July 2019

What does servant-hearted leadership look like?

Rebekah and Josh Purkiss have been a part of Leigh-On-Sea Elim from a young age, serving in the youth and worship teams. They explain how their desire to serve continues as they study at Regents Theological College.

Since getting married in June 2012, Josh and Rebekah have grown into a passionate partnership who continue to look for new ways to serve God, most recently in beginning their studies of Applied Theology and Church Leadership with Regents Theological College in 2017.

“When we came to Regents, we wanted to see what God could do with us behind the scenes. In our church in Leigh-on-Sea, our pastors always taught us that leadership is about being servant-hearted, and being prepared to do any job, not just the speaking and up-front roles.

“We are not up-front people, but we just feel God is giving us skills and preparing our hearts to serve Him. We both started a three-year Theology degree on the Church Leadership Track and, during the first year, we joined the tech and worship teams. We donned high-visibility jackets to help with bonfire night, and also served during the Regents graduation ceremony, hosting and directing people.

“We went on a mission trip to Spain with the Elim Missions team in February 2018 where we served in a church in Benalmadena, prayer-walking and helping with a youth event.

“A week after we came back from Spain Caleb, our first baby, arrived and we had to step back for a while. We kept on studying with two more modules to complete.

“During our second year, when we did context learning, we volunteered on The Gathering welcome team. Going to Regents has opened our eyes to the world of Elim; we are making connections with lecturers, students and the leadership team which is helping us to communicate the vision of Elim at the local level.

“When we all work together that’s when change happens. We are building our understanding of God and how to share who He is with our local community.”

For more Elim stories, view and download Elim's Annual Review at elim.org.uk/annualreview

Enjoy this article? Don't forget to share