If you have met the Pastor, unfortunately or fortunately he is moving on to another church. If you are selected to write a farewell sermon for him, take one or two key points in his ministry and use it as an encouragement to the congregation. Use some sound Biblical references and quotations throughout the message. You can conduct a good sermon on this occasion only if you spend enough time on research, thinking and premeditation.

Pastor,

It has been an honor serving alongside you as your administrative assistant. You are an incredible leader and a wonderful person. Your commitment to our church, the community, and your family is inspiring. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to work with you and learn from you over the past two years.

You have been such a joy to work with. You always made me feel valued, even when it was clear that my skills didn’t match up with what you needed at the time. Every day I came into work knowing that your door was always open if I needed anything—whether it was advice, encouragement or just a hug! You will always be my pastor and friend!

I wish you all the best in your future endeavors!

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Farewell Sermons For Pastors

Thank you for your kindness and understanding.

You were the kindest, most understanding pastor I have ever known. You were tolerant of our needs and compassionate to us in our pain. You patiently listened when we needed someone to talk to and offered hope when there was little left for us to cling onto. You accepted us just as we were and did not judge us on how we looked or how much money we had in the bank account. Your patience with our faults allowed you to see past them and see a person who needed help rather than someone who always messed up or failed at life’s challenges.

Your generosity allowed you to give freely of yourself without any expectations of repayment from others around town who might otherwise be too proud or embarrassed by their own financial situations where they could not give back what they would consider a fair trade-off rate for whatever service was rendered unto them by another human being’s hands (or heart).

Thank you for your patience and guidance.

Thank you for your patience and guidance.

You’ve been a good example of what it means to be patient, kind, and understanding of others’ needs. Your ability to listen has helped many people who otherwise might not have found the courage or strength to speak up about their problems. You’ve shown us all how important it is to be open-minded when dealing with others’ problems; this ability is something that will help many people in their personal lives as well as in their professional ones later in life.

Thank you for teaching us to trust in God.

Thank you for teaching us to trust in God.

Trust is important because it helps us remain strong and steadfast when things get tough.

There are many examples of how we can trust God, including: trusting Him for guidance each day, knowing that He will care for our families even when we’re not there with them, and believing that He will never abandon us or leave us alone.

Thank you for helping us grow in faith.

Faith is a critical part of religion. It helps us trust in God and be good people. Faith is what makes us stronger as individuals and as a community, so thank you for helping us grow in faith!

send forth sermon for a pastor

I am going to read from Matthew 9:35-38

Title: Send Forth

Theme: Petitioning for Laborers for God’s Work

Series: Girding up the Church

Listen as I read Matthew 9:35-38, “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.’” (Matthew 9:35-38) Pray!

Introduction: Jesus Christ is compassionate for souls and the greatest compassion that can be expressed by the Body of Christ is for the souls of mankind to know Jesus as Savior and Lord. People are apt to go astray much like sheep without a shepherd. Souls who do not walk closely in step with the Holy Spirit of Christ are very likely to fall prey to the flesh, the lures of the world and the lies of the devil. Without true shepherds, pastors to feed the people the Word of God and the help of Christians exercising their Spiritual gifts, those in this world and even the flock of God will be harassed and helpless against everything that sets itself against God, Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit.

It takes more than just one pastor in the church to maintain a spiritual hospital where lost souls can be born again, receive a powerful thirst for the Word of God and learn to say “Jesus teach me to pray.” Jesus knew this and that is why in today’s Scripture He exhorts us to pray for laborers for the work of God. No child of God is able to do this work on his own. He must have the help of other Christians.

I recently read the story of Martin Luther, the great reformer of the church, and about his friend who agreed to pray for Martin as he went out to do battle for the souls of the people of his day. Much like in the times of Christ when Jewish people were without true shepherds, the people of God in Luther’s time were helpless to overcome the sins that were destroying the reputation of the church. There was only a form of godliness in the priest, thus the church was denying the true power of God to save a man from the bondage of sin. Much like today where there is a false grace being taught by CEO’s, where only a form of godliness is loved over the true message of repentance.

Martin Luther and his friend established an agreement. Luther would go down into the dust and heat of battle for the Reformation of the church while his friend would stay in the monastery and uphold Luther in prayer. One night Luther’s friend had a dream. He saw a vast field of corn as big as the world with one solitary man seeking to reap it – an impossible and a heartbreaking task. Then he caught the face of the reaper. It was Martin Luther. Luther’s friend caught the message, not one man can do the job alone.

Two sad things happen in all churches that find themselves not properly girding up in prayer. One, people in the church expect the preacher of the gospel to come up with that vision that will intrigue great numbers to come into the church. Two, the pastor of the church expects people in the church to do what God has not gifted them to do. These two wrong perspectives rob heartfelt time for prayer, petitioning the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers, thus leaving the church shorthanded. God’s Word has the answer, pray with the authority of God’s Word.

Proposition: I would propose to you that the harvest of souls and the amount of discipleship done in the Body of Christ is up to God. The church of Jesus Christ may be a part of making disciples of Christ if she has the same compassion for the lost that Christ had. She must be committed to Jesus’ call to go and make disciples. (Matthew 28:20) She must stay dedicated to expressing a genuine faith in God’s Word and walk in faithful obedience to the Lord’s call to pray for laborers for the whole work of God. The Great Commission is to make disciples of Christ. (Matthew 28:20)

The church that is girded up for the true work of God has a heart to make “disciples” (mathetes) who believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ and His apostles. A church that is girded up has disciples of Christ who rest in the sacrifice Jesus made for them on the Cross of Calvary, disciples who have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of Christ and who imitate Jesus’ life.

Thank you for teaching us to be good people.

Thank you for teaching us to be good people.

We may not always have been the best students, but you helped make us better people. You taught us how to be more compassionate, charitable, understanding and caring. You showed us that there was more than one way to live our lives and that we had options beyond what we’d been taught growing up.

You gave us hope when things were hopeless; confidence when we were doubtful; strength when our bodies failed us; patience when we lost perspective on time itself (which happens often); joy despite all odds stacked against you—and even though it was hard sometimes for all of those who loved you most (including yourself), the end result was always worth it because at the end of each day they knew they could look back on something tangible they did together as a family…a family that would never forget where they came from or why they came together in such a special way only because someone believed in them enough to take them under their wing and show them how truly special being part of something greater really was!

We are going to miss our pastor who is leaving.

Dear Pastor,

We want to thank you for your guidance and support over the years. You were a great pastor and a great person. We will think of you often in the future and wish you all the best in your new position.

last sermon before leaving a church

I’m looking forward to one of those 20-year pastorates, but it hasn’t happened yet. I’ve never moved on from a church on bad terms. I’m blessed that way. I’ve shepherded churches through conflict and change, but thankfully I’ve tended to be the change-agent and never the center of conflict. I’ve been fortunate to always “leave ‘em wanting more.”

It’s always hard to leave. It’s probably harder to leave a pastorate when it is on good terms—God has just moved you on, and you have love for the people you’re leaving. They are like aunts and uncles and surrogate grandparents to your kids. What do you say on your last Sunday?

My family and I are headed to Haiti to train Haitian pastors. I’m preparing that last sermon in a church filled with people I love. As a pastor, how do you say goodbye well? Here are five thoughts.

1. Remind them Christ builds His Church, not you. When a shepherd moves on to another flock, there is the temptation for the sheep to scatter. Impress upon them that Christ alone is the Head of His Church. There is always a temptation to place too high an emphasis on the pastor’s leadership as to the success of a local church. Leadership matters, but Christ alone is our shepherd (Matthew 16:18).
2. Remind them God has a purpose for the local church. While you may be leaving, the specific mission of that local fellowship continues. Pulling together and increasing unity through transition is the way to grow through change.
3. Remind them they will be in your prayers and ask them for theirs. As I departed my first pastorate in a little church in perpetually frozen northern Michigan, we all held hands and sang congregational benediction about the Lord watching over us all as we departed. We are all a part of a body that transcends geographical boundaries (I Corinthians 12:12-31).
4. Avoid the temptation to interject personal attacks or defenses over disappointments or hurts caused by people in the congregation. God will fight those battles on your behalf. Even in healthy pastorates, there are always unwarranted and unjustified attacks on a pastor’s motives, character and even family. Slamming a door on your way out can only negate the good that God did through you by souring it at the end (Exodus 14:14).
5. Close out a season of faithful ministry the way that Paul closed out his Epistles: with a loving and grace-filled benediction. Make that last sermon as their pastor the punctuation mark on the end of a lengthy sentence spoken one sermon, one Bible study and one counseling session at a time (II Corinthians 13:11-14).

There are probably no more important sermons any pastor preaches than his first and his last. We let them know where we are headed and then we remind them of where we’ve been. What are your thoughts and insights on this or related topics? What if you are leaving on less than amiable terms? Does that change anything? How do we leave well in a sermon?

Scriptures: Exodus 14:14, I Corinthians, Ii Corinthians, Matthew 16:18