Church Leadership Grounded in Prayer

When we hear the word nomination what comes to mind? For some we immediately think of politics. For instance, this week, the President’s nominee for the Supreme Court will have a hearing in the Senate. So it makes sense that when nominations are heard of we can easily come to think that some controversy or questioning is close behind. Not so when it comes to nominations in the church.  While this may seem a rather dry subject I assure you it is not. This coming month the nominating team will be chosen and begin their work. This work is grounded in prayer. These prayers, like all others, ground the work of the group in Christ, as they seek God’s will together for the church.

Prayer is central to any activity of the church and this may seem like the obvious thing for a pastor to say, but when we move beyond simply asking God for things in prayer (like a full slate of candidates for Session), and begin seeking God’s will everything changes. When we pray for God to show us what he desires us to do for his kingdom and who he wants leading the church in that work surprising things begin to happen. For one, groups that pray together, be they families or church teams, stick together and form lasting unbreakable bonds of trust and friendship. Perhaps more importantly, prayer helps us shed those things in our lives that keep us from seeking fully God’s will and grounds us in the hope offered by Jesus. This is particularly important when it comes to figuring out whom God is calling to lead our church.

There is a lot of work that goes into finding those people whom God is calling. However, that work needs to be grounded in prayer. If and when you are contacted to consider becoming one of our six elders in the coming months you should know two things. One, that you have already been fervently prayed for as the Nominating Team has sought to discern God’s will for the church. Second, that you are not being asked to say “yes or no” to the team, but rather are being asked to enter into a season of prayer yourself to discern if leadership is something you are being call to engage in here at Heritage Church, knowing that you will have plenty of help along the way. So do not wait! Begin praying now. Pray that God would help you know his will for you, for your family, for your church, and for the world.

Blessings,
Pastor Brian