This entry was posted on Sunday, January 6th, 2008 at 8:00 am and is filed under Articles. This entry has been tagged Articles, Assemblies of God, Core Values, Executive Leadership Team, George Wood, Week of Prayer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Every January, the Assemblies of God encourages local churches across America to devote the first full week of January as a Week of Prayer to pray for divine intervention. Furthermore the 2008 theme for the Assemblies of God is “Nothing’s too Hard for God.” The theme verse is Jeremiah 23:27 “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?”
In 2008 the Week of Prayer is January 6-12, 2008. As a part of this Week of Prayer, the Waco Section Royal Rangers blog is sponsoring a series of seven articles. Each article is going to focus on a prayer need that we as leaders need to cover in prayer for the Assemblies of God, the Royal Rangers ministry, the boys, and for the leaders, standing on God’s promise that nothing’s too hard for Him.
It is our hope and prayers that as you read these articles throughout the Week of Prayer, that God will place a burden on your heart for the Royal Rangers ministry, the boys, and for the leaders. As you pray, believe that God will answer your prayers and that we will see the Royal Rangers ministry grow and continue to be a dynamic ministry to the boys of our communities and this nation.
Furthermore, it is also our hope and prayer that you will take part in this Week of Prayer, and that you set aside time each day to pray, not only for the prayer emphasis in the article that day, but also for the entire fellowship of the Assemblies of God and for the leaders of the Assemblies of God that lead this fellowship at all levels. Keep our pastors in your prayers as they pastor His church that God will give them strength and protection.
The General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, George Woods, along with the entire Executive Leadership Team, have committed to the following core values:
- Passionately proclaim, at home and abroad, by word and deed Jesus as Savior, Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, Healer, and Soon Coming King,
- Strategically invest in the next generation,
- Vigorously plant new churches,
- Skillfully resource our Fellowship, and
- Fervently pray for God’s favor and help as we serve Him with pure hearts and noble purpose.
I am going to take a few moments and focus on each of these core values in turn as they can relate to Royal Rangers. Many of you may have looked at this list and focused on the second core value. However, each one of them has an important role in Royal Rangers and Royal Rangers can play an important and active role in each of the core values. These core values aren’t just for our leadership at the national level or for ministers, but for all members of the Assemblies of God and for the different ministries.
Core Value 1: Passionately proclaim, at home and abroad, by word and deed Jesus as Savior, Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, Healer, and Soon Coming King
The mission of Royal Rangers is to Reach, Teach, and Keep Boys for Christ. This core value plays a very important role in the reaching portion of our mission and has a direct impact on the teaching and keeping portions of our mission. We as leaders in the Royal Rangers ministry are able to minister and teach boys all across this nation about Jesus Christ and how He is our Savior, our Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, our Healer, and our Soon Coming King and that He can be their Lord and personal Savior.
Royal Rangers as a ministry is also able to proclaim around the world this same good news through missions, both US missions and world missions. Royal Rangers has provisions to support several missions opportunities in the Assemblies of God. We are able to give to BGMC, Speed the Light, and Light for the Lost. Boys and men are able to participate in US mission trips and world mission trips. Older boys and men are able to go on construction trips and pathfinder trips. Through all these missions opportunities, we are able to proclaim by word and deed Jesus as Savior, Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, Healer, and Soon Coming King.
Core Value 2: Strategically invest in the next generation
I am sure that many of you when you read the list of core values you took heart in this second core value because of the mission in Royal Rangers. This is understandable, seeing as how that is what we as Royal Rangers leaders are doing every time we step into the Royal Rangers meeting room to minister to boys. We do this every time we go on a Royal Rangers campout with boys. Every time we spend time with boys, we are investing in their lives. We are in a great position to invest in the lives of boys. 1,100,000 of the 2.8 million Assemblies of God constituents are under the age of 25, and so it is imperative that we invest in the next generation.
A boy spells love T-I-M-E. By spending time with them, we are able to invest so much into their lives. We need to keep in mind that these boys are going to be our future ministers, missionaries, businessmen, church leaders, and Royal Rangers leaders. They are the church of today and tomorrow. They are going to be the decision makers in the future. Because of this, we need to invest in them and equip them with godly, biblical principles and prepare them for their futures.
Core Value 3: Vigorously plant new churches
Of the five core values, this one is likely the one that you think applies the least to Royal Rangers. You couldn’t be more wrong. Royal Rangers are able to take a leading role in helping to plant new churches. There are many ways that we can help with this. In some church plants, Royal Rangers teams can go in and help build the church structure. In other church plants, teams can go in and help the minister spread the news of the new church. Royal Rangers can go become a part of the initial plant to help get the church started. New churches also need volunteers for everything from evangelism to office organization. Church plants are in need of money, so maybe your outpost can “adopt” a church plant and help raise money to help get the church started. Finally, and possibly most important, is to pray for the church plant. Pray that God’s will be done and that He will work through that church plant and that people will come to know the Lord.
Core Value 4: Skillfully resource our Fellowship
We have a great resource at the national office that provides resources to the entire fellowship. They provide materials, resources, literature, and support for the fellowship to be more effective in our ministry. However, this takes time, money, and people. Large portions of our Royal Rangers materials were written by volunteers that never received any compensation for their time. We as leaders need to provide help, when possible and when requested to help us be more effective in our ministries. We also need to help provide ways to get the resources into the hands of those that need them to be effective. There are churches across this nation that can’t afford to purchase the materials they need to be effective. There are so many opportunities that we have to help provide resources to our fellow churches in this fellowship.
Core Value 5: Fervently pray for God’s favor and help as we serve Him with pure hearts and noble purpose
As Royal Rangers leaders we need to serve God with pure hearts and noble purpose and fervently pray for God’s favor and help. We also need to show and teach our Royal Rangers to fervently pray for God’s favor and help. I know serving as a leader in Royal Rangers it can be difficult. It is so easy to get frustrated and down. It is easy to become overwhelmed and burdened. It is easy to feel that you aren’t being effective. However, God’s help is only a prayer away and God will give you the strength to continue serving, to lift you up and to relieve you of your burden. As you pray, God will give you favor and help. God will make you a better Royal Rangers leader.
It is my hope that while you have read this article and read each of these core values, that God has pressed on you the importance of each core value and how you are able to implement each of these core values and their importance on Royal Rangers. It is my prayer that you will take these core values and that you take them to heart and that you ask God how you are to support and pray for each of these five core values.
Dear Heavenly Father, we love you and thank you Lord for your wonderful grace. We thank you for your loving grace and for your strength. Lord we lift up this fellowship to you, Father God, that you will pour out your blessings in this fellowship. We ask that you send revival to the Assemblies of God and this nation. Father God we lift up the leaders of the Assemblies of God, that you give them strength and that you will protect them from the forces of the enemy. We also lift up the ministers of this fellowship, Father God, that you will strengthen them and that you will give them the words to preach as they pastor of your sheep. Father God, with these five core values that George Woods and the Executive Leadership Team have committed to, that we will see fruit come out of this. We ask Father God that you give us strength to passionately proclaim, at home and abroad, by word and deed Jesus as Savior, Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, Healer, and Soon Coming King. We ask you to lead us and guide us Father God as we strategically invest in the next generation, that we will see the next generation rise up to become your ambassadors and that they will do far more and greater things than any other generation that has ever walked the earth. Father God we ask that you give vision and rise up the leaders for this fellowship to vigorously plant new churches. We ask that you will bless these church plants and that they will bear much fruit and lead many people to come to know you as their Lord and personal Savior. Lord, we also ask that you provide the means to skillfully resource our fellowship to spread the Gospel. You own the cattle on a thousand hills, and Father God we ask that you provide these resources for the ministries and churches of the Assemblies of God. And finally Father God, we fervently pray for your favor and help as we serve you with pure hearts and noble purpose. We ask that you strengthen us, your servants, Father God, that any who are weak that you will make strong, any who are down, that you will rise up, and any who are discouraged and feel overwhelmed that you will encourage them and lift their burden. We ask Father God that you bless this Royal Rangers ministry, that you guide our leaders as they minister to boys and that they will be fruitful and blessed and see many boys come to know you as Lord and personal Savior and that we continue to reach, teach, and keep more boys for you. We ask this all in your precious name, Amen.
David Trower
Sectional Web and Publications Coordinator