As the Kingdom advances, so do changes in the ministry staff for the Southern Connecticut Church of Christ. Here is some exciting news about our staff teams.
Experienced Leadership
Jeff and Florence Schachinger continue to serve as our lead evangelist and
women’s ministry leader. An evangelist is appointed by well-established evangelists in our International Churches of Christ worldwide movement and their wives help to meet the needs of the ministry by serving as women’s ministry leaders.
You might wonder what qualifies someone to be an evangelist or women’s ministry leader, and what their responsibilities are. Evangelists are brothers who have been appointed to lead churches because they have shown themselves to be faithful, fruitful, trustworthy, and godly disciples in all areas of their life, rooted in and living in accordance with the teachings of the Bible.
Evangelists are charged with
–      Preaching God’s Word in season and out in season
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Administering the gospel of Jesus Christ
–      Advancing God’s Kingdom
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Training and mentoring future evangelists
Most (but not all evangelists) are married and their wives must also live godly lives through which they are qualified to help train other women.
Jeff and Florence are excellent examples of these roles and have faithfully served the Southern Connecticut Church of Christ since 1999. They are excited to see the growth in our church family, the hiring of new staff, and the sending off in 2017 of our first couple to missions work!
Our Maine Future
Stepfan and Samantha Jones joined the staff team in November 2016 after leading the campus ministry in Portland, Maine for two years. Their hearts desire is to help young people discover God early in their lives so they can avoid many of the pitfalls that a life without God can bring. Both are grateful that they were saved from many bad decisions by God’s grace.
The Jones’ are settling in quite easily – enjoying getting to know the Southern CT saints, and learning tons from Jeff and Florence in pursuit of their goal to lead a church one day. While our campus group is similar in size to Maine’s, we have many more mature disciples here who are able to help our new staff couple grow spiritually and emotionally.
Stepfan and Samantha have settled in West Haven near the beach and have jumped into leading our campus disciples. Most days they are somewhere on campus to pray, spend time with the disciples, share their faith, learn the campus culture, and have Bible studies with students. So far, two new brothers (Will and Joe) have been baptized
Madrid Gains our Devoted Duo
Will and Kristen Lambert have accepted an offer (unanimously reached by the disciples there) to lead the church in Madrid, Spain! The couple arrived to lead the Southern CT campus ministry as dating singles in 2012. Jeff and Florence trained and mentored them faithfully and their leadership ignited the campus and teen ministry.
Four years later, the now married couple were appointed evangelist and women’s ministry leader in September 2016 by Will’s parents, Doug and Jennifer Lambert, who lead the church in Cincinnati, Ohio and by the Schachingers. Weeks after the appointment the couple left for language immersion classes in Spain to ready themselves to lead the Madrid disciples powerfully and responsibly. Los dos hablan español muy bien y tienen ganas de mudar a España muy pronto!
Like the close-knit family we are, there will be a grand farewell party, tears will be shed, and our hearts will swell with pride. Based on the sacrifice and faith of our church family, for the first-time ever we are sending out a couple trained in CT to lead missions work in Madrid. Remember them in your prayers and considering visiting the church there for a vacation/missionary sojourn. After all, Will and Kristen will always be our immediate family no matter where God leads them.
2017 Sneak Preview
The momentum will keep going into 2017. Pat and La Micia Genova will join the staff team in a few months to lead the Youth & Family ministry. They are currently helping to lead the church in Madrid, Spain and will relocate to our ministry once the Lamberts are firmly in place in Madrid. Look forward to an update on where the couple settles and more on their background by the spring.
All honor and glory to God for entrusting capable men and women to lead our fellowship!
