When your family goes through a hard time, having a church to lift you up is essential. Our church is like a second family. There are a few reasons to send a thank-you card. On the second Sunday of October, we celebrate clergy appreciation day. This is a good time to say thank you.
It is important to remember that our heavenly father has told us to show love to each other. When our church family members lift us up to God in prayer, we want to say thank you.
It can be hard to find the right words to say. If you are sending a thank-you card to your church family, here is a template and a list of idea-starters for your thank-you card, both for short, quick notes, and longer letters.
You can send the greeting card on behalf of your entire family.
I hope these thank-you notes will help you.
A Template for a thankful card
Dear {church name}
I want to thank you for your help and prayers while my family {specific thing you are going through} I want to show me heartfelt appreciation for {examples of what they have given you}
Your friendship is important to my whole family.
Examples of longer thank-you letters
Dear church:
I’m writing to thank you sincerely for the good things you have done for my family. Your effort and your commitment to the leadership of this church have been great to see. I have watched you lead this congregation with grace and integrity.
I am reminded when I look back on the past month of all the times you have helped my family. You have spent so much time showing my family love and support. I know that because of your love, our church has been able to fulfill the great commission. I want to express my gratitude for all the help and guidance you have given my family.
We have had many good times here at the church. From special services to potlucks, we have enjoyed our time here. We have used the personal services offered here at the church many times. From using the food bank to asking for a good prayer, you have always served our family.
Jesus’ message to the church and its members is centered on serving each other. During the Last Supper, Jesus taught his disciples how to serve each other.
The world tells us that we should look to serve others. But you have shown me that true love is serving others. I have used your example and reached out to a single friend to give aid. Your example has helped me interact on a more friendly basis.
I am forever grateful for your example.
I want to close by saying that I pray you will always continue to serve our community, and that I will be able to be part of that service team moving forward. Thank you, and my God, take all your gifts and let them be put to good use.
Dear Church members:
I want to send my thanksgiving in the name of Jesus Christ. I want to take this opportunity to express my appreciation for your kindness. I am writing this thank-you from my whole family. You have shown me so many kind gestures. You have shown me love, and I am forever grateful for all you have done for my family.
We have seen the hand of God at work in your actions. Through you, I have seen who God is. I want to thank you for showing me Jesus. I have experienced his grace through your actions.
I have been humbled by your kindness. I have personally benefited from church staff counsel and prayer. Your prayers have been the power I needed to survive this difficult time. Thank-you for being so wonderful to my family.
I am reminded of the words found in:
James 5:16 “Consequently, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
You have been an example of this verse for my family. As you have prayed for us, I have felt our family’s emotional healing. You are a righteous person, and your powerful prayer has been working.
Thank you again. And may God bless you greatly.
Dear church staff:
I am writing a letter to share my thanksgiving for the blessing you have been in my life. Your prayers and support have helped me.
I have been working in the community, and I am part of the church outreach team. Your prayers have helped our team and supported us.
I don’t think that our outreach team would be successful without your prayers and blessings.
Thank you for your prayers, your selfless giving, and your acts. I pray that this church will continue to love and serve the community.
Because of your prayers, God has been glorified and praised.
Your prayers have inspired our whole team to continue God’s work.
You have not only given us your prayers but also a generous spirit. We are so grateful for your example of kindness and your willingness to help.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart. As the Bible says in:
Ephesians 1:16, “I do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers,”
I will never stop giving God thanks for you.
To my church family:
We appreciate your thoughts and well-wishes. With my kids, the last few months have been difficult. I appreciate your prayers, and things are getting better.
I value our friendship greatly, and I am grateful that you are a part of my prayer team. I get through the day with the help of knowing that you are praying for me.
I want to express my gratitude for your prayers and for reminding me of God’s promises. I am very happy and hopeful about what God has in store for my future.
The consoling words helped me remember God’s kindness. Today, I’m feeling a lot better.
Thank you for your ongoing prayers of support for me. I pray to the Lord and praise Him for you. You’ll be happy to know that my bond with my mother is strengthening. I have read the scriptures you suggested. I’m appreciative that you directed me in the appropriate direction. I appreciate your devoted care for me.
As the Bible says in
Philemon 1:4, I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers.
God bless you, please!
To my church family after the loss of a family member
I appreciate your prayers for me and your texts of sympathy following the passing of [insert name]. Please continue to pray for me as I continue to process my loss. I appreciate you being there for me when I needed a shoulder to cry on.
When [insert name] was deteriorating, I was grateful for your prayers and encouragement.
Your prayers are a priceless gift, and I am confident that he or she is now pain-free in the Lord. I want to thank you for lifting up my family and me in prayer throughout my illness. My children have also felt your love and support
I also appreciate you bringing the casseroles. They have made mealtime less stressful.
Dear Church family:
I want to express my sincere gratitude for all the prayers and notes I have received in the recent weeks since the loss of our family member.
The Bible says in Psalm 34:17: “When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.”
When we cried out for help, God sent you, the church family, to deliver our family.
Because of your thoughtful actions, I have witnessed how God has worked. Your steadfast support for my family has made a significant difference for all of us.
God’s love has been demonstrated to us through your kind words and deeds. We have been impacted by each prayer message sent by text. I wanted to physically acknowledge your generosity and let you know how much you mean to our family.
Your sincere note was a nice gesture.
Your thoughtful sentiments helped me feel stronger every day and helped me get through the hours of uncertainty. Our family knew that everything was OK since I knew our church family was praying for me. I appreciate your concern for me.
We value your prayers now and always. Knowing that our church family is praying for me gives me peace. I appreciate you supporting our family.
Your prayers sustained each of us during some very trying moments. I value everything you do for me.
It can be incredibly cathartic to know that someone is praying for you with faith, perseverance, and a kind heart. I know that when we pray, God does hear us!
I appreciate you guiding me to the Lord.
From the bottom of my heart, I send you my sincere thanks.
To my Church family:
I am writing to thank you for your prayers during my time in the hospital. I have learned that while modern medicine is amazing, the prayers of the righteous are also powerful tools.
I’m grateful to have a friend in our church who is so considerate. You are more than friends to me; You are family.
I appreciate your prayers throughout my illness. The physicians were amazed at how rapidly I recovered. God made me well. I was continually in awe of your prayers, and I still am. I truly appreciate it. And now I pray that God constantly grants you and your loved ones good health.
The Bible says in Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
During my time of trouble in the hospital I knew that God was my refuge and strength. I could feel my strength grow as you prayed for me. You have shown me your love through your prayers.
I should have sent this to you a long time ago, but I waited until after my hospital discharge. I am home now and hope to be in church with my family soon.
I’m grateful for your prayers and feel blessed. I appreciate your sincere prayers. I believe strongly that your prayers hastened and smoothed my recovery.
I value your kind sentiments, particularly your prayers. I’m incredibly appreciative of your gift of prayers.
Thank you again.
Dear Church Congregation:
We are grateful for your ongoing prayers. We have felt them during this trying time. My family and I are sincerely appreciative of our church family.
We are thankful for each of your special notes you have sent our way and for your prayer that God will keep caring for us while we take care of our families needs during this time.
I am thankful that everyone in our family who was struggling is now doing well. I’m struck by how gracious God is. Without a shadow of a doubt, I can say that this incredible miracle is largely the result of your prayers.
I want to sincerely thank everyone. We really did need you and value your assistance.
You have been an example of 1 Thessalonians 5:11,
“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”
I know that your kindness toward us is an act of service to Jesus Christ. Your love has really touched me. I’ll never forget the affection you showed my family. You made a difficult situation bearable.
You have truly been an example of Jesus Christ.
Examples of short, quick Thank you notes
Dear fellow church members:
I want to give my heartfelt thanks for all the prayers and messages that I have received over the last few weeks. I have seen the hand of God used through your kind gestures. Your unwavering support for my family has had a huge impact on each of us.
May God show you how valuable you are to my family.
Dear church family:
I come to you with a thankful heart for the good prayers you have sent my way during this difficult time. We have seen the love of God through your kind words and actions. Each text message with a prayer message has impacted us.
I wanted to give you a physical acknowledgement letter as a way to show that you are a huge blessing to our family.
Your heartfelt message was a wonderful thing to do. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
To my fellow Church members who have prayed for me:
I want to write this letter to show you my heartfelt gratitude. God has answered your prayers. I have felt the prayers and am seeing a positive result. I know that I will soon be healthy enough to return to our church family.
I will always be grateful.
To my family at [church name]:
Over the last week, our family has suffered greatly. During this very difficult time, I know that you have prayed for me. I have felt that love and support.
I am so thankful and humbled by the support our family has felt. Prayer is so powerful, and I have felt the effects of that power in my family during this difficult time.
I am so glad to be part of this church family.
To my Church congregation:
I want to give a special thanks for the prayers and kind words you have given me during this hard time in my family. I have experienced the grace of God through you.
The good Lord has used you to encourage my family and give us hope. Each of the little things you have done for our family has given us encouragement.
You are a blessing to us.
To the staff in our church children’s department:
Thank you for your ongoing prayers of support for me. I pray to the Lord and praise Him for you. You’ll be happy to know that my bond with my mother is strengthening.
I have read the scriptures you suggested. I cannot tell you in strong enough words how thankful I am that you directed me in the appropriate direction. I appreciate your devoted care for me.
I appreciate your prayers for my children’s spiritual development. I value your assistance as they begin their Christian journey.
To my family at [church name]
I have offered a thanksgiving prayer to God for giving me such a wonderful church family. During this challenging time, you have prayed for me and offered kind words. I could feel your prayers working in my life.
I feel like I have hope for the future because of your kind words.
My God’s blessings be on each one of you.
To my supportive church members:
On behalf of our family, I want to give you my sincere appreciation for the helping hand, kind words, and prayers you have sent my way during my time of need.
I have felt God’s love through your prayers and good work. Each single act of kindness has shown me that I am loved.
To my whole church:
I want to send you this appreciation message for your kindness during the loss of our family member. I know that our family has hard work ahead as the Lord God heals our family. Your kindness and financial support during the funeral service carried my family.
As we celebrated the gift of life that our loved one had, this church family celebrated with us, cried with us, and hoped with us.
We will never forget the gift of your love.
My sincere gratitude to my church community:
You have offered great support to my family during this hard time. You have shown me the great love of Jesus, and I am so thankful. I have seen spiritual growth in my family while they have experienced your love.
You have shown our family the way of the Lord. Each act of service you performed was an example of God’s love. I will be forever grateful.
I want to give my sincere thanks for the gift given to me on behalf of the church:
It is with deep appreciation for your kindness. I have felt God’s presence through your prayer and kind gesture. You have been the hands and feet of Jesus Christ, showing me his grace.
You are a great blessing to my family.
Dear Church Family:
Thank-you for your prayers. I have felt your concern for my family. Over the last month, our family has struggled. I know that we are in a better place now, and I know that is because of your prayers.
I wanted to write this quick note to share my appreciation for your love and support.
My full gratitude to my church family:
I want to share my deepest heartfelt thanks for the love, prayers, and support I have felt over the last little while. I am so extremely thankful that God has placed each one of you in my life.
The prayers you have sent my way have given me the strength I needed. You have been used by God to bring encouragement and hope into my life. I will be forever grateful.
Dear Church Congregation:
The generosity and good wishes you extended to me throughout my illness were a response to my prayers. You have been a blessing. I am so grateful to be part of this church congregation.
Thank you for all you have done for our family.
Dear [name of church]
Sometimes all someone needs to heal is a sincere prayer from someone else to the Lord on his or her behalf.
Your prayers have given me a great deal of comfort and courage.
Without your prayers, I’m not sure how I would have endured my illness. I appreciate how much you have enriched my life.
My gratitude towards my church family
My family and I are really appreciative of your kind words and prayers for our family at this time. I have felt your prayers, and you have asked God to keep our family safe.
The friends we have found in our church family are such a treasure; I appreciate each one of you, all of your prayers, and your constant support.
Sometimes all someone needs to heal is a sincere prayer to God on someone else’s behalf.
From everyone in my family, I send my heartfelt gratitude. I can not say thank you enough.
To my church friends:
I want you to know how very thankful I am for each of you. You have each been a true friend, and God sent you to me at the perfect time when I needed someone.
I have seen how you reach into people’s lives and show them God’s love. There have been so many specific events that have shown me how much you care.
The meals you sent my way, the prayers you offered in church have all shown how much you love me.
Through this church, I have learned how to have eternal life and how to live a life of integrity. And now, during this hard time, you have shown me how to treat people who are hurting and in pain. I am forever grateful.
Thank-you to my church pastor and family:
On behalf of the family, I want to offer this letter of appreciation. God’s word says that we should be in community. Your actions and words have shown me why God has given us this gift.
Each act of little kindness has been an example to our family of Jesus’ love.
I want to express my gratitude to our church family:
I am so thankful that our church sees each individual member as a child of God. The friendships I have found in this church have helped me grow spiritually. Knowing that our church staff has been praying for me has impacted me in a great way.
Knowing that I am prayed for has given me a different perspective on life. Your prayers and wise words have changed my life.
My family has come a long way, and I know that is because of your great prayers.
Dear friends at {Church name}
I want to use the written word to express my thanks for the great work you have done for my family. Your love and prayers have shown me the best ways to live my life for Jesus Christ. Each board member of our church has reached out individually and shown they love my family.
During this hard time, I have known without a doubt that I am loved by my church family. I am thankful for your labor of love, especially during the past month.
My family will be forever grateful.
My heartfelt gratitude to my church family:
I am so thankful for the great members of this church who have shown kindness to our family. I am feeling better now, and my illness has improved. I know this is because of your prayers.
You have been a support for my family. Thank you for your kind words and prayers.