June 06 2026

Saturday June 06

“Served With Me in the Gospel”

Philippians 2:22-24

Welcome to Pastor's Chat. Today we are continuing in Philippians 2, looking at verses 22–24, where the Apostle Paul says: “But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father, he served with me in the gospel. Therefore, I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it goes with me. But I trust in the Lord that I myself also shall come shortly.”

Here we see the Apostle Paul once again talking about his son in the faith, Timothy, whom he trusted to go to the church at Philippi with his message and to care for the people there. In these verses, Paul gives us a beautiful statement and a wonderful description of Christian service. He says of Timothy, “As a son with his father, he served with me in the gospel.”

Notice that Paul does not say Timothy served under him. He says Timothy served with him. There was a deep relationship between these two men. Paul had become Timothy’s spiritual father, and Timothy had become Paul’s spiritual son.

I have often reflected on my fifty-plus years as a senior pastor and all the staff members I had the privilege of serving with. I never said they served under me. I never viewed myself as their boss, because I was not. I was a leader, and I always felt my responsibility was to help these men become the very best they could be and to encourage them forward for the glory of God. My desire was to help them grow in every area of life as disciples of Jesus Christ.

You see, the Christian life was never intended to be lived alone. God uses relationships to shape us. Moses had Joshua. Elijah had Elisha. Jesus had His twelve disciples. Paul had Timothy and Titus. One of the greatest blessings in ministry is investing in others. Some of the most rewarding moments in my life have come from seeing others taught, encouraged, discipled, and faithfully serving the Lord.

I will never forget our first ministry together with Eric Farel, Bob Quinn, Ron Combs, and others. We spent many hours serving together, but even more importantly, we spent private hours praying together, reading God’s Word together, encouraging one another, discipling one another to be all that we could be for God, and holding each other accountable. In our next ministry at Calvary Baptist in Holland Michigan, I was privileged to regularly be involved in discipleship with dear friends like Rick Flowers, Tom Weaver, and Frank Senters, among many others.

Real discipleship is much more than simply going through a discipleship course. It means being established in the Word of God and prayer. It means being established in the fellowship of believers. It involves having an accountability group with whom you pray, talk, encourage, and support one another when someone is struggling. It also means being established in the structure of the local church. You discover your spiritual gift, use that gift, and help others become all that God wants them to be. You build them up in the faith.

Finally, it means being established in the ministry of Jesus Christ. That is, doing what Jesus did—sharing the gospel of the Kingdom of God, telling people how to be saved, and then leading them to follow Christ and abide in Christ. That is what real discipleship is all about.

Paul poured years into Timothy. He taught him. He traveled with him. He prayed with him. He encouraged him. He corrected him. He prepared him. As a result, Timothy became capable of carrying on the work. That is discipleship. 2 Timothy 2:2 says: “The things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” Did you notice the four generations in that verse? Paul, Timothy, faithful men, and then others also. That is God’s plan.

Every one of us should have someone who is learning from us how to become a better believer and follower of Jesus Christ. We are all disciples, and we should all be disciplers. So today, who are you helping grow spiritually? Who are you teaching the Bible? Who are you encouraging in their walk with the Lord? These are important questions for us to ask ourselves. A church that intentionally disciples others will remain healthy for generations to come.

Let’s pray. Father, thank You for the people You have used in our lives. Help us to invest in others as Paul invested in Timothy. Use us to encourage the next generation to follow Jesus Christ faithfully. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

God bless and may you have a wonderful, wonderful day!