Elders Refine Leadership Skills For Growth and Resiliency in Service
As the St. Lucia Mission of Seventh-day Adventists continues to define its vision for the next four years, the Mission convened an elders’ retreat on February 3-4, 2023 at the Marc Seventh-day Adventist church, challenging church leaders...
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Cover Photo: Beautiful scene of elders, administrators and directors who attended the elders’ retreat on February 3-4, 2023 at the Marc Seventh-day Adventist church. Included in the group are the President of the Mission, Pastor Roger Stephen and his wife as well as Ministerial Secretary Pastor Alfred Joseph and his wife. Image by Communication Department, St. Lucia Mission.
As the St. Lucia Mission of Seventh-day Adventists continues to define its vision for the next four years, the Mission convened an elders’ retreat on February 3-4, 2023 at the Marc Seventh-day Adventist church, challenging church leaders to refine their leadership so they can intentionally grow dynamic congregations.
More than 500 elders from across the constituency met for the session led by the Ministerial Secretary of the Mission Pastor Alfred Joseph. “There is no issue in our church that is more important than leadership,” Joseph said. “There’s none.”
According to Pastor Joseph, if church elders do not have the knowledge base along with the depth of personal experience to cope with complicated situations, they will experience significant difficulty in performing their duties. “You can have someone who is extremely smart and bright, who is very committed to God, but if they don’t have that capacity of being resilient when challenges come along, it can break them,” Joseph said, adding that the retreat “redefines the boundaries of ministry and lends support to the main theme of leadership ─ getting close to God.”
Several elders took the opportunity during the afternoon session to share in helping to direct the strategic direction of the St. Lucia Mission. Image by Communication Department, St. Lucia Mission.
Speaking to the theme, “Going with God, Soaring to New Heights,” Ministerial Secretary of the Caribbean Union Conference Pastor Ammaran Williams said, “That’s where we want to go [for] in short, it shifts the focus from an elder as a member of a business or bureaucratic board to that of an elder who is a pastor, teacher, and shepherd. It’s about us understanding that amid all our learning we minister with the influence of the Holy Spirit,” he said.
Mission President Roger Stephen agreed that the expected outcome of the two-day session is that elders grow not only a greater connection to God, but also the competencies needed to do the work to which God has called them. “The more we grow together as leaders, the farther we can go. There has to be greater intentionality as we invest in growing leaders for mission,” he said.
For some leaders, the pandemic created many challenges. Leaders discovered that financial hardships and a lack of motivation negatively impacted in-person church attendance. Nevertheless, according to Pastor Travis Berance, “we have persevered. We began to take our personal interest leaders’ spiritual lives with greater seriousness,” he said. Berance, who was recently transferred to a new pastoral district, believes that the retreat “came at a time when the corporate body needed the inspiration to keep ministering.”
Pastor Matterson Preville shared in the morning session about spiritual leadership. Here he challenges the leaders about defending integrity in ministry. Image by Communication Department, St. Lucia Mission.
Still, Pastor Matterson Preville, in his seminar on helping others to soar, concluded that “we are still at a tipping point of difficult transition with so much left to do. We can easily slide back into a comfort zone and become complacent,” he noted.
In his address, Stephen commended the various presenters, including Elder Manasseh Wilson and Pastor Royston Philbert, for their contribution to a successful time of inspiration, practical training, and fellowship.
The retreat ended on Sabbath afternoon after the administrators and directors of the Mission presented their department’s strategic reviews. The elders were given the opportunity, punctuated by occasions for prayer and praise, to influence the direction of the Mission, outlining their impressions of where and how the body can address its ministry and developmental needs.
Feedback provided by participants indicated that training, such as the retreat provided, was essential for focused organic growth—a sign of maturity at the local church.
Prayer makes a difference. God’s power is seen when his people join together in prayer for one another. The elders retreat had numerous occasions dedicated to praying for ministry in the St. Lucia Mission. Image by Communication Department, St. Lucia Mission.
“In all of my years I have never attended an elders’ training,” noted the auditor of the Mission, Rebecca Samuel. “I had never experienced something like this. Really empowering,” she said.
Elder Alvin Florent of the Marc SDA Church described the retreat as “a wonderful experience. I was particularly thrilled by the presentations which captured the essence and importance of leadership in the church. Leaders who are willing to be used by God no matter their background or education will always be effective no matter where they are placed because it is God that makes the leader,” Florent said.
Elder Trevon Pierre of the Dierre Fort SDA Church described the occasion as “a Spirit-filled reminder of our calling to the sacred task of eldership. The spiritual food and the physical food were well-prepared. The concerns shared by the elders encouraged me because it showed me that I do not share the burden alone. The recommendations suggested by the laity was an apt indication that the eldership is beginning to have the right idea about what it takes to bring the church to where it should be - demonstrating Christ and fulfilling our remnant identity,” he said.