We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.
(1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 ESV)
At Faith Church we have amazing servant leaders. Behind the scenes there are men and women who give of their time, resources and energy to serve the church. Scripture tells us to esteem such leaders. “To esteem” literally means to give them their due honor.
There are two leaders that I want to honor.
The first is Tim Niehof. Tim has been the chair of the deacons for the last couple of years. This is a volunteer position that has a lot of responsibility. Tim and his deacon team helped navigate Faith Church through the great recession, have helped Faith manage its tremendous growth and they have done a great job. Tim is smart, godly and capable. He loves the Lord and his church. We were lucky to have him as the head of our deacons. Tim recently finished his term as deacon and is now serving as an elder at Faith Church, Hammond. We are a blessed community to have such a leader serving at our church. If you see him, make sure to honor him!
The second leader I want to honor is Bob Phelps. Bob has been the head of the elders for the last 9 years. It is a volunteer position that requires tons of hours each week. Bob and his team provide pastoral care to close to 5000 people. He is gracious, humble and loves the Lord. He is an amazing man of God. His term as head of the elders just ended. He now is going to enjoy some much needed rest! We are blessed to have such an amazing leader at Faith Church! If you see him, make sure to bless him!
Paul encourages us to esteem our leaders. Faith is blessed to have hundreds of leaders that are doing amazing kingdom work. Who do you esteem?