October is Pastor Appreciation Month and the Official Pastor Appreciation Day is the 2nd Sunday in October, this year October 13th.
Some of the best things you can do to show your pastor you appreciate him might by a handwritten note, a verbal thank you, or to show up for more services or other events at your church. But sometimes we want to give a little more than a card or something more lasting than a handshake.
We’ve made a list or two over the years and have reviewed numerous preacher aimed products. Here are links to several of them to help you if you are in search of a gift for your pastor. (Most would make great gift ideas for any serious student of God’s Word.)
Lists
In 2014 Randy wrote a Best Study Bibles for Preachers and Pastors post. It listed most of his favorite Study Bibles at the time and is still one of our most popular posts. We have updated it a time or two but it still isn’t an exhaustive list.
Randy also wrote an article about the Best Reference Bibles for Pastors and Preachers in 2014. Reference Bibles are usually good pulpit or carry with you preaching Bibles. They tend to have larger print compared to the size of the Bible than study Bibles do.
In 2016 Randy did a post about Choosing a Bible for Your Pastor. Including input from other reviewers and pastors, he makes suggestions based on common uses for the Bible. Though this page is talking about preachers needs specifically some of the points brought up might help you narrow down your choice of Bible as a gift for anyone.
Your pastor already owns a Bible. If he is looking for a new one he wants to choose it himself. What else makes a good gift? Randy offered a few suggestions in his Gift Ideas for Your Pastor article in 2017. Bible software made the list and you might want to check back next week to enter the Bible software giveaway we have coming in October.
Bibles
There have been several Bibles released in the last few years designed specifically for preachers and pastors. Links below take you to our review pages. In general, translation should be your first consideration when choosing a Bible for someone else. You should usually buy either a translation they already use or one they have expressed interest in.
The Hendrickson NIV Ministry Essentials Bible is designed for anyone in ministry, not just pastors. It has 250 articles geared to various aspects of being a minister and several pages dealing not only with the standard events of weddings and funerals but with handling things like hospital or home visitations and counseling sessions as well.
Thomas Nelson’s Minister’s Bible comes in both the KJV and NKJV translation. Both are double-column and the KJV is verse by verse while the NKJV is in paragraph format. Both contain the complete Nelson’s Minister’s Manual between the Old and New Testaments.
Holman makes a CSB Pastor’s Bible that is laid out in a single-column paragraph format. It includes special service sermon helps, leadership articles, and a concordance.
The Thomas Nelson KJV Preaching Bible is a two-column verse by verse Bible with references in the footer and both chapter and verse numbers in blue to make them easy to spot.
Thomas Nelson also makes the NKJV Preaching Bible. It has the same distraction-free two-column verse by verse format as the KJV version with highlighted verse and chapter numbers and references in the footer.
The ESV Preaching Bible from Crossway features a single-column paragraph format. It has wide margins and thick paper for the owner to add their own notes instead of other helps and is suitable for any Bible reader.
A Few More Suggestions
One service we recently reviewed that might be worth looking into is the Pastorbox. It’s a service that delivers new Christian books and DVDs (along with the occasional other goody) on a quarterly basis. The books are chosen with pastors’ needs in mind and it’s a possible way to help your pastor receive new material and build their library.
An article I found on Lifeway’s site, 10 Gift Ideas for Pastor Appreciation Month, has some different suggestions. I particularly like number 9 – Supply Favorite Things. I love the idea of giving the pastor an entire basket of M&Ms, coffee, or other small item they like with each piece brought in by a different church member.
I will be sure to include links to any pastor appreciation sales I come across and highlight a few of the above-mentioned Bibles if I find them on sale in my Bible Deals Posts on Fridays during the coming month.
I’ll also be checking and updating any bad links in some of these older posts over the next couple of days. I’ll add links to additional stores for some of the products or possible alternate sources for anything that is no longer in print. If you’d like to support Bible Buying Guide while making a purchase before the new links are added you can always go through the links provided on our Support Us for Free page.