DAYS OF ELIJAH - “Developing Servant/Leaders”

Pray – (1/2 minute)

Read – (2 1/2 minutes) – “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” (2 Timothy 2:1-2)
     Passage: Psalm 147:7-11

Across America, there is a generational crisis that is effecting many churches now and will affect them in the future unless there is a turn. It is a crisis of a lack of men who answer God’s call to be pastors. According to a Barna survey in 2023, over half of the pastors in America are 55 or older and just 15% are under 40. In our Baptist life, seminary enrollment overall is far less today than it was 40 years ago and of those enrolled, fewer students say they want to be pastors. While larger member churches won’t have a lack of candidates when they are looking for a pastor, thousands of small membership churches cannot find any trained pastors for their congregations.

This generational crisis in pastoral leadership is also seen in the fact that many churches do not have young families in them. One of the reasons for all this is that overall, many churches have not done a good job of developing the next generation of servant/leaders. God has always had a plan in place for that development, but it involves intentionality in passing on the mantle of leadership to each succeeding generation. Pray for your local church and for a new wave of young people to respond to God’s call to be pastors and church servant/leaders.

Apply - (2 1/2 minutes)
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Pray - (1 1/2 minutes)