a thank note with photos enclosed in the annual giving report sent to each person and by writing a thank you on their fund summary information (see his January 18 post for examples).

I love the way that Paul begins several of his epistles by saying, “I give thanks to God for all of you…” Like Paul, we need to thank people again and again. The standing ovation for Gary needs to be repeated in words and actions by all of us every day and by our churches as often as possible.

Every congregation sends out annual giving statements at this time of year. At St. Michael, we put a thank you note in each statement which tries to connect the individual’s gift to the ministry which is taking place. The format of the “Thank You” note always stays the same, but the ministry picture changes. This year we created a half-page thank you note. On one side is a photo collage showing ministry throughout the year, while on the other side is thank you with a description of the 2010 Ministry Funds. I have posted each side of the insert below for you to see.

Thank You Note with Photos - Jan 2010
Thank You with Fund Summary - Jan 2010