Leading my small church...

I am humbled by the responsibility God has given me to lead women in BIble study.  It is an honor to play a role in taking them a step deeper into His Word.  As Brennan Manning states,

          ‘…there is more power in sharing our weaknesses,

than in sharing our strengths.’

This year, as I have been in the past, God is challenging me to pray for my small church. He is calling me to be a spiritual leader in their lives. Someone who encourages, motivates, and stretches them with what Ephesians describes as a mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit.  

As I prepare for my weekly study, I struggle with how I can best pray for each of them.  Several mornings ago, I began...bless our fellowship and bond each of these ladies as we study and pray together.

I stopped. How one sided and flat was that for a small group leader?  Totally convicted, the Holy Spirit brought to mind a passage I had read earlier in the week.

Take a moment and read Paul’s words in Ephesians 3:14-19.




"When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.

I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.

And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.

May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God."



Paul had already placed his finger on the heartbeat of my small church. He gives us an eloquent model of how we are to pray for all the members we lead.

c.