Philippians 2:19-30  ¹⁹ I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you.  ²⁰ I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare.  ²¹ For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.  ²² But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel.  ²³ I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me.  ²⁴ And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon.  ²⁵ But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs.  ²⁶ For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill.  ²⁷ Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.  ²⁸ Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety.  ²⁹ Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor men like him,  ³⁰ because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.

 “Success without a successor is a failure.” - John Maxwell

Even as we celebrate the mothers’ day and parent’s Sunday it is amazing how it coincides with our message today about the Joy of team ministry.  I think the spiritual significance of mothers’ day, and parents’ Sunday for that matter, is about legacy. Which legacy do we want to leave behind? As I interact with Christians in this country they tell of the strong Christian legacy that was left by the spiritual forefathers of this country. There are many stories of how they stood uncompromisingly for their faith in Jesus Christ, refusing to bow down to the Shinto gods. Rev Ki-Cheol Chu is one such example. Even in the face for intense persecution and eventual martyrdom he stood for the name of Jesus Christ.

As we remember this great family month let it not be another May that comes and goes but let it give us tome to reflect – “what legacy am I to leave behind?” Remember we are making our future now. John Maxwell said, that “Success without a successor is a failure.”

In our passage today we see Paul ministry and some of the people he was working with. Paul was nor a loner. In fact in almost every letter he wrote to the churches there were a long list of his ministry associates – people he identified as his ministry partners.

One such person was Timothy. He many times referred to him as “my son.”  Paul mentored and nurtured Timothy to be the next-generation leader. No wonder he gave his a charge in 2 Timothy 2:2   And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.

Someone said that in life we nee three kinds of people:

A Mentor – Some one who has gone ahead of us and has more wisdom and spiritual insight than us to guide us and show us the way - our fathers and mothers in the faith, so to speak. Timothy had Paul as his father in the faith.

A Colleague – a spiritual buddy – one we can lean on and their shoulder. Someone to whom we go with the unedited – raw versions of ourselves. Someone with whom we grow in the faith. Paul had Barnabas, and in this passage we see Epaphroditus playing that role.

A spiritual son or daughter – or someone we are nurturing in the faith. Paul had Timothy.

How are we preparing for the next-generation Christianity in this country and the places where God is sending us?

We need to seriously ask – do I have these kinds of three people in my life:

-          A Paul - mentor

-          An Epathroditus – a buddy

-          A Timothy – spiritual child