29 Aug The Shepherd’s Staff – AUGUST 2021

The Elders are pleased to announce that God has provided us a Pastoral Care and Counseling minister. Tim Starbuck has agreed to join our ministry at MTP. Tim is coming out of 25 years of service in the UMC. His latest appointment was at Bethel in Thomasville where he has served since 2013. Tim really has a heart for pastoral care, and it was evident talking to him that this is his gift. He will begin officially in his new role on October 4th, but you may see him from time to time if he has a chance to attend our functions and get to know us. Tim has already begun planning some things he wants to do and he will be up to full speed very quickly. Tim is married to BethAnn and they have 5 children. His background covers quite a bit of territory, including military chaplaincy and Hospice, and he has a wealth of practical experience.

The Biblical Counseling course continues to offer a great learning experience for the attendees. The material is very relevant to our society today and we look forward to merging this effort with Tim’s oversight to provide help to anyone in our congregation who has a need to talk.

Bo held a meeting with some of the small group leaders to discuss the type of material we are using and discussed options for future classes. This is on-going as we find a way to grow our small group participation with new members and visitors.

Looking ahead, it will be time to nominate new Elders very soon. We have 3 members who will rotate off, so be thinking about candidates who meet the qualifications listed in 1 Timothy and Titus. We will also make some training available to interested candidates to make sure they know what the Elder’s role will be prior to agreeing to serve.
We will also begin staff reviews this fall. If you have anything you wish to share, please discuss it with one of the Elders. Please share any positive experiences as well as any suggestions you may have. MTP appreciates all the work our staff puts in to make the MTP ministry successful.

Please reach out to us if you need our support with any spiritual needs or have any questions we can help answer.

• Bo Sink
• Joe Hayworth
• Eric Hilton
• Steve Cranford
• Danny Buckner
• Tommy McDevitt
• Vince Brown
• Daniel Rich
• Bill Baughn

Col 1:9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;