Today, Sunday June 10th, was a phenomenal milestone in the history of the Mibu church! These last 16 years of sacrifice and investment, not only by us, but also by the many who have prayed and given financially to this work of God has brought it from the point of no church, to fledgling and then thru numerous stages of a maturing church, and now to a point which we celebrated today where the very first elders were appointed!
Meet Petrik, Moombi and Lookas (left to right).
God's hand in the elder training and selection process has been amazing to watch, even right up to the last minute where he made it abundantly clear that one of the four originally slated elders isn't quite ready yet. We certainly can't make these men who they've become today. Only God can do that!
The church service today to appoint these elders revolved around the idea that Jesus is the one who has prepared and equipped these men, and how every single person in the church of Mibu has seen and agrees with this fact. Everyone in the church has had a hand in the selection and approval process. These things flavored the entire service today, and the excitement was palpaple as every person there participated in the recognition and confirmation of Petrik, Moombi and Lookas as their first elders! At one point the entire congregation participated in showing their agreement by laying their hands on them while a prayer of blessing was prayed over them!
When we got back from furlough in March of last year, we were figuring it would probably be 2 or 3 more years before the leaders and the church would be ready for elders. But as we went along we soon realized that the church was more ready than we'd thought! We put in motion a plan to continue training them all through last year and this. We also realized that the congregation needed to be readied to have elders. They needed to have a biblical understanding of what to expect from their elders, and what their role would be both in the selection and appointment process, and also beyond that as they support and pray for and accept the authority of their elders as they guide and direct the church.
Today was the culmination of all that preparation! To sit in and participate in that service was surreal! We couldn't help but sense the perfect leading of the Holy Spirit as various guests came and shared wonderful and perfect words of encouragement… just what everyone needed to hear! It was such a cool thing that happened today!
Keep your eyes open for some more info and pictures on social media. If you don't already, be sure to follow us on facebook and instagram!
No comments:
Post a Comment