What a privilege to pray to the great shepherd of the sheep for another shepherd to help care for his sheep at OSL. As has already been shared with you we are pursuing two avenues of approach. One – to seek a graduate from the St. Louis Seminary; and two – seek a pastor from the “field” who already has professional church experience.
In pursuing number one, four of us flew down to the St. Louis Seminary at the end of January. Through the interview process of four potential graduates, one seemed to have the gifts and aptitude to bring a great deal of faith and Spirit to the team ministry at OSL.
In the mean time we have also pursued soliciting from our members names of individuals that we could turn into the District President for his consideration regarding the Associate Pastor call. President Hoesman after spending time in prayer and after some consultation with others, removes some names from our list and also adds some ... using the wisdom God has given him. Ten names were received from the District Office this past Monday afternoon (2.28) and the Call Committee already began studying their personal information forms to determine who they would like to interview.
Folks there are some great prospects out there. That’s not to be questioned. But who God wants here, with his particular gifts, is at this time only known to God. That’s why we need to continue to pray for God’s clarity, his leading and directing us to that individual. Please pray for that clarity for our congregation as we make some initial decisions as to which route to pursue at our March 28th Voters’ Meeting. Pray for that individual and his family that God will eventually lead us to call here. Pray for the vibrance of his Word and Sacrament ministry here in our midst ... especially that many more of God's precious creation would come to know Jesus Christ as Savior through our ministries ... and your witness and invitation. And I continue to pray that God would bring someone with whom in a prayerful, Christ-centered, compassionate way … I can continue to use my gifts and join with in whole hearted, joyful team ministry.
For all of this and more ... let’s pray …
