Dr. Michael Youssef, the founding pastor of the Church of the Apostles in Atlanta, Georgia, has announced that he is stepping down from his position at the church to pursue other ministry work.
In a personal message to ministry partners posted to YouTube, Youssef, along with his wife Elizabeth, shared that he would step fully into his leadership role at Leading The Way in six months. This decision has been in the works for several years.
“I will be passing the baton in the Church of the Apostles to my son Jonathan,” the 77-year-old announced. “I will be having an opportunity to travel throughout the country and get to meet some of [the ministry’s partners] in person, as well as many opportunities to speak. We’re continuing on Awake America campaign as well as our overseas crusades for evangelism.”
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Youssef, a native Egyptian who lived in Lebanon, has led The Church of The Apostles for nearly 40 years—from its first meeting of 28 adults in 1987 to today, with a thriving congregation of more than 3,000 members, according to a statement from the ministry.
The church was founded with the goal of “reaching the lost and equipping the saints.” It later became the launching pad for Leading The Way’s global ministry, which now uses multiple media platforms to reach millions with Youssef’s Biblical teaching.
Youseff says his 41-year-old son Jonathan has been preparing to pastor the thriving Apostles congregation.
“Now that God has raised up my son Jonathan to lead The Church of The Apostles for its next stage of growth, I will be devoting my full attention to Leading The Way,” said Youssef.
“I am deeply thankful to the Lord and know that the best is yet to come. I am also deeply grateful to The Church of The Apostles’ leadership for inviting me to remain in the church as the ‘Founding Rector Emeritus’ — thus helping to ensure continuity,” he continued.
Youssef says he has plans to “take as many people to heaven with me as possible,” and part of that vision includes expanding Leading The Way’s digital ministry, taking his nationwide AWAKE America prayer movement to new cities, launching the next wave of Finding True Peace evangelistic commercials, and hosting high-impact evangelistic events across the Middle East.
“We don’t know how long the door is going to remain open to proclaim the Gospel in the places where we are ministering. So, I’m really putting my foot on the accelerator now. We would love to walk through those open doors as long as God keeps them open. Because if we go to sleep, we will have missed a great opportunity,” Youssef declared.
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