How To Make Your Church Staff Feel Appreciated This Christmas

Sometimes I wonder if any church staffs laugh when they hear, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” If we’re honest, the Christmas season can be a busy – and potentially stressful – one. There is so much to coordinate from the Youth Group Tacky Sweater Party to the big Christmas Eve services.

It can be easy to lose sight of the eternal with the responsibility of executing the temporal.

Senior leaders, here are few ideas for serving and leading your staff towards joy and peace this Christmas season. As your church staff works hard through this busy season, it will mean so much to them to know they are appreciated by their leaders. 

I’ve separated these ideas out into two kinds of service: gifts of the heart and physical, tangible acts of service and appreciation.

Gifts Of The Heart:

1. Give a verbal and written genuine “thank you” to each staff. Set aside some time to think about what they’ve accomplished and the hours they put in this season or year. I encourage you to emphasize it by saying it out loud and then emphasize it by writing it down.

2. If you want to take it a step further, brag on them via your social media platforms! Whether it be a tweet of thankfulness for them being on your team or a personal FB post shouting out something awesome they planned, public thankfulness can go a long way for some people.

3. Take some time as a staff to read the Christmas story together. Then reflect on how it’s influenced your lives and ministry this year. I believe nothing shifts our hearts back on track like gazing at Jesus.

4. Together as one staff write out all the ways you’ve seen Jesus move in your church this last year. Write it all down and keep it up during the Christmas season in a high-traffic area. Let it be a reminder that He has been faithful to His word to complete a good work in us and is committed to continuing to do so. (Also that he’s in charge of the details, too!)

Physical Gifts:

1. This might sound direct, but it’s true – the gift of cold, hard cash is always appreciated. Really. Not a Starbucks gift card that you give your volunteers, but a real bonus. 

2. If cash is tight, offer a surprise bonus day of an extra vacation after the holidays. Granted, the days after the holidays are some of the most important for your church…so maybe even consider before or offered during the slower months.

3. A fun Christmas themed daily pick-me-up is a “12 Days of Thank You” from the senior leadership. This doesn’t have to be a huge production each day, but something as simple as one day each staff receives a written note from each of the leadership (see first point). Then the next day a gift card, and the next day lunch could be catered in. One day you could even do something silly like a singing telegram to the different departments! The ideas are endless…

No matter if you use these ideas or not, take some time this holiday season to pause and reflect on the amazing team you’ve been given.

What are some ways you can show your staff you're thankful for them this Christmas season?

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