Have you noticed how many young Christian leaders have hit Madison in the last year or so? For me, anyone under 40 is really young! It almost seems like God is in the process of calling a new generation of leaders to break new ground to expand His Kingdom here in Madison and beyond. For someone like me with a relatively short runway, this is very exciting.
These new young leaders, called by God to areas of significant responsibility, are not intimidated by the anti-Christian environment here. They don’t even recognize it. They are not affected by the old paradigms, like “Madison is the graveyard of evangelists.” They are simply believing in the God who called them here to accomplish His purposes through them.
Consider 26 year old Paul Lundgren, recently called to replace Dick Sisson at Gateway Church. Paul, his wife Laura and daughter Claire moved here from Platteville. Paul was a business major at UW Eau Claire and earned his M.Div from Denver Seminary. He is committed to preach the Word: accurately and understandably with an emphasis on personal and corporate application.
Then there is Ben Stewart, age 30. Ben and his young family moved here from Appleton to plant the Madison Alliance Church. MAC as they are called, meet every week at the Comedy Club downtown and have offices on Willy Street. MAC is a missional church in every sense, reaching out to the un-churched in Madison.
How about Tim Mackie, 35, one of the teaching pastors at Blackhawk Church. Tim moved here from Portland Oregon to pursue his PHD in Hebrew Studies at UW Madison and has been on Blackhawk’s staff for over a year. Tim has had a profound influence as a teacher, preacher and strategizer in Madison’s largest Evangelical Church.
Speaking of Blackhawk, Matt Rusten, 32, joined the Blackhawk staff in July as the Pastor of Spiritual Formation. Matt’s role is to oversee the Spiritual Formation of all adult ministries at Blackhawk, a huge job to say the least!
Then there is 33 year old Tim Dunn, Lead Pastor at Damascus Road Church. Tim and his family moved here in July after nine years as the lead pastor in an urban church in Cincinnati Ohio. Tim’s mission for DRC is simple, “make disciples, plant churches”. According to Tim, “working together in Madison is imperative” to accomplish God’s purposes here.
The Senior Pastor at High Point Church is Nic Gibson. Nic is also in his early 30’s and has been here since mid-2010. Under Nic’s leadership High Point is more focused than ever, and is growing again.
Outside of the church circles, Michael Johnson of the Boys and Girls Club is making a huge impact on the South side, as is Kaleem Caire, President of the Urban League of Madison.
I am sure there are many more young leaders already here that I don’t know about and many more on their way. Please join us in prayer for these “young lions” as they lead their flocks in our great city, and watch to see what God will do through them to accomplish His purposes here.