Dear brothers,

I’m writing to thank you for the many ways you are laboring in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic to pastor, lead, and care for the members of your church. In God’s good sovereignty, He uses pandemics to reveal many things. As I hear about the ways that you are responding to the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic presents, my respect and appreciation for you has only increased. Here are some of the ways I see God is using this pandemic to reveal things about you, for which I thank God for.

This pandemic reveals your true calling as a pastor.

You are not men who are running away from this pandemic, rather, you are men who have run right into it with faith and courage. Your prayers, long hours, and the hard work you have done to serve your church reveal that you have been faithful, you have stayed at your post, and by God’s grace are even more resolved to pastor and protect your church. If you weren’t called, you would have quit. But you are men who have taken the people of your church by the hand and said to them, “fear not, for our God is with us.” (Isaiah 41:10) I thank God for how He is using this pandemic to reveal your true calling as a pastor.

This pandemic reveals your heart to shepherd the flock of God

Peter exhorts us “shepherd the flock of God that is among you…” (1 Peter 5:2a) The necessary isolation this pandemic has produced reveals your heart to shepherd those among you who God has entrusted to your care. The frustration, pain, and burden you feel because you can’t be with your people only reveals the shepherd’s heart God has given you. The creative ways that you have used Zoom, Skype, phone calls, and texts to talk with your people, counsel your people, and pray with them all reveal a heart to shepherd the specific flock God has entrusted to your care. I thank God for how COVID-19 has revealed your heart to shepherd your flock.

This pandemic reveals your devotion to our ecclesiology

COVID-19 has forced us to ask questions like, “How can we remain faithful to our ecclesiology and still pastor our people especially when we can’t gather together?” Just the fact that you are wrestling with that question reveals your devotion to continue to build your church on solid theological ground. You are men who don’t want to compromise all the entailments of corporate worship that we enjoy. I also believe that because you have been faithful to our ecclesiology, where you have taught the primacy of the local church, and the practice of gathering together every Sunday in particular, when this pandemic is over, you are going to see the fruit of what you have built for years. In other words, right now the members of your church are anticipating the day when you can all gather together because you have been faithful to our ecclesiology. I thank God for your devotion.

This pandemic reveals your commitment to our gospel partnership in Sovereign Grace.

Our interdependence to advance the gospel together is not only a New Testament reality, but also an important aspect of our culture in Sovereign Grace. We have always built relationally with one another, and God has used this pandemic to show us why we must continue to do so. I have been so encouraged to see our pastors sharing ideas and resources to help and strengthen one another. I’ve watched with joy as Sovereign Grace pastors reach out to one another, encourage one another, pray for one another, and care for one another. By God’s grace, we will endure, and even thrive, in this pandemic together because you are men who are committed to the gospel partnership we share. I thank God for your ongoing commitment.

These are just some of the ways that I see God using COVID-19 to reveal the good work He is doing in each of you. I don’t know if it’s appropriate for me to say this or not, but I’m going to say it anyway. I’m so proud of the pastors in Sovereign Grace! And I continue to count it a privilege to labor for the gospel alongside each of you.

“As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.” 2 Thessalonians 3:13

With my heart-felt appreciation,

Mark

For well over a year now, my friend Eric Turbedsky has encouraged me to start a podcast. I had a number of questions and reservations, including “I’m not sure I have anything interesting to say.” But Eric persevered and I now have a podcast and we are going live.

My goal is simple.

I want every Sovereign Grace Church pastor to see what I see.

My role as your Executive Director provides me with so many wonderful insights into God’s work among us. And this is what I plan on reporting to you in every podcast. I hope you enjoy the insights and updates. I pray you feel more connected than ever to our gospel partnership. Let me know if you find this helpful or have something you think I should be sharing with everyone.

If you are a pastor of a Sovereign Grace Church or employed by Sovereign Grace Churches, we have taken the liberty of subscribing you to my updates. You’ll get every episode delivered automatically into your inbox. However, feel free to unsubscribe or follow along via my blog or on Youtube.

Transcript:

What Happened at the Leadership Team Retreat?

Benjamin Kreps:
Hey everyone, this is Ben Kreps. Welcome to the Mark Prater podcast where we aim to connect our global family of churches with our Executive Director. Hey, Mark, how are you doing?

Mark Prater:
I'm doing great. Ben, how are you?

Benjamin Kreps:
I'm doing good. So I saw last week on Twitter (by the way, your Twitter handle is @MarkKPrater like the website) you posted that you were at a retreat for the Leadership Team and asked for prayer. And so I wanted to connect with you and hear about what Leadership Team retreats are all about. I mean, what happens at a Leadership Team Retreat?

Mark Prater:
Well, let me start by giving you the typical day. What does a typical day look like at a Leadership Team Retreat?

Benjamin Kreps:
So we're assuming it involves drinking beer and complaining about Sovereign Grace. Is that pretty much like substance of it?

Mark Prater: 

That's about all we get accomplished. That's right. Haha. 

No, we get together three times a year. In fact, we talked about this in our last retreat: Should we continue to do three retreats a year? Is that too many? Should we go to two? And because we're spread out geographically, we find that those retreat times are just so important for us to build relationally, to talk, and have conversation that doesn't have to be hurried about big picture issues in Sovereign Grace. And we just found that (both on a relational level and a strategic level, if you can say it that way) the retreats are really helpful.

Benjamin Kreps: 

That's wonderful. So three times a year, for how long? Three days?

Mark Prater: 

We started Monday, about 11:00 AM, and ended on Thursday at about 11:00 AM. So it's a full schedule. 

Kind of a typical day during our retreat, we'll rent an Airbnb, so we'll just all stay in the same house. It's another chance just to be together. Just hang out together. We love that as well. We usually get started around 8:30 or 9:00. 

And we just begin by praying: Whether there's specific things we're praying for related to Sovereign Grace (typically we're praying for our pastors and churches and certain churches that are on our heart) and then we will meet and after prayer we'll just discuss items until about 4:30. We typically have lunch brought in. 

And about 4:30 we'll just take a break, just to clear our minds, do some exercise. Typically most of the guys go work out. And then we'll gather back together, usually about 6:00 and we'll go to dinner and we'll continue the meeting over dinner and we'll typically be meeting until 10:00. So it's a full day that has both, again, the relational and the strategic component to it.

Benjamin Kreps: 

That's great to hear that we have a fit, healthy Leadership Team. Everybody's working out. So what kinds of things did you talk about and cover and pray about over this past week?

Mark Prater: 

We had a really good retreat because we were able to take some time and just talk about big picture issues. So actually, the first session, I just take time to specifically encourage the Leadership Team. And then after that, we take some time to pray. 

And then this past retreat we just really answered the question: How do we move our family of churches forward in mission? What can we do as a Leadership Team? 

I asked each of the guys in the Leadership Team to answer that question and bring specific thoughts. And they had done a lot of work beforehand, and it was a really, really good conversation. 

Some of the ways that we answered that question were to refocus on church planting. We talked about how to focus not so much on the "how" of church planning, but the "why" of church planting. And because of the work that Ian McConnell did and the National Church Planting Group continues to do, we've got the "how" pretty much down now in terms of our process. What we really need to talk more about is why do we plant churches in more of an inspirational, vision casting way. 

We also talked about how do we make our pastors in our churches more aware of what's happening globally in Sovereign Grace. That alone, will stir us in mission. 

We talked about making evangelism more of a priority, and Mickey's leading us in some ways of doing that. So we just had a great conversation about that.

Benjamin Kreps:
That's wonderful. I know that Dave Taylor and I have been talking about possibly doing an Emerging Nations Team podcast to help assist in that, helping people to know what's going on globally.

Mark Prater:
Let me just encourage you to do that. Stop talking about it and do it actually. I've said that to the guys at the Leadership Team because the other thing that we talked about as a Leadership Team (especially we devoted to): the topic of how do we strengthen our influence and our leadership as a Leadership Team. 

So a couple of things we talked about: Beyond the Sovereign Grace website, we're going to have department websites. 

So church development: Mickey hopes to have that up by March 1st and the Pastors College website up by March 31st. It's going to have a bunch of new resources on it. And then beyond the podcast I'm doing and the Ordinary Pastor Podcast, I believe Jeff is going to start one fairly soon, which will be really, really good. So those are just some of the ways. 

So if you and Dave could do one on emerging nations, that would just add to the voices that will serve our pastors.

Benjamin Kreps:
Yeah. What we're aiming to do it. So look for that sometime soon when we can coordinate between Australia and Pennsylvania. We'll figure it out. 

So the important question you asked (just to end this conversation): You guys talked about why is it that we plant churches at Sovereign Grace? 

So give me the short answer: the elevator pitch. Why does Sovereign Grace plant churches? What was your conclusion as you talked about that at the retreat?

Mark Prater:
Our conclusion, which is really our heart, is to reach those who don't know Jesus Christ as their Savior with the good news of the gospel. That's ultimately why we plant churches: to see people born again through the preaching of the gospel, through local gospel outreach. 

And as you know, as you read through the New Testament, it happened through church planting. And really all of that should be for the glory of God. 

So it's not really about Sovereign Grace, in that sense. It really is about fulfilling the Great Commission that Christ has given us for the glory of God. And that's why we plant churches.

Benjamin Kreps:
Amen. Well, I think everybody watching this would also say amen to that and our shared mission together. So thank you Mark for leading our Leadership Team, for caring for them at that retreat. We are grateful for you. And to all our viewers, thanks for taking time to watch this podcast. God bless you. We'll see you next time. 

Transcript:

Benjamin Kreps:

Hey everyone, this is Ben Kreps. Welcome to the Mark Prater podcast where we aim to connect our global family of churches to our Executive Director. You may notice if you watched the last episode, we are still in California because we want to talk about one more thing while Mark is there. Hey Mark, we're a growing global family of churches, and across the world there are pastors who are contacting us and asking about exploring and joining Sovereign Grace, and we're sending men from the Emerging Nations Team all over the world. Who decides who goes where to interact with these pastors and to serve them?

Mark Prater:

Yeah, it's a great question. First of all, let me ask you guys a question. I think both of you along with Dave Taylor were in Liberia about a year ago. Tell us how that trip went.

Benjamin Kreps:

Eric, how do you think it went?

Eric Turbedsky:

Oh, man. I mean, it was my first time in Africa, first time in West Africa, first time in Liberia and I had been in a bunch of countries recently and Liberia was by far the most advanced in training and deploying pastors and planting churches. It was compelling and brought me to tears. I don't know how many times, just driving in the car hearing stories of how guys, particularly Dyona, as he leads a group of churches (and then you might say he is our primary contact). Hearing him and his wife's story and how they've laid down their lives made me want to move to Liberia. Or at least leave you there in Liberia.

Benjamin Kreps:

You guys tried to leave me there. Dave Taylor was looking for an apartment for me.

Eric Turbedsky:

Yeah. Somehow Dave Taylor, you and I went and Dave and I had an ulterior motive. We were hoping to make you be the apostle to Liberia.

Mark Prater:

Ben, how did you get that title, apostle to Liberia, by the way?

Benjamin Kreps:

Well, I gave it to myself.

Mark Prater:

You gave it to yourself. Okay. That's always the best way.

Benjamin Kreps:

I was christened that by Dave Taylor.

Eric Turbedsky:

You've been in contact with Dyona more recently. What is the 15 second highlight? What's going on?

Benjamin Kreps:

I mean, I had phone call with him this morning. I'm taking another group of guys back in March actually, in a couple of months. We're headed back. This time, we're going to do a pastors training, equipping pastors with marriage and family. So Dyona's bringing back something like 50 to 80 guys who just graduated from his Grace College. So there could be 150 (pastors and a bunch of wives) where we're going to be able to invest in marriages, just teaching on things that are not taught on at all really, throughout Liberia. So we're getting excited about that opportunity.

Mark Prater:

That's great.

Benjamin Kreps:

It's quite something to be around Dyona and see what he's doing bi-vocationally (because he works another job) where he is teaching biblical theology, reformed theology, expositional preaching, in a context where it's almost all prosperity gospel. And these men, we're teaching them things about gospel-centered ministry that they've never heard. And just to watch them come alive to it is not to be missed in my view.

Mark Prater:

That's great. Thanks for going. Thanks for going back. I'll be praying for you.

Benjamin Kreps:

It's my joy. Pray for Dyona as well. We're taking him through the ordination process, and he's making progress in that. We're hoping at some point in the near future, the next few years maybe, to see Sovereign Grace Liberia.

Mark Prater:

That'd be so cool.

Benjamin Kreps:

So Eric and I went, and a number of other guys have traveled. Who does decide who's going to travel and be a part of Emerging Nations, Mark?

Mark Prater:

Well first of all, it's not me. I don't decide those things. There are a couple of ways that that plays out.

(Cross-talk)

Benjamin Kreps:

They'll let anybody go apparently… It doesn't appear that there's any leadership happening here because I was invited to go…

Mark Prater:

That works. It's just very organic. It just kind of happens, man.

Eric Turbedsky:

We're just texting you from Liberia. Hey Mark, by the way, I'm in Liberia.

Mark Prater:

That's how I learned. Um, no, it plays out a couple of ways. First, through the leadership of Dave Taylor, who's our Director of Emerging Nations. What Dave has really taken initiative to do is to form an Emerging Global Nations Team that I think has captured the right guys who can serve in different countries. But he's able to find those guys because they themselves are taking initiative towards Dave or someone that they may know (another pastor, for example, in another nation), and just begin to build a relationship with them. So for example, I was just in Annapolis, Maryland with Ed Omera. He's been building relationships with pastors in Italy. And because of his initiative, we're able to have a doorway open to us where at least two churches there are interested in forming a partnership with Sovereign Grace. So I would say it's our pastors initiative and it's the leadership of Dave Taylor.

Benjamin Kreps:

Wonderful. And Dave is doing a remarkable job.

Eric Turbedsky:

Can I ask you a question? Mark if there's somebody out there, one of the guys watching the podcast, and he's thinking, hey, I'd like to get involved, I'd like to figure out how I fit into this, what do they do?

Mark Prater:

There are a couple of things you can do. First of all, as you express your desire, is there a particular part of the world that you are burdened for or would love to serve? And when you reach out to Dave Taylor, which would be the next step, email Dave Taylor and tell him you want to serve anywhere, but you have a particular burden for particular part of the world. Let them know that too. And he'll begin to interact with you and figure out: Is there a way that you can be deployed in serving what we're doing globally?

Benjamin Kreps:

Excellent.

Eric Turbedsky:

Can I add too? I think one of the most encouraging things on my end (now I'm not traveling with Emerging Nations as much as I was in the past)… but a really cool innovation in Sovereign Grace churches has been the local church's ownership of the mission. So instead of being centrally funded and coordinated, you have a guy who calls Dave and says, I'm willing to serve. Where can I go? Most, if not all the guys that are traveling right now internationally, their local church is funding their travel and their expenses. And they're committing regular time. It's not just a one off, but they're saying, I'll put a couple of weeks a year into this and so many dollars out of our budget. That's been encouraging to watch local churches step up and say we're going to own this (and more than, you know, send us somewhere). We're actually going to fund this thing. We're going to get behind it. And that has been really encouraging.

Mark Prater:

I think that approach strengthens partnership overall. Because a lot of our partnership in Sovereign Grace is among pastors. And we're trying to figure out, how do we have our members enjoy aspects of our partnership more? I think that's one of them. Once a church hears that, for example, you, Ben are going to Liberia and they're funding some of that, they can't wait for you to get back and give a report. They're much more invested into--and tied into--our mission outside of the United in ways that we're advancing the gospel, so that even though they may never go to Liberia, they feel like they're a part.

Benjamin Kreps:

Excellent. That's so true. And to be able to stand in front of my church (as I did last year and I'll do again this year) and commend the church for supporting me to be able to go to Liberia brings a lot of joy to the folks in our church, that they know that they played a part in training pastors in Liberia. So amen to all that.

Mark Prater:

Thanks for going again, man.

Benjamin Kreps:

I'm looking forward to it. All right, well thanks for taking time to watch the podcast. Hope this was helpful to all of you. God bless you, and we'll see you next time.

Transcript:

Benjamin Kreps:

Hey everyone, this is Ben Kreps. Welcome to the Mark Prater podcast where we aim to connect our global family of churches to our Executive Director. Hey Mark, that looks beautiful wherever you are right now. Now I understand you're in California because the Executive Director likes a cush job hanging out Cali, right? What are you doing?

Mark Prater:

It's January in Pennsylvania, so I thought I should be here.

Benjamin Kreps:

What are you doing there?

Mark Prater:

I'm in California because I'm spending time with this guy, Eric Turbedsky. And I think most of you know, Eric is our Director of Communications. That's a non-Leadership Team Director role. I don't get as much time with those guys as I do with the guys on the Leadership Team. So I try to get with them once or twice a year. Not to really tell them what to do. The way I kind of just lead is I'm not a micromanager. I want to get the right guys in the right position and then give them direction and let them do their thing. And Eric is doing that very, very well. And so I'm out here spending time mostly learning from him, rather than telling him what to do.

Benjamin Kreps:

How are you doing, Eric?

Eric Turbedsky:

Doing good. It's been a good week of taking Mark surfing... No. Mark's right. You're not a micromanager, but it is really encouraging to get a drop-in even in the middle of January from Mark and just spend time with my wife and spend time with our team and just care for us. It's really encouraging to spend time with Mark.

Benjamin Kreps:

That's wonderful. And, Mark, you said you're not a micromanager. So what is your leadership philosophy as you connect with Directors and Leadership Team members? 

Mark Prater:

First of all, just overall, I'm representing the Leadership Team in this. We just see ourselves as men who exist on a team to serve our pastors and our churches. I know that term "servant leadership" gets overused, but that's really our heart and our desire. So part of my reason for even being here with Eric is to serve, as he mentioned, he and Kirsi and his team while I'm here. And we want to do that consistently in the way that we lead overall. But in terms of just working with other leaders in Sovereign Grace, whether they've got a Director role that's not on the Leadership Team or they're on the Leadership Team, I really do just want to get the right guys in the right place, and just serve them. So I can be a servant leader to them, giving them what they need, to get what needs to be done to serve our churches and our pastors. And again, I think Eric's just doing a great job of that.

Eric Turbedsky:

Can I ask how often are you on a plane just visiting with a guy (and a couple) who serve in Sovereign Grace churches?

Mark Prater:

Probably, if you throw our pastors in there, so they're not necessarily on a Leadership Team, I'd say probably a couple of times a month.

Eric Turbedsky:

Wow.

Mark Prater:

Yeah, you're welcome.

Benjamin Kreps:

Wonderful. So we're still figuring out our polity a little bit, with the first-generation Leadership Team and guys moving on and off of that Leadership Team. What do you see for the future of the Leadership Team? How that's gonna play out going forward?

Mark Prater:

I'll give you my thoughts, and keep in mind that I work in concert with the Executive Committee. So on these thoughts that I'm going to give you, the Executive Committee would need to really approve and agree with it, because they have the authority to assemble and to determine who's on the Leadership Team and who might go off the Leadership Team. So I just want to recognize the authority of our Book of Church Order and the Council of Elders in particular, especially in this case through the Executive Committee. 

But we made a change a few years ago as most of the guys know where we've got Directors who have defined responsibility on the Leadership Team. And then we also have Directors who are not on the Leadership Team. So for instance: our decision a couple years ago for Bob to step off of the Leadership Team even though he remains the Director of Sovereign Grace Music. I think it was a really strategic decision because he's just flourishing in that role where he can focus on Sovereign Grace Music. 

So as I think about the future, I think that the Leadership Team will have Directors that will have a defined responsibility, like a Director of Theology role that Jeff has. But I think we're going to begin to add on guys who've got some defined responsibility, but they may not have a complete sort of department responsibility. And their role is to be a strategic thinker and a strategic leader, a strategist in that sense. I think that will help us move forward in mission: to get the right strategic leaders on our team as well. So I think that's probably our next step if the Executive Committee agrees with that.

Benjamin Kreps:

So how do you think about evaluating and identifying men to be part of that leadership going forward?

Benjamin Kreps:

You're asking, how would I identify who should be on the Leadership Team?

Benjamin Kreps:

That's right. So it probably has something to do with tithing directly to you? That's part of it?

Mark Prater:

Right, exactly. Of course. That's at the top of my list, obviously. No, I'm looking at guys as I get to know them, and the context of this plays out more relationally than anything else. But as I spend time around our pastors and I'm watching them lead their church or I'm watching them bring initiative and leadership within their region, there are just certain guys that seem to me to think strategically. And they bring a strategic pastoral leadership in a way that seems to stand out. And those are the guys I try to get to know a little bit more and spend time with to see if they could potentially serve on a leadership team.

Benjamin Kreps:
So in the past we were an apostolic movement. And now we are not. But we still believe in the function of apostle (small "a"). So does that function in your thinking as well as you're considering guys?

Mark Prater:
It does.You know, we're elder-led, so we're no longer an official apostolic movement, if you can say it that way. But we believe that the gift of apostolic ministry is so important to our future in the way that we both plant and care for and strengthen and build churches. 

And so they're guys that obviously have that gift and may or may not be on a leadership team. There are guys that I think they're on a leadership team now that have that gift. I think Mickey is one of those. But there are guys that may not ever serve on the leadership team that are functioning that way. Some of our regional leaders I think do that really well. Oh, Rick Gamosh comes to mind as a guy who I think has an apostolic gift.

Benjamin Kreps:
Wonderful. Well thanks for taking some time in sunny California to fill us in on what you're up to and your thoughts about the leadership team. And I think somebody just ran past and maybe you can go join them for a little jog.

Mark Prater:
Alright. Great, we'll do that.

Benjamin Kreps:
Thanks for taking time everyone to watch this podcast. Hope it was helpful. God bless you, and we'll see you next time.

Transcript:

Benjamin Kreps:

Hey everyone, my name is Ben Kreps. I'm the Lead Pastor at Living Hope Church, a Sovereign Grace Church in Middletown, Pennsylvania. I'd like to welcome you back to this podcast where our goal is to help connect our global family of churches with our executive director Mark Prater. How are you Mark?

Mark Prater:

I'm doing great man. How you doing?

Benjamin Kreps:

Doing great. Last year on November 4th at our Council of Elders, you gave our State of the Union address. We're not gonna actually getting the specifics of that. We'll put a link in the transcript. You can click cause it's actually on the Sovereign Grace Church blog. But the Book of Church Order mandates that you give a State of the Union address at our Council of Elders each year and you do, which is wonderful. But I wanted to ask you, how do you approach the task of writing that State of the Union each year and formulating your hopes and prayers and vision for Sovereign Grace in the year ahead.

Mark Prater:

Yeah, it's something I love doing each year since I've been the executive director. The Book of Church Order doesn't really give any specifics on what the State of Union should be. So being the first Executive Director, I really got to make it up basically. And I really wanted it to be encouraging, so I include a number of updates that are intended to encourage our pastors as well as communicate that we are truly a global family of churches. So the updates that I give are from different parts of the world, but I also wanted the State of the Union to be inspirational in nature, so that it would cast vision for our future. So when we left the Council of Elders meeting and then the Pastor's Conference that follows that there's a sense of vision casting that's happened and that our pastors and our churches are filled with vision walking into the new year.

Benjamin Kreps:

Yeah, so what about the nuts and bolts? So is this something that you're working on? You probably are working on this like on the plane and Orlando, I'm just assuming, but maybe not. So, uh, so what does it look like for you--your process of thinking through what you're going to be presenting to us at the council?

Mark Prater:

Well, the way I've approached it (I'm sure it can be different for different guys that will be in this role), but the way I approach it is I'm actually thinking about it throughout the year. I've already put in some thought to what I might even say in fall of 2020 at our Council of Elders meeting. And the reason I do that is as we go throughout our year, as I visit our churches, as I've talked to our pastors and even to the members of our churches, I'm just making notes of sort of the state of where we're at as a family of churches and from my perspective where we need to grow or how I can inspire us to continue on in gospel ministry. So this last State of the Union that I gave in November, I think I wrote the original draft in July, just to kind of get it down on paper, knowing that by November it may need to change some because of situations that would change in Sovereign Grace. But I actually wrote it several months before.

Benjamin Kreps:

You do visit a lot of churches. So you're going around, you're interacting with pastors and you're prayerfully thinking for months actually what you want to present to us at that Council of Elders.

Mark Prater:

Right. I am. Yeah.

Benjamin Kreps:

So do you get input on what you're going to say?

Mark Prater:

I do. One of the things I've done each year is I go to the Executive Committee retreat and I present them a draft version of the State of Union. I don't fully deliver it; I just kind of give them an abbreviated version and then they spend time giving me a lot of input. So that's nine guys on the Executive Committee giving me input. And I've always found that their input has really helped me improve it so that what I give in November is better than what I gave them in August.

Benjamin Kreps:

So they're not just rubber stamping. They're actually giving their thoughts to help sharpen and improve what it is that you're writing.

Mark Prater:

Their changes are represented in it. Even some of their own quotes are represented in it, and I really feel like they, they improve it. So it's a team effort in that regard.

Benjamin Kreps:

So it's the new year. And you had six exhortations to us in that State of the Union address last year. See the beauty of the glory of Christ, see the transforming power of the gospel, see the beauty of reaching the nations, see the beauty of God's provision, see the hope of future generations, see the beauty of our unity in Christ, which is all wonderful. We would all say amen to that. But if you could add or sort of crystallize a thought, one brief thing that you want to leave Sovereign Grace Churches pastors with as we enter into this new year and think about the year ahead, what would that be?

Mark Prater:

I think I would say this: I would say continue to faithfully preach Christ. And do that with even more faith that your preaching of the gospel every Sunday, of you reaching out to unbelievers in your community throughout the week. and hopefully having opportunities to share the gospel, doing that with a renewed faith or a strengthened faith of the gospel's power to save. As I approach the new year, one of my big prayers for Sovereign Grace is that we would reach the lost and people would be born again, and that the greatest miracle of regeneration that we will ever know would happen through the ministry of our churches. So be faithful brothers to preach Christ, and believe people will be saved.

Benjamin Kreps:

Amen. Thanks Mark. And as you're working on your thoughts already for this upcoming fall we look forward to hearing from you again at our State of the Union address at the Council of Elders in November. Hopefully I'll talk to you before then. Actually, I think next week. So everybody, thanks for taking some time to watch this podcast. God bless all of you and goodbye until we meet next time.

Transcript:

Benjamin Kreps:
Welcome back to Mark Prater's video podcast. My name is Ben Kreps. I'm the host and Lead Pastor of Living Hope Church, Sovereign Grace Church in Middletown, Pennsylvania. And today we're talking about Christmas. Merry Christmas, Mark. 



Mark Prater:
Merry Christmas Ben. 



Benjamin Kreps:
So I want to give you an opportunity to share some thoughts and encouragement for Sovereign Grace Pastors. It's an opportunity to hear from you about what we're navigating through in a very busy Christmas season. So what kinds of things have you seen in different Sovereign Grace Churches that you've enjoyed? Just to highlight perhaps a few different practices that might inspire or encourage us as we think through the Christmas season. 



Mark Prater:
Our churches do a number of different things during the Christmas season. So I would say most of our churches do a Christmas Eve service, which is a wonderful way to have people in your church who may not normally come to church. But there are some other churches that do some things that are related to Advent. They're very intentional about Advent. So Cornerstone Church in Knoxville has something called Lessons and Carols where during the singing of songs they bring a specific aspect of the advent that they want to highlight for the church throughout December. 



Benjamin Kreps:
Each sermon based on a Christmas Carol? Is that why it's called that?



Mark Prater:
I don't know. I don't know the answer to that. I don't think so. Uh, I think it's more recognizing and tying truth to a specific song they're probably singing during, during that. 

And then in Sovereign Grace Church in, in Marlton, New Jersey has Songs for the Savior that they have and they're actually preaching one of five songs each Sunday in December five Sundays that relate to the advent. And then on their website they give specific lists of resources their members can access for advent. 

So you see some churches emphasize Advent and specifically the meaning of Advent. Which is so, so important. 

Here at my church at Covenant Fellowship Church we obviously have a Christmas Eve service, but we do a Christmas concert every year. We just had this past weekend and there's all kinds of people that come in from the community that we don't typically see. 

It's just a fun time for the church. 

And we also do a ministry called boxes of love, where we feed probably around 300 people in our community that are in need. They're poor folks that we're just looking to care for. So members can pick up empty boxes and they fill it with a list of food. And then we typically add something like a frozen turkey to it. And then those people are invited to come to our church and pick up that food on a Saturday if they're able to. We'll also deliver it to them. But we like to bring him to the church just to help them get inside and become comfortable here.



Benjamin Kreps:
That's great. So I think it was, I saw a video clip from your Christmas concert where the lights were out and there were glow sticks and techno music or something playing. 



Mark Prater:
Yeah. That was great. It was crazy. 



Benjamin Kreps:
I didn't immediately think of Christmas, but it looked like a lot of fun. 



Mark Prater:
Exactly. 



Benjamin Kreps:
So how would you encourage pastors when it comes to thinking through how to steward the Christmas season, which is such a big deal in our culture? There are many opportunities as every pastor is aware. A lot of churches in Sovereign Grace are smaller churches and so maybe there aren't Christmas concerts and dynamic programs. Maybe it is just a simple emphasis on the Sunday before because they can't even use the facility on Christmas Eve. But how would you want to encourage the pastors in Sovereign Grace during this Christmas season? 



Mark Prater:
Well, my first encouragement is actually to thank each of our pastors for working hard during the Christmas season. For most folks, life can slow down a bit during the Christmas season. That's not true of pastors. Life is very busy for a number of different reasons, especially up and through Christmas day. You may maybe get some time off after Christmas, but you're working very hard this time of year in ways that most people I don't think see or realize. But the Lord sees, and I believe he's pleased. And I just want you to know my heartfelt appreciation. 

I think the second thought is, and this is not a new thought, but just the opportunity that we have to reach people during this time of year who don't normally enter into a church. 



Mark Prater:
They don't come to church, but they'll come to Christmas Eve service or you can't have a Christmas Eve service they'll come to Sunday after Sunday before they call them Christmas. 



Benjamin Kreps:
They call them Chreasters: Christmas and Easter. 



Mark Prater:
That's right. The Chreasters. But don't miss the point that there's gonna be somebody that's going to come to your church and they're there out of duty maybe. They're there because their family brought them. Don't miss the fact that the spirit can work and do the work of regeneration while you're preaching the gospel either on a Sunday or on Christmas Eve. Pray big prayers that God would save the lost during this Christmas season. I think there are other Chreasters and they're looking for a place to rest at this time of year because life has been hard. Maybe this year has been hard for them and they're wanting to find a place where there's real community and love and peace. Your church will provide that cause Sovereign Grace Churches are like that. Look for the person who's looking for a respite and welcome them into your church family. 



Benjamin Kreps:
And you don't need to be a big church or have some dynamic program. Just your church being a gospel light and a place of unity and love is sufficient for God to use that church to draw people to himself. 



Mark Prater:
So true. 



Benjamin Kreps:
Well, I really appreciate how Twitter you just, I don't know if it's every day, but regularly you post how you're praying for our churches and specifically about opportunities we have with unbelievers. So thank you Mark for your prayers, and we'll be looking expectantly, as your prayers are joined to ours in this Christmas season, about what God will aim to accomplish in and through our churches. So thanks for your thoughts, Mark. 



Mark Prater:
All right, Merry Christmas everyone. Jesus came and we've got to celebrate that. So Merry Christmas.

Mark Prater: 
Merry Christmas. See you man.

Transcript:

Ben Kreps:

So we're welcoming everybody to another episode of Mark Prater's video podcast. I should comment for the small group of faithful pastors who've been following your podcast that the podcast has a new host, which is me, and my name is Ben Kreps. I'm the lead pastor of Living Hope Church in Middletown, Pennsylvania. It's been a Sovereign Grace Church for 30-something years. 

I don't know if guys are aware (I imagine they are) that Eric Turbedsky was hosting this. He's a fairly busy guy with a number of responsibilities. And so, I have a little bit of experience hosting a podcast of my own called The Gospel Culture Podcast. You can Google it (you'd find it with my name) for about half a year or so, and we thought, why not give it a shot and free Eric up and I can host it. So here we are. How are you Mark?

Mark Prater:

Good, I'm doing great. I'm so excited about you hosting this podcast. Tell me why you started your Gospel Culture Podcast. And are you seeing the results of what you hope for?

Ben Kreps:

Yeah, I'll be really brief. Eric warned me about you that you'll try to turn things back around, because you didn't want to talk about yourself. But we want to talk about you. 

Basically, the reality is, I mean if you pull up to a red light and look at the people all around you, they're just on their phones. Everybody's looking down at their phones. So we had a desire to meet people where they live, which is on their phone. And podcasts, I'm a big fan of podcasts. So it's an opportunity for me to serve my church and anybody else who wants to listen in, talking about a variety of things connected to what it means to live a gospel-centered life, and to look at life and ministry through the lens of the gospel. 

It's not setting the world on fire, but I have folks in my church that communicate appreciation for episodes here and there, and that they found it helpful. So it's working the way I was hoping it would.

So, on a sad note, we had a loss in the Sovereign Grace Family recently, and we wanted pastors to get an update so they would understand what's going on. So why don't you share that Mark.

Mark Prater:

Yeah, I sent out an email a few days ago, which maybe most of our pastors read, but Erin Radano has been my administrative assistant, in a very capable sense for probably at least 10 years now. And her husband Chris: We prayed for Chris and Erin two years ago at our pastors conference when he was fairly early diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. And then this past year at our pastors conference, Erin wasn't able to come. And we prayed for them there as well. He passed away on Thanksgiving morning. Chris ran a good race for Christ in this life. And he finished well. 

We just had his Memorial service on Saturday here at Covenant Fellowship Church. And I would say it obviously had moments of sorrow and moments of joy. We are sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, as Scripture talks about. But it was also, I believe, one of the most Christ-exalting memorial services I've been a part of, because that's what Chris wanted. 

And actually one of the moving aspects of the service was Chris wrote a letter that Jim Donahue read and he addressed his family, extended family, people in the pastoral team. He talked to Erin. And it was very moving and a reflection of Chris's heart for not only his family, but his church family. So we miss him. 

Eric and the girls are doing well overall, enjoying the support of our church family here. But pray for them. They're just grieving. They miss their husband and their father. So thank you for asking and thanks for praying.

Ben Kreps:

Yeah, well, I mean, if anybody's been around Sovereign Grace for any length of time they have in some way been served by Erin, whether they know it or not. Certainly very sad, but like you said, how wonderful that he's with Christ and his testimony continues.

So one of the things that I wanted the other other pastors at Sovereign Grace to be able to know about is just simply some of your background. I'm sure most of us know pieces here and there. But I personally don't think I know the story of how you even became a pastor, much less the Executive Director. So just to situate people (this is the beginning of the podcast). 

We've done a couple of episodes. Eric hosted those. We've done a few, but now it's going broader after a time of feedback (when we changed your camera so that we're not looking up your nose). But in order to give some context to all of this: The purpose of this podcast is for pastors to feel a connection with you and hear your heart. And so in order to give context to that, I thought it would be helpful to just share for a few minutes about your story. So how did you become a pastor?

Mark Prater:

Thanks for asking, Ben. I still can't believe I'm a pastor. It's still a stunning thought. I'm a pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church, which is in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, a western suburb of Philadelphia. Jill and I and our three girls walked through the doors of Covenant Fellowship in September of 1990 and have been a part of Sovereign Grace since that time: 30 years next year. 

We had moved from the Midwest, which is where we're from. I was working for a pharmaceutical company at the time and I moved out here and had taken a different position within that company. A friend at that company invited me to church, and Jill and our girls came, and this has been our church home for obviously a long time now. 

We came here as Christians, as believers, but for different reasons (especially with my own heart and life) really marked by selfish ambition. I was not really following Christ in the way that Scripture commands us to. And what happened is that I heard preaching that was good expository preaching, but also helped me apply the gospel to my life. That along with the work of the Spirit that was convicting me of my pride and my selfish ambition, and the fellowship of the saints that we were enjoying here through our small group ministry, really what it led to was for me to make some changes within my career that allowed me to keep working for the company, but essentially what I did is I stepped off of the corporate climb. 

That was just a good thing for me, still not thinking about ministry. And just over the course of time, just something stirring inside of me, I would say maybe first a heart for and a love for the local church, my calling kind of emerged out of that first. And then I began to wonder about being called. And I didn't even really understand what all that meant. So I talked to the pastors here and they kind of looked at me and knew I wasn't ready for ministry. 

And then I just was in different discipleship groups (one led by Allen Redrow, one led by Dave Harvey), and over the course of a few years, I was really looking for external confirmation to this internal sense that I was called. And that was essentially determined. And that led to me planting a church in 1996.

Ben Kreps:

Was that in Pittsburg?

Mark Prater:

It was. We were sent here from Covenant Fellowship with, I think it was about 10 or 12 adults and a handful of kids to plant in Pittsburgh: Providence Church. That church is still there, no longer a part of Sovereign Grace. We thought in moving there we would spend the rest of our lives there. But the Lord had different plans and we moved back here in 2002, where I became the Executive Pastor here at Covenant Fellowship Church.

Ben Kreps:

And then all of that windy road ended up for you becoming the Executive Director of Sovereign Grace. So I mean, why did you want to be the Executive Director so badly?

Mark Prater:

Exactly! (Laughter) Whoever thought, I mean, let's be honest, whoever thought that I would be the Executive Director. Let's start there. Something I never wanted. It really is like this: In 2011-2012 when we've just had all kinds of things going on with Brent's accusations and the civil suits, bullets were just flying everywhere. It felt like that. And I think at some point the Permanent Board had the thought of: Who is dumb enough to take this role?

Ben Kreps:

And your name immediately sprung to mind.

Mark Prater:

Yeah, Prater's coming up to do this, so...

Ben Kreps:

Yeah. Well, I think I can speak for all the other pastors at Sovereign Grace about how grateful we are that you've agreed to become the Executive Director. You've done an outstanding job. You've served us so well, helping us navigate through a very stormy season--a number of years--into calmer waters. And you continue to serve us. So I'm personally grateful. I imagine all the other pastors at Sovereign Grace would also want to communicate that gratitude to you.

So here's the deal. It's a short podcast and we're done. That's the deal. So the plan will be to do a weekly podcast like this, about eight minutes long, something like that, where we'll give you an opportunity to share thoughts about Sovereign Grace and what you see and how you would want to connect and encourage the pastors. So we'll plan on doing another one next week.

Mark Prater:

Great. Looking forward to it.

Ben Kreps:

Yeah, looking forward to it. See you then.

If you have questions or comments, Mark, would love to hear from you. For more videos like this, hit subscribe on YouTube or by email at markkprater.com.