Recruiter, Asking for a Barnabas.

At the beginning of his sermon, our guest speaker joked about having lots of room at Metro West Church of the Nazarene. He made a light-hearted appeal for ministry support, in case some Bronx Bethany members wanted to relocate to central Florida.

Of course, we laughed.
But it’s not really a joke.

There is a pattern established in Scripture that we must attend to. The pattern, in Old and New Testament history, is that God does not send out His servants alone. Our God is a God of partnership.

*God Himself is a partnership. His name, Elohim, is expressed as a plural word. We know Him as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
*God created marriage as a partnership between a man and a woman, called to leave their households of origin and establish a covenant relationship with each other.
*God made covenant agreements between Himself and men of His choosing: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
*God’s agenda was accomplished through ministry apprenticeships between His leaders and their assistants: Moses and Joshua; Elijah and Elisha; Jesus and His disciples.
*God gave us a template for team ministry. John’s disciples traveled as a team; Jesus’s disciples were often sent out two by two; Paul did his missions trips with Barnabas, Silas, Timothy, and others.

Ronald Benjamin is in need of a ministry assistant. Not a musician, but a minister of the gospel who will help to bear the responsibility of watching over souls. When Ronald was called, Pastor Sam referenced Acts 13:2 in announcing the move to the congregation: “As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said ‘Separate Barnabas and Saul for the work that I have called them to do.’ ” It was not just a convenient Scripture verse, but was a prophetic confirmation of God’s pattern of partnerships.

Ronald, as a type of Saul, left. But the other person, called to be a type of Barnabas, is missing in action.

Now, I don’t know who that other person is. And we have seen that kairos moments are time-sensitive. So, it might be that the window of opportunity has closed for the one who did not respond to God’s call last year. Or, it might be that the person called wasn’t spiritually ready for the task at that time, or needed more training, or whatever. But the need for help remains.

It’s a difficult call to accept: relocation, the learning of a new local culture, the loss of geographical proximity to dear friends and loved ones. However, the God we serve is more than able to equip us for the work He’s called us to do.

Please pray with me that the Lord will find in Bronx Bethany a community of people ready to obey Him, even when He calls us to leave the familiar.

God is doing a new thing in central Florida.
Has he called you to join in His work there?