Friends in Ministry

‌SCRIPTURE: Romans 16:1-16, 21-23 (ESV)

DATE: 11-9-25

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

INTRO

We’re continuing our series in Romans this weekend. And we’re in the practical application section of Paul’s letter where — after eleven chapters of rich theological truths — he transitions to the “so what” section of his letter. Meaning he’s addressing how all of the theology — that’s found in the first eleven chapters — is to play itself out in how we live. Or at least how it should influence the way we live.

And today we start the last chapter of Paul’s letter. And — in these final words of his — Paul is very personal. In fact — I went back and forth — do I end with this sermon or with next week’s sermon — but decided to end how Paul ends his letter — even though this sermon is my favorite of the two. For in our text for today — Paul praises his friends in ministry. And today — like Paul — I’m going to praise many of you — my friends in ministry.

PAUL’S FRIENDS

But before we get to that — let’s turn to Paul’s words. Here are his words in Romans chapter sixteen — beginning in verse one.

Romans 16:1–16 ESV

1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, 2 that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well. 3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. 5 Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. 6 Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. 8 Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. 10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. 11 Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. 12 Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them. 15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

And skipping to verse twenty-one — we read…

Romans 16:21–23 ESV

21 Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen. 22 I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord. 23 Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.

One person has called this, “The least-preached-upon chapter of the most-preached-upon book in the New Testament.” Meaning — no book in the New Testament is preached more than Romans — one could argue that it’s the most preached book in the entire Bible — yet — no chapter in Romans is preached less than chapter sixteen. Why’s that?

Because this is the kind of passage we long for in our devotional time, right? No! A list of a bunch of names that are hard to read — much less pronounce — thank you very much. A list of names inevitably causes us to ask, “What do a bunch of names have to do with me?”

My hope is that — after some reflection on these names — and especially after what we do later in this sermon — that the names you read will remind you of names you know — saints among us — who are worthy of being praised and commended for their faithfulness to the Lord and their friendship in ministry.

Back to Paul. He begins by commending a woman named Phoebe. And he calls Phoebe a servant of the church. I bring her up to briefly explain why we have women deacons here at Gateway. The Greek word translated as servant — in verse one — is the same word translated as deacon in other places in the Bible. Now — it’s true that the word isn’t always translated as deacon — sometimes it’s translated as minister or servant — but in one sense — all of the people Paul mentions in this chapter are servants in the church — so why does he single Phoebe out in this specific way when he commends her to the Christians in Rome? I believe it’s because she held a special leadership role in the church — that of a deacon.

Let’s continue on through the names — and as we do — don’t miss the intimate details that Paul includes. For example, Prisca and Aquila — who we find in the book of Acts — about them Paul says, “They risked their necks for my life.” We have no idea what situation Paul’s referring to — but essentially he’s saying, “I’m alive and doing ministry today because of these friends of mine.”

We learn that Epaenetus was the first person to believe in Jesus in Asia. That’s pretty cool.

Paul praises the hard work of a woman named Mary. He mentions that two of his friends experienced imprisonment. There’s Rufus and his unnamed mother — “Paul, why didn’t you give us her name?” But what a sweet statement, “She was like a mother to me.”

I wonder if she even had a name. “A name? Why wouldn’t she have a name?” Well — not all of the names in Paul’s list are actual names.

For example…

Romans 16:22 ESV

22 I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.

Tertius is the man who’s been writing down Paul’s words. This was a common role in the Roman world — where one individual would dictate to another words to be written down. Sometimes the individual was a slave — we’re not sure but it’s possible that Tertius was a former slave.

But — Paul — after sending greetings on behalf of Timothy, Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater — all people with names — I want you to imagine Paul looking at Tertius — the man writing down his words — and Paul says to him, “Tertius, go ahead. Greet them yourself.”

Now that may not seem like a big deal to you. But the reason why this is so moving is that the name Tertius isn’t actually a name — it’s a number. It means third or three. And — after his greeting — come the words, “Our brother Quartus, greets you.” Quartus means four or fourth.

Listen to what one Bible scholar said about these two men being listed in our chapter. He said, “The distribution of personhood in the Roman Empire was profoundly unequal. Very few people were recognized as a persona — the Latin word from which we get person — which is a legal term in Latin — that means that someone has a full standing in law and society to be recognized as a full human being. Only the head of households was considered a full human being and everyone else lived in various degrees of personhood. From children — who could aspire to inherit their father’s status — to women — who were always treated as property of the head of household — and then the twenty to twenty-five percent of the Roman Empire who were slaves — not based on race but on commercial or military misfortune. The Romans were very practical people — and if you didn’t really have any prospect of becoming a person — they didn’t bother with giving you a name. So if you were a male — you were often just named by your birth order. Second, third, fourth, fifth. Or a child born to a slave woman would be named “useful” — which in Greek — is the name Onesimus — which is a name in the book of Philemon.”

So according to Roman culture of Paul’s time — people — who were viewed as having no potential of becoming a full person — weren’t given names.

If we went back through the names Paul mentions in our chapter — we’d find names typical of heads of household — as to be expected. Some of the other individuals were probably firstborn sons due to the fact that they have names — as to be expected by the culture of the day. But women are also mentioned — which is culturally stunning — remember — they were considered property in Roman culture — not fully human. And — not only women — but we find the names third and fourth as well — Tertius and Quartus.

We don’t know if Tertius and Quartus were brothers — but they were both men not given the dignity of being named by their families because — as you now know — in the culture of the time only individuals with the potential of becoming a full person were named. And the third and fourth born sons in a family had no potential. Yet look at what dignity the Christian faith gives to all people. For the Christian faith says that all people — men, women, and children — regardless of their birth order — all are made in the image of God, all have dignity, and all are fully persons.

The Christian faith gives a name to the nameless. In fact — all who believe in Jesus — we’re told — are given a new family name — because the firstborn Son of God came to earth so that we — all of the seconds, and thirds, and fourths —could be given a new name when we’re adopted into God’s family.

I hope you see the beauty in a list of a bunch of names that are hard to pronounce. For it — this list of names — shows the power of the gospel to change people’s lives. Those whom the culture of the day said, “You have no personhood, no dignity, and no value” — those whom the culture of the day was willing to discard — the gospel gave them personhood, dignity, and value. And — just like then — the gospel today gives personhood, dignity, and value to all people — for all are made in the image of God.

OUR FRIENDS

And now we turn to us — and what’s my favorite part of this sermon — and maybe of our entire time in Romans. A time for me to praise many of my friends in ministry. Now — to no one’s surprise — time for a caveat — the “there’s not enough time for me to praise all of my friends in ministry here at Gateway.” In fact, I’ve contributed no names to the list that I’m about to read. Instead, I did something much more fun. I got others involved.

I sent out an email to around forty or so folks and asked them to send me names of people who they see faithfully following Jesus here at Gateway — those who are friends in ministry. And I asked them to tell me why they sent me the individual’s name. I also asked them to keep their list to no more than five individuals.

And I decided to put the list of names together this way — because — I know that my knowledge of what goes on among us is pretty limited. And I love to hear stories of what you all are doing that I would never know about without others telling me.

And here’s the reply I got to my email. Here are some of the many faithful friends in ministry among us. Some women. Some men. Some young. Some not as young as they used to be. Some singles. Some married. Some people you may know and others you may not. But all are family members and friends in ministry to you and to me — people for whom we’re to be thankful to God for.

And — yes — I purposely asked for the names to not be included in the sermon manuscript on our website and app so that this would be a surprise.

Randy MacDonald – He greets the kids of our County Road 9 Campus with a bag of candy and engages with them while their parents connect with others on Sunday morning.
Kristin Sharpe – She always makes others feel welcome and pours herself into serving our members.
Justin Stiles – He is consistently praying for the needs of others and thinking through ways that we can help or care for those in need. Even when he has plenty on his plate at home, he puts others first.
Lincoln Peters – He consistently seeks out and encourages our young kids at church. I often see him with an arm around a young man asking about his week and engaging them on Sunday mornings.
Terry Jolliff – He is always spreading the gospel with those he interacts with at work, church, or in the community. I have had multiple people tell me that if it wasn’t for Terry’s encouragement, they might not have come to church or known how Christ was working in their life.
Jessica Thomas and Ashlyn and Brody – as a family they serve faithfully in the nursery.
Heidi and all of our worship team leaders who faithfully lead us in worship each week. If you’re wondering why Heidi was named — her husband submitted her name. 🙂
Cory Hartman for keeping us safe every week.
Brinley and Bowen Fought for ushering regularly. You’re never too young to be faithful.
Chad Benedict for preparing communion for us.
Ron Beach – He is an encourager and writes a devotional every week for anyone who wants one.
Laura Moore – I don’t think people appreciate how much happens behind the scenes all because of Laura (and I probably don’t know the half of it). Her faithfulness and dedication to our church family is remarkable.
Matt and Amberly Heft – They are a pillar in our church—modeling faith in action and setting an example worth following. They don’t just talk the talk, they go, and they inspire others to go with them. Matt also genuinely cares about raising future leaders in our church family.
Michael and Lauren Shivers – He graciously leads our deacons with humility. They serve as life group leaders. Lauren serves in the diverse needs ministry and both are actively involved in the VBS program.
Michael and Annie Gill – They serve as life group leaders. Annie also helps with Kidway and Michael serves on the tech team on Sunday. Their family is missional in everything they do.
Damien and Amanda Barrientos – They serve in preschool classes and make Bible lessons engaging on Sunday mornings. Amanda also helps on respite nights for our diverse needs families welcoming the families of Gateway with a smile and a warm heart.
Jamie and Keri Harpst – They serve in the kid’s ministry, cafe, and women’s Bible study. They always encourage others and live out what it looks like to walk with Christ.
Emma McDougle – She serves faithfully with the preschoolers every Sunday as well as any event that requires childcare and does it with a smile, welcoming children into her care.
Krista Wachtman – She serves faithfully with the preschoolers every Sunday as well as helping in our diverse needs room.
Cheryl Drake – she serves faithfully every Sunday with the first graders, as well as leads the diverse needs life group, her own life group, and teaches English on Saturday mornings to students in Bangladesh. I’m sure she does much more that I am missing. To which I — pastor Josh — will add — she’s been a great mentor to my daughter.
Christina Lishawa – She intentionally teaches and leads her Kidway class weekly, she cares for her life group deeply, she loves others with notes of encouragement, and is willing to go on mission trips to share the good news. When she and Randy had a college student living with them last year, she frequently opened her kitchen to his fiancee — not only inviting her to dinner, but teaching her how to cook the meals they enjoyed together.
Renee Criblez – She goes above and beyond teaching first graders Bible literacy skills on top of teaching the weekly lesson, she’s quick to help out in Kidway with childcare or creating something to be used as a prop or tool, and is both humble and extremely knowledgeable.
Emily Weizer – She teaches large group monthly and is always thinking how to better communicate the Bible. She disciples her youth group girls well, has a heart for Go and missions, and is willing to help in whatever way she can.
Samantha Scherger – Sam is willing to Go, she leads a life group, is a greeter, and is a sub for Kidway and is always willing and ready to say yes to stepping into a classroom to help.
Nancy Cramer – She always fills in for the nursery whenever needed. She helps with Lifewise. She faithfully prays for the needs of others.
Kathy MacDonald – She schedules the greeters and has done so for years — faithfully making sure those who enter our building feel welcomed.
Harlan Hoy – He schedules the parking crew. Takes on parking for VBS — making sure kids are safe as they enter and exit the building. He also has taken charge of parking for our outdoor services.
Jordan Harpst – He is engaged in each area of our discipleship process, worshiping weekly, leading a Life Group, serving on the security team and as an usher, and going overseas to the hard places.
Seth Butler – He is a devoted husband and father who faithfully guides and disciples his family in their walk with God.
Hannah Otley – Her love for the Lord is very evident, whether helping lead worship on Sunday morning, sharing an encouraging word during Life Group meetings, or simply talking about Jesus with a supernatural kind of excitement.
Michele Jewitt – She is always praying and reaching out to our Life Group for prayers and how she can be praying for us and just genuinely checking in.
Heather Routson – She’s always asking how people are doing and has an amazing ability to follow up on conversations with care.
Jenna Wilson – The most kind person I know. She cares deeply about how people are doing and how she can be praying for them
Joel and Adrienne Kozlesky – They serve in many areas faithfully — including in Kidway, as Lifegroup leaders, at VBS, and have a passion for sharing the Good News to others both locally and abroad.
Joe McCool – He is a dedicated Christ follower who is always striving to deepen his relationship with God. He shares his love of Christ by joyfully serving and teaching in Kidway.
Heagan Sparling – She has a heart for teaching children about Jesus. She serves in Kidway and many other areas.
Ted Criblez – He is a faithful greeter with a smile and a kind word. He is there early every Sunday to open the Kidway doors, making all feel welcome.
Sherry Shultis – she has led the women’s Bible study for many years. She’s always an encourager. And she makes it possible for women to connect and feel at ease as they share.
Sandra Tietje and Annette Peverly – Both serve in the Sew Quilt Share ministry to provide materials and projects so women can use their sewing talents to bless others.
Etta Malone – A smiling face every Sunday as she gets around with her walker. She gives hugs to all making them feel loved and special. She is truly a blessing.
Chad Hermiller – he serves the youth as a life group leader and has done so for years.
Mike Norman – he’s willing to give guidance and help those who are looking to grow in their faith. He also gives a helping hand whenever asked.
Leslie Sawmiller – she will quietly sign up to bring a meal EVERY time a need is sent out for a family in our church.
Cori Benedict – Cori is such a servant for Christ! She strives to be a better mom everyday. She is never content with mediocrity when it comes to leading her family to the Lord.
Dan and Janet Blanchard – they have given their lives to fostering and caring for over 150 displaced children in our county over the years and now they faithfully care for the kids in our nursery each Sunday.
Matt Sawmiller – Matt has an evangelistic heart and has never met a stranger. He’s faithful to meet every person with love, care, and kindness and he does a fantastic job of sharing the Gospel and his faith with others.
Sara Tomlinson – she serves in multiple ways, she takes the initiative in stepping out, encouraging, and supporting our faith family.
Dan Harmon – he serves on Sundays, and is authentic and real in conversation.
Abe Sparling – he always shows up and he gets things done.
Mike McLaughlin – he recently moved here, jumped into the discipleship process, joined a Life Group and started serving — all pretty quickly.
Emily Hanson – Emily does more than required as a pastor’s wife by serving our youth and going above and beyond with VBX.
Lyn Loewen – is a faithful usher and leads his volunteers well. No matter what’s going on in his life or health, he makes everyone around him feel welcome and loved!
Peggy McBride – has faithfully served as a deacon, preparing and serving communion. She also serves in other areas on Sunday, and no matter what she’s doing, she makes you feel so cared for.
Jay and Coleen Kiesel – they serve in so many ways and are another couple who step up no matter the need. They bring a calm and quiet leadership to everything they do.
Hisako Tabogami and Elizabeth Jarrell – Both women are found serving our congregation as greeters or in the cafe. They extend the love of Christ by individually and compassionately recognizing the different people they serve.
Boden and Anna Fisher – Demonstrate their commitment to prayer by not only praying with individuals at the end of service, but also by regularly sharing their personal prayer requests so others can pray for them. In addition, they answered the call and recently became Life Group leaders.
Sam Deeter – he faithfully serves and motivates elementary students during Kidway with a smile and an enthusiasm for the Word.
Samantha and Kevin Boose – they seem to eagerly volunteer and serve almost everywhere. They model how they follow Jesus as a family. On days when Kevin serves on tech, you can find the whole family gathered for breakfast in between tech practice and the start of the first service. Sam’s also an amazing example of a Godly mother who tries her best (and is doing an amazing job) to raise her little disciples in a God-honoring way while also being humble enough to ask for help when it’s needed.
Logan Rickle – He stood in the parking lot during pouring down rain and welcomed everyone with a smile and a wave.
Susan Kayser – She faithfully serves on the worship team and sets the proper tone with her piano playing during communion.
Lindsay Norman – She builds cohesive worship teams each week despite everyone’s busy schedules. In her prayer requests she regularly asks that God would be her portion instead of praying for her circumstances to change. Her prayers and wisdom show a deep respect and reverence for the Lord.
Lana Fought – I’m regularly spurred on by her faithful service and her obvious love for the church.
Ashley Peters – She puts her relationship with the Lord first in the way she evangelizes and serves those around her.
Katie Kramer – Her heart for people, the Lord, and her reverence for the Word show her deep love and commitment to the Lord.
Nicole Dishong – For the past couple months she has come in during the week to prep supplies for the Kidway lessons.
John Lynch – He serves several of our homebound members by visiting them on a monthly basis.
Randy and Rita Casper – They faithfully check in with and pray for several members who are suffering from prolonged illnesses.
Dick and Greta Schrock – Partners in ministry by mentoring, hospitality, missions, and investing in people!
Paul and Ann Hadde – they serve in so many capacities at Gateway — the nursery, middle school life group, Sunday school, Christmas Tea, and VBS. They’re very generous with their time and resources to invest in — not only Gateway families — but the community as well.
Carsten Weizer and Morgan Cooper — two of our staff members — both spend a lot of time on Sunday mornings with their ministry responsibilities, but they’re also willing to come and serve and invest in our youth on Sunday evenings.
Brady Reutz – a high school student who serves alongside adults (that he didn’t already know before serving with them) to greet our members and guests on Sunday mornings.
Trevor and Nikki Gillig – they’re always willing to set up or clean up our cafe….even during special services such as Christmas Eve.
Andrew Thomas – he goes above and beyond on so much in the church. He does his official job, but is always quick to jump into other areas to use his gifts to be a blessing to others.
Tara McBride – she’s been helping with youth ministry for DECADES. She is so faithful with her girls and spends so much of her time investing in them.
Marc Krause – His dedication to serving alongside youth in the cafe is a great example of serving at Gateway.
Brent Steiner – Even though his weekend schedule can be extremely demanding he always ushers us into service with a warm smile and hello.
Howie Ohler – he serves regularly on the security team and warmly greets and talks to people throughout the lobby and hallways.
Ben Ruetz leads worship and fills in for others routinely, playing bass, playing guitar, or singing – however the worship team needs him.
And — as of a personal privilege — to the elders, staff, and deacons — thank you for your faithfulness in serving this congregation. And — since someone else submitted my wife’s name — I’d like to thank that individual for my free “get out of jail card” — as Emily loves for me to talk about her in my sermons. This time it wasn’t my idea — it was someone else’s.

CONCLUSION

I recently read a book titled The Power to Bless written by a friend of mine. At one point in the book, he addresses what many raise as a concern about blessing others. The concern is that if we bless people — or publicly praise or thank people, like I just did — that it’ll go to their heads. After all — he asks tongue in cheek — “Isn’t there too much self-love going on in our culture?”

To which he responds, “The rampant self-absorption we see in society is not the fruit of self-love. It’s the consequence of self-hatred.” He refers to the parable of the prodigal son. If you’re unfamiliar with the parable, a man has two sons. The younger — the prodigal — asks his dad for his part of the inheritance — which is another way of saying, “Dad, I wish you were dead.” He then goes off, squanders away all of his money, destroys his life, and finds himself so hungry that he longs to eat the slop being fed to animals.

The younger son thought he was loving himself, fulfilling his dreams and desires — but it was all self-hatred. My pastor friend then asks, “Would you ever, in your wildest imagination, on your worst day, do to the one you love what the younger brother did to himself?” No. Yet most of us are uncomfortable saying anything positive about ourselves in fear of sounding proud — which has bled over into it being uncomfortable to praise others for Christ-like faithfulness we see in them.

So — today — we’ve pushed back against such ideas. For praising others — and being thankful for their faithfulness and friendship in ministry — is a way we honor our God whose faithfulness works in and through his people. So may we grow even more in our thankfulness to God for our friends in ministry. And — like Paul — may we let each other know that we’re thankful to God for how he’s using them in our lives. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Gracious Father, thank you for your grace to us as seen, felt, and experienced through those around us — our spiritual family members — our friends in ministry.

Holy Spirit, prompt us — we ask — to not just think thoughts of gratitude about each other — but to share our gratitude to those for whom we’re thankful. A text message. A handwritten note. A phone call. An invitation for coffee. Spirit, help us to be people who express our thankfulness.

And — Jesus — all of the joys we experience as family and friends comes from your love for us. May our gratitude for one another always amplify our love and gratitude for you and all that you’ve done for us.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — for any who are lonely, who feel nameless, who feel less than fully human, who are desperate to be loved — may we be the family and friends they need. Open our eyes to see them — and open our hearts to love them. And we pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

May you go savoring the blessing of being part of a beautiful faith family — a congregation full of friends. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.