Day 7: Friday 20th March 2020 Prayer for the leadership team

Day 7: Friday 20th March 2020 Prayer for the leadership team

Jesus said if you really, really want to be a leader, then you need to be a servant.

We are really blessed by a wonderful group of servant hearted people who make up the leadership team at Community Church Blackburn.

These guys spend hours and hours behind the scenes making everything you see happen at church, happen!. They don’t get paid, they are all extremely busy people outside the church, yet they care enough about Jesus, the church and the furtherance of Kingdom of God to sacrifice their time, energy and prayers.

Let me introduce you to them so you can pray:

Gina Berry: Gina takes care of all the finances, auditing etc. This is a massive, complicated and responsible job which takes hours and hours to work through and sort out. I know I’ve seen her work! Gina is also amazing at making people feel welcome and loved and is one of the most thoughtful individuals I know. Gina often can make you feel happy and loved when you’re feeling sad and does so much behind the scenes pastorally.

Sylvanus Bowlin: Often leads the charge with of our prayer life at CCB. Sylvanus leads and preaches which takes hours and hours to prepare. Sylvanus often sets up the church for Sunday morning (Which is a huge task), leads a Growth Group and provides the home for another Growth Group! Sylvanus and Francine will be the people often last in the building on a Sunday afternoon when everyone else is gone to tidy and lock up. Sylvanus is a real man of God!! You will always know you’ve got a Godly, calm, faith filled wise answer when you’ve talked to him.
 
Angela Shanks: Angela is the chair of trustees and it’s her responsibility to ensure that CCB complies to the law and charity commission. There’s so much work goes that goes on behind the scenes regarding this and its Angela’s job to often balance, moving out in faith and being wise. Angela leads and preaches, often organising the youth service which is a huge undertaking. Angela leads CCB youth, attends and arranges Newsday and Devoted. Along with many, many other tasks which go on in the background.

Lisa Norcross: Everything you see visually or artistically at CCB will be the work of Lisa. Lisa looks after our noticeboard, builds and maintains our website and social media. Lisa compiles and produces our notice sheets, leaflets and flyers and also does lots of admin work in the background. Lisa also does a lot of ordering for the church to make sure all stocks are maintained etc… Lisa has for many years been leading or involved in or Children’s work (Particularly younger years) Lisa does all these while having the challenge of being married to me!! 

Geoff Shanks: Geoff overseas much of the practical operation of the church. Geoff puts together the Rota and serving (which takes hours and hours and sometimes feels like juggling with water!!!). All the IT, overhead, PA equipment used on Sunday has over the years been assembled by Geoff. If any of this break (which it often does) Geoff will be the one fixing it or working out how to make it work!! Geoff looks after the prayer chain and a lot of the communication process we have at CCB. Geoff leads the Youth along with Angela and is involved in all aspects of this. Geoff organises all Devoted and Newday and has the unenviable task of figuring out how to house around 40 people for 4 day/week in a field!! Geoff leads and preaches, which again takes a huge amount of time to prepare. Geoff will often be the person who I will consult with around practical considerations for the church as he has an acute practical and operational wisdom!!  (So for example I have been on the phone to him a lot over this week working out what we do around the Covid19 virus)

Andy Berry (New): Andy has just been brought into the leadership team and has for years faithfully led our worship on a Sunday morning. Andy has a gift (along with Gina) of just being in the background and making sure that the most vulnerable in our church are cared for. Often when I visit pastorally, Andy will have proceeded me and whilst he’s there fixed the gate or built a wall!! 😊 There is a great calmness, gentleness and common sense wisdom with Andy which I’m sure will bring balance to members of the leadership team with more fiery passionate temperaments 😊

Pete Smith (New) Pete Smith now leads the worship team. I hope you have noticed the progress 😊 This takes hours and hours of work. Sorting music, picking people up, setting up drum kits on a Sunday doing and preparing worship practices etc…. Pete will often be at church before 9am on a Sunday morning after picking up around 5 people beforehand and be one of the last ones to leaves. Pete also leads one of our Growth Group and I know he puts hours and hours of work (along with Beth) into this. Pete is a great man of prayer and you always know that everything he does, or is involved with will be done prayerful and be soaked in the presence of God.

These are just some of the tasks that these guys do and this is before I start bombarding them with emails, messages and phone calls asking them to attend leadership meetings or thinking and praying about really complicated difficult decisions😊

We are so, so blessed to have these guys as leaders in our church. Remember they are humans; non are professional church leaders and I can vouch for them all they work tirelessly, and they really care 😊

Please pray for them us as team and individually that we will strengthen bonds of love, that we will lead, wisely, gently, servant heartedly and lovingly giving God all the Glory!
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Matthew 20:26
It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave.
 
Philippians 2:3
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;
 
Proverbs 11:14
Where there is no guidance the people fall, But in abundance of counsellors there is victory.
 
1 Timothy 3:8-10
Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.
 
Hebrew 13:17
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.