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Shepherds Honour

The Shepherds Honour Initiative

Pastors carry other people's crises for years and are rarely asked how they are. This initiative exists to help, quietly, without requiring anyone to explain themselves in public.

Pastors from different generations encouraging and praying with one another.

Current status

Pre-launch

Confidential enquiries are accepted and held securely now. Eligibility criteria, the independent review panel and the funding envelope are pending board approval, so we cannot yet make commitments.

Available now

  • Making a confidential enquiry, for yourself or as an authorised nomination
  • The full principles — no testimony, no publicity, no loyalty, no conditions

Still being developed

  • Published eligibility criteria
  • The independent decision panel
  • Forms of support and the funding envelope

This route is not open for enquiries yet. It opens once the team receiving them can respond immediately.

Why this exists

A pastor of a small congregation is often the person everyone else goes to, and the person nobody asks about. The strain is frequently financial, sometimes medical, often about a family carrying the cost of a calling, and almost always private.

The usual way this gets addressed in Christian settings is a public appeal, a story told from a platform, and a recipient whose difficulty becomes someone else's content. We are not doing that.

Our principles

Confidential by default

We do not publish recipient identities. There is no beneficiary gallery, no before-and-after story, and no list of names. Nothing is shared publicly without separate, specific, freely given and revocable consent — and consent is never a condition of support.

No testimony required

Support does not require you to give a testimony, appear at an event, endorse VOG, join anything, or say anything publicly. Ever.

No loyalty attached

Support does not create an obligation to us. It does not require your church to partner with us, and declining a later invitation does not affect anything.

Independent decisions

Eligibility is assessed by an independent review panel, not by the person who received the enquiry and not by fundraising staff.

Dignity

You are not a case study. The process is designed to require the minimum information necessary and to leave your dignity intact.

Who it is for

Pastors and their immediate families, in situations of genuine need connected to their service. High-level eligibility will be published once approved; the assessment considers the nature and urgency of the need, whether other support is available, and what would actually help.

You can enquire for yourself. Someone else can nominate you — but only with your knowledge and permission. We do not accept anonymous nominations about a third party, because being discussed without your knowledge is the opposite of honour.

Forms of support

Support is decided case by case and may be financial, practical, medical, educational or a combination. The funding envelope, the limits and the approval thresholds are being set by our board.

What happens to your enquiry

  1. It goes into a restricted record store. It does not go to a shared inbox, and the notification our team receives contains a reference, not your situation.
  2. It is read by a small number of people specifically authorised for this work.
  3. It is assessed by the independent panel against the approved criteria.
  4. You are told the outcome and the reasoning.
  5. The record is retained for a limited period and then deleted.

Your enquiry is never discussed with your church, your denomination, your congregation or any partner organisation without your explicit permission.

If this is urgent

This is not a crisis service and we cannot respond immediately. If you are in danger, or if you are thinking about harming yourself, please contact your local emergency services or a crisis helpline in your country now. Those services exist for exactly this and are staffed to help in a way that we are not.