During Paul's second missionary journey, he meets Timothy and wants to take him along on the rest of his journey. The Bible makes a special point about Timothy being circumcised to avoid offending the Jews: > **Acts 16:1-3 (NASB) **
1 Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, 2 and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. I understand that the Jews who knew Timothy would assume that he wasn't circumcised because his father wasn't Jewish. How would they know that he had been circumcised? Would Paul and Timothy just announce it? Would the Jews insist on verifying it?

Some people think he was a child or a teenager, others believe he was a young man when he converted to Christianity. Is there any Biblical evidence to support any of these assumptions?

Paul refers to the gift of spirit that Timothy had in both I and II Timothy. > KJV 2 Timothy 1:6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. What gift did Timothy have? Was he afraid to use it? The verse that immediately follows the verse above seems to suggest this. > KJV 2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. From the following verse, I can gather: 1. The gift that would be received by Timothy was foretold (given by prophecy) 2. It was given by Laying on of Hands (Paul's hands by first verse quoted) > KJV 1 Timothy 4:14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.

It's pretty obvious to me that Paul was mentoring Timothy in the new testament, but what was Timothy's role within the church? Was he an assistant to Paul, Paul's representative, or was he actually a young church leader such as a pastor?