Guys, this is so exciting. It’s groundbreaking, breathtaking, mountain moving, earth shattering…

THE WELL IS BACK!

[and then the crowd goes wild]

I know I know, sit down and put your shirt back on. Guys, you can’t just rip your shirt off every time you hear such amazing news like that. You’ll run out of shirts. Geez.

Anyways, last night was our first night back after being off for an entire month! Let’s just say it was so incredible seeing everyone again and just getting back into our routine. I felt this sense of comfort and peace around me, sort of like being home. My heart was happy and I can only pray that others felt the same way.

“Submission to Jesus and to Godly community is the soil God ordained for growing the leaders our world needs.”

We’re starting a new series this Spring called “The Young Leader” that goes through the book of 1 Timothy. Holland talked a lot about what it means to raise up young leaders and why that’s so crucial to the church body.. When the church is at a certain growth point, eventually the older leaders will need to be replaced. They’ll need to fill these spots with someone who has been trained and is a great addition to the church and it’s mission. Without young leaders, this isn’t possible. The continuation of the church is dependent on the discipleship of young men and women so that when the time comes, they can take the mission further after the current generation has passed the torch onto the next generation.

The church needs the next generation of leaders to step up and take the mission to the next level.

While I’m sitting in the audience, all I can think about is the church plant we’re moving to in a little over a year. If we don’t have men and women trained and ready to take over leadership positions once we leave, The Well may fade out. This is why it’s SO important to be aware of this future lack, so that we can easily fill it when that time comes. This is why discipleship goes hand in hand with leadership. You won’t last if you aren’t lifting up young leaders within the church. Are you with me? Okay good.

Keep reading.

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our savior and of Christ Jesus our hope. To Timothy, my true child in the faith’ Grace, mercy, and peace from God the father and Chris Jesus our Lord.” 1 Timothy 1:1-2

Immediately after reading this, you know it’s just the introduction. But it’s not justthe introduction. If you read it in the pretense of what I just told you, you’ll understand why this verse is saturated with meaning. I skip over verses like these, but let’s promise to stop doing that. If you don’t skip over them, then I guess you’re just super Holy. Congrats.

Let me explain what’s going on: Paul, one of the greatest missionaries to ever walk the earth, is writing a letter to Timothy. Timothy is a younger man, probably in His early to mid twenties, being trained and discipled by Paul. This verse shows how much Paul cares, how invested he is in the growth of Timothy. Paul is taking the time to raise up and encourage Timothy because it’s his desire that Timothy takes the gospel further and leads many people to Jesus.

To advance the gospel, Jesus commands us to make disciples. This leads to expansion, which then creates a waterfall effect and leads to the mission going forth to the ends of the earth.

It’s the same concept for the church. To continue the gospel and take care of the church, you must develop a leadership strategy that will prevent holes in the future. You must equip, encourage, and disciple young leaders. It’s one of the most beneficial strategies a church body can have.

Stay tuned to hear more about how Paul provides an example of how to equip, encourage, and disciple young leaders!

-Catie Warrick