In God’s mercy, we have a good number of young people who are members of our congregations. And among them are those who feel a God-given desire to serve in Christian Leadership. Paul tells Timothy, his deputy in gospel work, that such a desire should be fostered and tested: “If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.” 1 Timothy 3:1.

An overseer is a person who leads God’s people, shepherds them, provides example, teaching and care. To desire to serve full-time in this way is a good and appropriate thing for a Christian to feel. But not all who have the desire should be appointed. Timothy and the other Christian leaders are to evaluate those who have the desire to serve in this way to see if they are suitable. (see v 2-16)

At St. Faith’s, we are seeking to play our part in raising up the next generation of Christian leaders, both men and women, by providing training scholarships to young people from St. Faith’s who have the desire to serve in this way. Our Ministry Apprenticeship Program provides a two year opportunity for such people to gain some practical experience in ministry, while being supervised and trained “on the job” by more experienced staff. We can then send them on, confident in their suitability since they have been tested and also given some practical skills for ministry.

We need two things to keep the program working. Firstly, we need people to pray for our apprentices: Neil, Evan, Tom and Robin. We are inviting people to join a team to pray for them in their training. Secondly, we need people to give to support this ministry. We are asking everyone to consider giving a one-off donation to support their training. Please do consider whether you can contribute to this fund.