OCTOBER: PASTOR APPRECIATION MONTH: Pray for Pastors at Home and Abroad, as Pastor Appreciation Month Comes to a Close

— Tennessee Pastors Network President Dale Walker Says Pastors

Face New Challenges and New Dangers in a Hostile Culture —

October is Pastor Appreciation Month, and the Tennessee Pastors Network (TNPN, www.tnpastors.net) is encouraging the faithful to pray for their church leaders—especially as the culture becomes more and more hostile toward pro-life efforts, religious liberties and biblically defined marriage.

“This month especially, as we close out Pastor Appreciation Month, believers—now more than ever—must pray for our pastors and church leaders,” said TNPN President Dale Walker. “In the face of many challenges, pastors have one of the toughest jobs in the world, leading their congregations, serving as the salt and light in a dark world, and making their spouses and families a priority. They need and appreciate our prayers, since daily prayer for these faithful servants will help lift them up and allow them to truly fulfill God’s purpose for their lives.”

Around the world, pastors are also facing dangerous situations because of their faith. According to Open Doors, an organization that serves persecuted Christians, each month 322 Christians are killed for their faith, 214 churches and Christian properties are destroyed, and 722 forms of violence are committed against Christians, such as beatings, abductions, rapes, arrests and forced marriages.

Open Doors also releases its World Watch List, an annual measurement and reporting of the extent of persecution around the globe. For 2015, the top five nations listed were: North Korea, Somalia, Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.

Walker says pastors in these areas with high persecution need the prayers of Americans as well. This Sunday, Nov. 1, Christians around the world can lift up their persecuted brothers and sisters on the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, promoted by the Voice of the Martyrs. For more information, visit www.persecution.com/idop.

Specifically, Walker called on all Christians to continue to pray for pastor Saeed Abedini, who has been imprisoned in Iran for three years, and his wife, Naghmeh Abedini, who has been working toward his release. For more on the jailed pastor, visit https://beheardproject.com/saeed.

Here at home, TNPN is suggesting several ways Christians can show their appreciation for their pastors:

  • Pray for them daily, and let them know you are praying.
  • Write a note to let them know how greatly they are appreciated in the church and in your life.
  • Take a meal to your pastor’s family, or invite them to your home or out for a dinner together.
  • Purchase a DVD copy of the “U-Turn: Roadmap for Renewal” conference for pastors and church leaders, hosted in March by the American Pastors Network (APN, www.americanpastorsnetwork.net), of which TNPN is a state chapter. Click here for more information on single and multiple-pack discounts.
  • Make a donation to the Tennessee Pastors Network in your pastor’s name so TNPN can continue to serve pastors and churches across the state organizing events and offering resources. Visit https://tnpastors.net/donate.

TNPN and APN, the largest national network dedicated to equipping pastors to be a voice for truth in the public square, offer pastors numerous online resources that help clergy choose sermon topics and find information for other church ministries. With some free and some paid resources, topics include abortion, apologetics, creation, the culture war, economics, education, the environment, history, homosexuality, Islam and marriage, along with many others.

The Tennessee Pastors Network encourages pastors to bring together biblical and constitutional principles in their sermons and provides resources to pastors throughout the state. For more information on TNPN, visit its website at www.tnpastors.net, its Facebook page or call (931) 267-0816.

TNPN is a group of biblically faithful clergy and church liaisons whose objective is to build a permanent infrastructure of like-minded clergy who affirm the authority of Scripture, take seriously Jesus’ command to be the “salt and light” to the culture, encourage informed Christian thinking about contemporary social issues, examine public policy issues without politicizing their pulpits and engage their congregations in taking part in the political process on a non-partisan basis.

The American Pastors Network is the largest, national network of pastors who believe in the authority of scripture; who boldly preach the whole counsel of God with a disciplined application of a biblical worldview to public policy; who are building a permanent infrastructure of biblically faithful pastors and lay leaders; and who are mobilizing congregations to participate in the political process on a non-partisan basis. For more information on APN, visit www.americanpastorsnetwork.net, its Facebook page or follow APN’s Twitter feed, @AmericanPastors. Those interested in forming a chapter in their state may contact amy@americanpastors.net.

The American Pastors Network is a Ministry Program Affiliate of Capstone Legacy Foundation (a 501(c)(3) non-profit Christian Public Community Foundation registered nationwide). APN’s daily short radio feature, “Stand in the Gap,” airs on more than 40 stations, and the American Family Radio Network airs the one-hour “Stand in the Gap Weekend” on 140 additional stations nationwide. A live one-hour program launched in 2015, “Stand in the Gap Today,” airs on several Pennsylvania radio stations.

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To interview Dale Walker from the Tennessee Pastors Network or a representative of the American Pastors Network, contact Deborah Hamilton at 215-815-7716 or 610-584-1096, ext. 102, or Beth Harrison at 610-584-1096, ext. 104, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com.