New Around the Mission

Priest Helps Fulfills Simeon Fellowship’s Goal of Raising Up Young Leaders

September 13, 2011

Last summer, the Rev. Keith Allen of Holy Trinity in Jackson, Mississippi, took action to develop young Anglican leaders for ministry through the Simeon Fellowship—a collaborative effort between theAM and church planting organization Anglican 1000 to raise up the next generation of leaders. Begun in 2010 and hosting its annual meeting this month, the Simeon Fellowship is a group of pastors committed to nurturing young leaders through peer-to-peer relationships.

“As a part of my partnership with them in that effort, our church had a Simeon Fellow over the summer for three months,” Keith says.

Keith met his Simeon Fellow, Philip, seven years ago in a coffee shop when Philip was a student at Virginia Tech. Now a student at Westminster Seminary, Philip joined Holy Trinity over the summer to head up a summer scholars program at In His Steps, a ministry for at-risk kids in nearby Canton, and to learn more about the day-to-day life of a priest. He spent half his days leading remedial studies and devotions at In His Steps, and the rest of them at Holy Trinity.

“Phil and I would meet once a week, and I had him reading books about pastoral ministry like Richard Baxter’s The Reformed Pastor,” Keith says. “We talked a lot about what it looks like to be a pastor. I felt like he was getting a lot of head skills [at school] and I was trying to help him with his heart and hands.”

Keith and his wife also met weekly with Philip and his wife to discuss preparing for the weight of a priestly ministry and how to deal with the pressures of shepherding such as “biting sheep.” Keith also taught Philip about prioritizing his family despite the demands of the parish. Philip attended vestry meetings, assisted with the preaching schedule, and helped prepare for Sunday mornings.

“When he got ready to leave, the most significant thing he learned about being a pastor was loving people,” Keith says. “He said he understood the difference between being a preacher and a pastor, preparing a sermon and shepherding sheep.”

Seeing these results, Keith believes even more in the Simeon Fellowship’s goal of training young leaders for ministry and church planting. This fall, he welcomes a second Fellow, a Reformed Theological Seminary student, to Holy Trinity, and plans to host a third next summer.

“This format is something the Lord put on my heart because when I came into pastoral ministry, I didn’t have anyone to minister to me,” Keith recalls. “It was, ‘Go plant this church and figure out what it means to be an Anglican.’ I want to help guys with solid biblical educations understand the priesthood, what it means to be a priest in an Anglican parish. I hope I can encourage other pastors to envision mentoring the next generation of leaders as well.”

Learn more at Holy Trinity.

Posted By: Cynthia P. Brust
Categories: Discipleship