Ephesians 4:11-12
"So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up."
Today's prayer focus
- Praise God for the many faithful leaders serving throughout our church.
- For God to raise up additional leaders for new community groups.
- For the nominating and training of deaconesses alongside our deacons.
- For a church-wide culture of investing in men and women, to serve and use their gifts for the maturing of the body of Christ.
- For the opportunity to offer internships and field education hours for students training for ministry at nearby Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS).
"A Growing Number of Faithful Leaders"
Mike Tilley
Most people at LBC are familiar with our efforts to reach out to the non-churched, as well as our efforts to offer spiritual growth opportunities for believers. People might be less familiar with our vision for leadership development. According to Ephesians 4:11-12, part of the “job description” of the pastor is to equip God’s people for works of service. In other words, the church is not built on one leader, but rather a growing abundance of leaders, under the the leadership of Christ himself.
One of my favorite experiences this past year has been working with two “cohorts” or groups of people for officer training. We discussed theology and leadership, with application to the real world. In the coming years, we hope to expand this approach to include men and women for a variety of ministry roles in the church. Our community groups also serve as environments to nurture disciples and new leaders.
According to Ephesians 4, it is the risen Christ himself who gives leaders to his church. We can praise God today for the many men and women who are serving the body as elders, deacons, deaconesses, community group leaders, staff, and serving team leaders. Yet the needs are great for new leaders and teachers throughout our church, so let’s unite to pray for God to be the one to raise them up.
Mike Tilley is the senior pastor of Lake Baldwin Church, and has lived in Orlando since 1994. He and his wife, Molly, worked with a core group from the Baldwin Park community to plant Lake Baldwin Church in 2006. Mike loves teaching the Bible in a way that relates to real life. In his spare time, Mike enjoys good movies, long dinner with friends, snow skiing, hanging out with his kids and two granddaughters, and travel.