Leaders of Beacon church Jonathan and Paige Squirrell are stepping down from their role at the end of this year to work in a freelance capacity to equip people for Christian ministry.
The couple planted Beacon, located in Bacton, North East Norfolk, in 2009. While they are stepping down as senior leaders, they will remain involved at the church. Jonathan said, “We feel excited about this new opportunity. It’s the end of our leadership role at Beacon, but not the end of our time there. We are looking to the Lord and feel it’s God’s timing to move on.”
Jonathan is an accredited minister with the Baptist Union and he and Paige have always worked together as a team. They are convinced that church growth comes from an understanding of Word and Spirit, based firmly on the foundation of the Bible, when people are open to the supernatural leading and empowering of the Spirit of God.
One of the most significant initiatives Jonathan and Paige started while at Beacon was the School of Supernatural Life. It is the principles taught here that informed the Squirrells’ next step. Their ministry is focused on equipping and releasing people, for example into prayer ministry and seeing miracles released.
Moving to a freelance role will enable Jonathan and Paige to work with other churches, organisations and individuals. The move is a leap of faith for the couple; they feel it is right to step down from stipended ministry and trust God to provide the finances they need. When they encourage other people to model something different, it helps if they are not full time paid staff themselves.
Jonathan said, “God has prepared us for this. He has given us perspective in leadership roles. We are here to work ourselves out of a role!”
Jonathan said, “We have a strong conviction that God wants to work in the small as well as in the large.” In the face of current covid restrictions, the focus on small groups and meeting online is particularly pertinent. Some churches are considering changes such as whether they need a building and full time paid staff. Jonathan said, “If you have a small church with small groups, then every person has got to be equipped and released.”
Jonathan and Paige have set up a website, Kingdom Breakthrough, which offers resources, coaching and the opportunity to belong to a sharing and learning community. Churches and groups who would benefit from training in a specific area can request bespoke sessions according to their needs. Years of experience as church leaders – Jonathan is currently a moderator for Fakenham Baptist Church during the interregnum period – enables them to provide the perspective and understanding of church structures to get alongside churches and leadership teams.
Jonathan will be speaking at Norwich Central Baptist Church’s online services in the New Year. He said, “Our heart for Norwich is to be all it can be. It’s been a hard year. People need to know that it’s possible to keep going.”
www.kingdombreakthrough.org/
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Helen Baldry, 25/11/2020
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