Follow“For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be genuine.”
(Romans 12:4-9)
This year at Elim we will be launch a new LEADERSHIP CORE. Based on the biblical model of deacons, it will be a community of ministry leaders that partner and collaborate with the pastor and elders to advance God’s mission here at Elim. In technical terms, the Leadership Core will be a standing committee of the church with its members serving renewable, one-year terms.
We are embracing this new adventure for three reasons:
- As a church, we are richer and more effective when the people of God can share their perspectives, feed their passions, and use their gifts.
This has always been God’s design. God in His grace has given every believer gifts, passions, and abilities, and He intends for us to use them! We often think that whatever takes place in a church happens top down from the shepherds to the congregation, but Scripture says God gives the church her leader for this express purpose: “to equip the saints (ordinary Christians) for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11). You are the leading figures in this drama, the stars of the show who drive the narrative forward!
- Burnout is a major problem among church volunteers, so we seek to fill your cup while you faithfully empty it in Christ’s service.
We desire for your experience of local church leadership to add value to your life. We love because God first loved us. We serve out of the overflow of God’s blessing in our lives. We are creating this new leadership structure because we want to invest in you. This is not about making you more effective servants; it’s about developing your leadership, encouraging your spiritual formation, and equipping you with new tools for your spiritual tool belt. We are thrilled to announce that Cindy Waple has agreed to serve this first year as the Core’s Leadership and Formation Coach. We pray that the training you receive will serve you both now and in later seasons of life and ministry.
- God has called us together for a shared life and a common purpose. In light of that unity, we want to break down the silos that too often exist within local churches.
We are building this team to ease communication and collaboration across Elim’s ministries and with leadership. No more laboring alone, unseen and unsupported. No more church-calendar counterprogramming or ministries working at cross-purposes. We want to empower you to serve with confidence, in alignment with our mission and connected to one another.
We are asking different members to prayerfully consider serving as champions for various aspects of our life and ministry together. We seek to partner each core leader with a co-leader or a cohort of leaders to help us discern God’s path forward. Specifically, we are asking these newly appointed leaders to help us do the following:
- spot and meet tangible needs;
- exercise real, on-the-ground decision-making, experimentation, and spiritual discernment in step with the pastor and elders’ direction;
- promote church unity and partnership; and
- provide outlets for other believers to use their gifts, talents, and experiences to build up the body and advance God’s mission in this ministry area.
You may have more questions about how this work in practice. So do we! Details will continue to be hammered out in the coming weeks and months, but we sense this is part of Christ’s invitation for us as a church in this season. We are asking you to go with us into uncharted territory, but we are confident that we do not go alone. The Lord is doing a new thing here at Elim and in our city and we are eager to join with Him on this adventure!
“What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth… He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.” (1 Corinthians 3:5-6, 8-9)
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