By Chris Eaton
Associate Pastor of Student Ministries
First Baptist Church in Minot, North Dakota
How many of us have found ourselves in conversations with others in vocational ministry where the topic of numbers inevitably comes up?
“We only had five at our prayer meeting.”
“We had eighteen baptisms this past year.”
“We hit a new record of 200 students at VBS!”
While numbers can be helpful for measuring ministry, we must guard ourselves from becoming slaves to them. Let us not focus so much on large numbers that we sacrifice time for closer, more personal connections.
In 2 Timothy 2:2, Paul instructs Timothy, “Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others” (NLT). How many of us can look back on our lives and point to one or two individuals who poured into us and helped spur us toward service to God?
One of the men who discipled me was my youth pastor. . . .
For over a decade, the NAB has intentionally developed and delivered spaces for training, discussion, and spiritual growth. Each of these spaces – Blue Ocean, Making the Shift, Discover Center – are designed with specific groups in mind. While Year of Equipping, that group is emerging leaders, those active members and leaders of our churches in their twenties and thirties who will continue to serve NAB churches for the decades to come. We prayerfully seek to continue to expand our points of connection with NAB churches and leaders and deepen the learning and relationships throughout our conference of churches.
Year of Equipping is composed of three modules, each three months long and including a reading pertaining to the subject matter, two two-hour Zoom discussions, and an in-person meeting. The three modules reflect the three teaching sessions in Blue Ocean: who God is and what he is up to, spiritual formation and how we are being re-formed in God’s image as we join him on his mission, and how Christian community flows from the first two.
We are entering Year 3 of the Year of Equipping, and we have seen God do amazing things! Our alumni from our first two cohorts have testified to great experiences and rich influence of the teaching to their ministries. We are prayerfully expecting more to come. We look forward to partnering with our churches and our emerging leaders on this journey of transformation. We know our churches will be deeply impacted by how God uses this experience! If you are interested in applying, reach out to Wayne Stapleton.
Email wayne about year of equipping
There is still space in the next Fit Assessment, happening next month in Medina, Ohio.
This multi-step process delivers insights to any current or potential missionary, church planter, or revitalization pastor, reporting on their “fit” for the ministry they are endeavoring to engage in. To complete the NAB Fit Assessment, candidates meet together for a multi-day, in-person experience hosted by a diversity of trained leaders. These three days together – August 11–13 – help us communally discern your best next step in ministry.
If you arere interested in beginning the Fit Assessment process, your first step is completing the online application, found at the link below.