I’m stepping aside with a great sense of peace, anticipation and excitement for what lies ahead

In his first editorial as the new General Superintendent of the Elim churches, Mark Pugh explores the enduring power of the Gospel and what that means for the hope for a struggling world

What a great privilege it is to write my first editorial as the new General Superintendent of the Elim churches and I’m looking forward to serving the Lord in this role. I want to pay tribute to my predecessor Chris Cartwright, who has served as GS for the last eight years. Chris is one of the nicest and most godly people I know, and I know he has given himself sacrificially to lead us over this time. We are so grateful to him and pray God’s richest blessings on him and his wife Annie in this new chapter of their lives.

I love how God has been working through Elim over the last 109 years and I believe there is much more he is wanting to do in the future. We were birthed in the extraordinary fires of revival as a group of people, sold out to the purposes of God, filled with the Holy Spirit and emboldened by faith, were used by God to bring transformation to the lives of many people. There were of course many challenges in the nation at that time, but God is never outdone by such things.

Today’s challenges may look different – we have a generation facing a significant identity crisis, poor mental well-being is impacting many, the most vulnerable in our society are facing desperate need, families are under pressure to work longer hours to fund their cost of living, household debt is increasing, wars and persecution around the world are resulting in many losing their lives and causing many millions of people to be displaced. On top of this, trust seems to be at an all-time low in the leaders of governments, financial institutions, and local councils.

Our world is struggling – but we have the answer. The writer of Romans put it this way: “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes – the Jew first and also the Gentile,” (Romans 1:16 NLT).

The gospel is good news for all. We cannot keep this to ourselves. The world is wandering around like sheep without a shepherd, and we know the Good Shepherd personally – let’s introduce others to him. The church is stewarding the hope our world so desperately needs, and my prayer is we will be emboldened proclaimers of this transformational truth to all. We are not ashamed of the gospel!

There are so many wonderful things taking place in our churches across the nation and through our outreaches around the world. Elim churches and ministries are helping the vulnerable, feeding the hungry, inviting the lonely into community, providing trauma support, offering shelter, caring for refugees, engaging in education, working with people from the youngest children to the oldest pensioners. We also have many thousands of people representing the kingdom of God in their workplaces and social spaces each day – carrying out their work as an act of worship and witness.

We know church is not just a Sunday activity but a daily reality. You and I belong to our local churches and are part of the wider Elim family so that together we can encourage one another in the Lord to live as firebrands of the gospel in this world. I’m praying each of our hearts will burn with revival fire and be so consumed with the revelation of God’s mercy and grace that the joy of this will pour out to the world around us.

We are a Pentecostal movement! We believe in the emboldening power of the Holy Spirit. Elim didn’t start off as a timid or temperate ministry. It started off emboldened by the empowerment of the Spirit. The challenges the world faces today needs an emboldened, courageous and empowered church. Let’s be prayerful. Let’s seek the Lord. Let’s lay down our timidity and let the world know that Jesus is the best news. We are not ashamed of the gospel!

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.

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