October is Pastor Appreciation Month, and I recorded a podcast this week with Jack Hayford, one of the most respected pastors of this generation.
Most readers of the Strang Report know I have a longtime friendship with Pastor Jack, as he’s known. At 83, he has slowed down some but remains active and is working on his autobiography.
As a pastor, the significance of Pastor Appreciation Month is certainly not lost on Jack.
“Pastors are easily overlooked,” Pastor Jack says. “Not because they are not valued and appreciated, [but] because they are not there every day. We are all human and need encouragement. We’ve got Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and days to draw attention to others. I think pastors deserve that treatment.”
Through the Jack Hayford Digital Library, more than a half-century of his ministry works are now being made available through Jack Hayford Ministries online. It’s a subscription service through which the user has access to the recordings of Pastor Jack’s teachings along with sermon outlines. The library is continually evolving as more and more content is added, including videos.
The Jack Hayford Digital Library is usually $50 a year and well worth it—less than $1 week for a busy pastor. Michael Lynch, executive director of Jack Hayford Ministries, tells me on the podcast that subscribing pastors say the resources available online save them five hours a week in sermon preparation.
“Even before many of us got to meet Pastor Jack in person, he had changed our lives and we were discipled by him because of listening to his messages,” Michael says. “We simply wanted to give any person at any time in any country in the world access to these teachings so their lives could be changed. That’s why we put the Jack Hayford Digital Library together.”
There are more than 600 sermons available, including audio, video and sermon notes dating back to 1972 from Hayford’s ministry.
For Pastor Appreciation Month, the ministry has offered a special price of $25 if you sign up in a three-day window. I told Pastor Jack and Michael I wanted to make that available to my readers. They graciously agreed to record the podcast and make this available for Friday through Sunday, Oct. 6-8.
While Pastor Jack’s resources will probably interest mostly pastors who preach each week, it’s available to anyone. I’ve enjoyed going online and looking up certain topics to see what Pastor Jack has to say on worship and other subjects I was studying. I urge you to do the same.
Now, here’s an idea: For Pastor Appreciation Month, why not purchase a membership for your church’s pastor? While doing so, in the promotional code area type: “This is for my pastor.” Jack Hayford Ministries will contact them to facilitate the subscription.
It would be a blessing and it is a tangible way you can let your own pastor know how much he or she means to you.
Share this with friends you believe may be interested in utilizing this important resource—the Jack Hayford Digital Library. {eoa}
Stephen Strang