Gospel Fellowship Association

Someone has said, “Great leaders pass the torch.” (Interestingly, the identity of who first said this is unknown.) Too many spiritually thriving ministries have crashed and burned because the torch got dropped in the passing. In this final article, I want to address a fourth reality that I see in Paul’s parting words to the Ephesian elders, a reality that must be urged on those who follow us in ministry:?You will find God and His Word to be more than enough. I base this truth on verse 32: “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” Read Tim Berrey's fourth article on "Passing the Baton Without Dropping It." https://lnkd.in/g4WyDfG2 #gfamissions #greatcommission #passingthebaton #wherewillyougo

A missionary must begin his ministry with an endgame, knowing the time will come when he must bow and step off stage. To do so without passing the baton to those who will come after him is to play Russian roulette with the ministry God has given him and with the flock entrusted to his care. As we saw in the previous article,?The Duties of a Shepherd, those to whom we pass the baton must shepherd the flock by spotting and speaking up about spiritual dangers that threaten their sheep. Such work requires constant vigilance, which is why Paul challenges the Ephesian elders to whom he was passing the baton to “be on the alert” (Acts 20:31, NASB1995). But as his speech to the Ephesian elders reveals, the kind of shepherding he is calling them to is costly. Paul’s speech presents a third reality that you must pass along to those who receive the baton from you:?Shepherding will cost you much, but it is more blessed to give than to receive. Read Tim Berrey's third article on successfully passing the leadership baton: "Shepherding Demands Giving." https://lnkd.in/gWsPfHWk #gfamissions #greatcommissioncycle #matthew28 #teachingallthings

A missionary must begin his ministry with an endgame, knowing the time will come when he must bow and step off stage. To do so without passing the baton to those who will come after him is to play Russian roulette with the ministry God has given him and with the flock entrusted to his care. As we saw in the previous article,?The Duties of a Shepherd, those to whom we pass the baton must shepherd the flock by spotting and speaking up about spiritual dangers that threaten their sheep. Such work requires constant vigilance, which is why Paul challenges the Ephesian elders to whom he was passing the baton to “be on the alert” (Acts 20:31, NASB1995). But as his speech to the Ephesian elders reveals, the kind of shepherding he is calling them to is costly. Paul’s speech presents a third reality that you must pass along to those who receive the baton from you:?Shepherding will cost you much, but it is more blessed to give than to receive. Read Tim Berrey's third article on successfully passing the leadership baton: "Shepherding Demands Giving." https://lnkd.in/gWsPfHWk #gfamissions #greatcommissioncycle #matthew28 #teachingallthings

I recently had the opportunity to see a dazzle of zebras in the wild. All the zebras were grazing contentedly. One zebra, however, the stallion, stood apart from the others, eating as well but also lifting his head every now and again to check his surroundings. He was the sentry for the dazzle, charged with keeping the others safe from lurking predators. As we pass the baton to those who will take our places in ministry leadership, there are certain realities we must pass along to them. As Holy Spirit-appointed overseers, their duty is shepherding (v. 28). What does shepherding involve? Those to whom you pass the baton must recognize vigilance against spiritual predators to be a major part of their shepherding task. In an era when success is marked by the size of our buildings or the number of our programs, we need to lay the stress where the Bible puts it: a shepherd’s primary responsibility is the spiritual safety of his flock. Read the rest of Tim Berrey's post, "Passing The Baton Without Dropping It: The Duties of a Shepherd." https://lnkd.in/g4CGNENi #passingthebaton #greatcommission #wherewillyougo #gfamissions #commissionedblog

In August of 2024, the USA men’s 4x100 relay team lost the chance to earn a medal when they passed the baton outside the designated zone. Nobody wins when the baton is passed incorrectly, and this is true when it comes to passing the baton of pastoral leadership. “Every pastor is an interim pastor,” one of my GFA colleagues often says. If that is true about pastors, how much more is that true of missionaries! Missionaries know the day will come when they must pass the baton to their successors. But how can we pass the baton without dropping it? Read the rest of Timothy Berrey's post, "Passing the Baton Without Dropping It: The Church Is Not Yours, But God’s" at https://lnkd.in/dSvWHrQj #gfamissions #greatcommission #wherewillyougo #batonpassing

In 1995, my wife and I joined GFA Missions. In 1997, we planted our first church in Mataro, Spain. We started the church from scratch, renting a storefront to meet in. The Lord blessed our ministry, and people were saved. Other people looking for a Gospel-preaching church came as well. Our rented storefront was now too small. Even my office in that storefront was too small. I remember saying to the Lord, “If you give us another building, I would really like a larger office.”?After five years, the Lord gave us a 10,000-square-foot parking garage to turn into a church building. I was the one to design the building. I planned a space for the sanctuary, for the Sunday school, for the nursery, and, of course, for my office. It would be larger than the office I currently had, and I was excited about that. As I was painting my new office, the Lord spoke to me, not in audible voice but in my heart.?"Joaquin, this office is not for you." Read what happened next at https://lnkd.in/gRWTRuHe. #gfamissions #greatcommissioncycle #wherewillyougo #trainingdisciples

"Years ago, my wife and I became friends with a young couple whose life ambition was to reach one unreached tribe in Papua New Guinea for Christ. Steve, the husband, believed his life would probably be shorter than most people’s (due to the conditions in which they would live) but hoped that he would live long enough to plant the Gospel in at last one tribe. Have you ever thought about investing your life in a people group who have never heard about Jesus Christ? I would like to challenge you to consider that the Lord might want?you?to be the pioneer who first takes the Gospel to an unreached, or even frontier, people group. Let’s start off with some definitions that I have taken from?Joshuaproject.net, one of the best online resources for missionary research." https://lnkd.in/g2ZJcs8j #peoplegroup #unreachedpeoplegroup #frontiergroup #gfamissions #goandtell #wherewillyougo

"Every believer understands the painful reality that passion to share the Gospel sometimes falters. Perhaps we fail to take advantage of a clear opportunity to proclaim Christ. Or, maybe we go days, months, or even years without experiencing a longing in our hearts to see people come to know Jesus. How does this happen? Why do we neglect clear opportunities? What causes those longer periods of time when we lack urgency to share the Gospel?" Jon Crocker shares twelve dampeners to our evangelistic fervor in his blog post, "Recovering Our Evangelistic Passion." https://lnkd.in/gGeDcNr8 #evangelism #greatcommission #gospel #wherewillyougo #gfamissions

"Every believer understands the painful reality that passion to share the Gospel sometimes falters. Perhaps we fail to take advantage of a clear opportunity to proclaim Christ. Or, maybe we go days, months, or even years without experiencing a longing in our hearts to see people come to know Jesus. How does this happen? Why do we neglect clear opportunities? What causes those longer periods of time when we lack urgency to share the Gospel?" Jon Crocker shares twelve dampeners to our evangelistic fervor in his blog post, "Recovering Our Evangelistic Passion." https://lnkd.in/gGeDcNr8 #evangelism #greatcommission #gospel #wherewillyougo #gfamissions

"I first served in Asia before moving to my current ministry in the UK. It did not take me long to learn how differently each culture responds to the Gospel. I went from a people willing to hear that they needed salvation to quite the opposite." "Will he ever change, ever see his desperate need for Christ? How is it possible to break through his (and others’) hardened hearts?" Find out how God is at work! https://lnkd.in/gixjVrDS #wherewillyougo #gfamissions #breakinghardenedhearts #commissionedblog