What Is 25 to Life About?
One of the ways the Gospel is spreading in northern New England is through pastoral families who commit to serving their communities for a long time, similar to the commitment of missionaries. This type of ministry has joys and challenges and 25 to Life exists to encourage and support families as they work through these particular challenges.
The name "25 to Life" was inspired by a conversation with a pastor (who also works in a prison) who said he figured he had 25 years or the rest of his life to give to his community. "25 to Life" is how a life sentence is sometimes described in our penal system and since Jesus desires that we give our lives to him (Mark 8:34-38) and we desire to be "prisoners" for Christ (2 Tim 1:6-9) it seemed an appropriate identifier for our endeavor.
We welcome anyone at the beginning, middle or end of their long-term ministry.
We welcome anyone in the process of considering a long-term commitment.
We welcome anyone with a love for the people and culture of northern New England, and a desire to see the people here come to faith in Jesus Christ. We are not denomination specific.
We welcome and encourage spouses to attend our events, since a long-term ministry commitment involves the entire family. Childcare is often provided at our events.
We want to foster connections between pastoral families who have made or are in the process of considering long-term commitments.
We want to be effective in reaching our stony northern New England communities for Jesus; knowing it takes longer than the 7-10 year average length of far too many pastorates.
We want to learn from excellent examples of effective ministry in our regional culture so that we understand the benefits and requirements of such a ministry.
We want to encourage and support one another as we work for His kingdom.
Our prayer is for God to raise up a generation of church leaders committed to the difficult work of sticking with their churches through an entire lifetime of spiritual challenge and growth.
The name "25 to Life" was inspired by a conversation with a pastor (who also works in a prison) who said he figured he had 25 years or the rest of his life to give to his community. "25 to Life" is how a life sentence is sometimes described in our penal system and since Jesus desires that we give our lives to him (Mark 8:34-38) and we desire to be "prisoners" for Christ (2 Tim 1:6-9) it seemed an appropriate identifier for our endeavor.
We welcome anyone at the beginning, middle or end of their long-term ministry.
We welcome anyone in the process of considering a long-term commitment.
We welcome anyone with a love for the people and culture of northern New England, and a desire to see the people here come to faith in Jesus Christ. We are not denomination specific.
We welcome and encourage spouses to attend our events, since a long-term ministry commitment involves the entire family. Childcare is often provided at our events.
We want to foster connections between pastoral families who have made or are in the process of considering long-term commitments.
We want to be effective in reaching our stony northern New England communities for Jesus; knowing it takes longer than the 7-10 year average length of far too many pastorates.
We want to learn from excellent examples of effective ministry in our regional culture so that we understand the benefits and requirements of such a ministry.
We want to encourage and support one another as we work for His kingdom.
Our prayer is for God to raise up a generation of church leaders committed to the difficult work of sticking with their churches through an entire lifetime of spiritual challenge and growth.
Family Retreat May 2015
