The Apostle Paul was the world’s greatest evangelist and church planter, and one of his strongest churches was in Ephesus. He spent 3 years there, preaching, making disciples, and establishing leaders. When he later wrote his letter to the Ephesians, he laid out the glory of the gospel and the grand purpose of God in the church, and gave them almost no challenges or correctives. This was a strong church with a disciple-making presence in their region! Unfortunately, the church at Ephesus quickly found themselves divided and drifting after Paul’s departure, losing grip on both the gospel doctrine and gospel culture Paul had set in place. So Paul sent his protege, Timothy, to set things in order and bring the church back in line. This week we’ll do an overview of 1 Timothy, and look at the 4 Strategic Priorities Paul gives Timothy. Our study in the Pastoral Epistles - 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus - will equip us to be a church with strong gospel conviction, deeply shaped gospel character, and a gracious gospel culture in our particular context. This is what Paul calls Timothy to reestablish in Ephesus, and it is what every church needs in order to be faithful to Jesus and his mission. Today, there is no church in Ephesus, and modern day Turkey is .02% Christian. The Pastoral Epistles will help us learn how to link arms and give ourselves to this difficult work in our day. It will be a fight, but it is A Good Fight - jump in!