So You Say You're Called to Ministry

Being called by God is exciting, but it can also be a little scary. You have a big mandate on your life and you're not always sure how you're going to get there, or what you need to do to prepare.

I was 14 years old when I heard the call of God on my life. I had no clue what was in store for me and no one to really show the way. Now after over 10 years of ministry experience, I've learned a few things I think will help you along your way.

A lot of people think ministry is a job that you decide you want to do, just like being a doctor or a lawyer. They think that you go to some sort of Bible College, learn the skill, and then get a job working in a church as you work your way up to having your own ministry one day. They think it is about their own skills and that they must market themselves well to be successful in ministry. They network with successful ministries, schmoozing around to find the highest paying position. They may leave one church to take a better job somewhere else. They make ministry more about a job and a business than about God's calling, loving Him and loving people.

If you feel called to ministry, take time and read the entire book of Acts. The apostles weren't looking for a church where they could get a job. They simply took what God had given them and looked for ways to give it away. Ministry was not their source, God was. They were motivated by love, not money or job security. They just did what God instructed them to do and trusted Him to provide everything that they needed.

Ministry is not an occupation or a skill that you can learn with your intellect. Your life is ministry whether it takes place in a church building, from a pulpit, behind a register, from an office, in the gym, or on the street. Ministry is built out of your relationship with God and cultivating your personal character. Your success or failure is tied directly to your connection to the Lord. You must know God. You must be intimate with Him. You must have a living relationship with His Word and His Love. You must allow your relationship with Him to shape every area of your life from the way you make decisions to the way you react to other people. If knowing and loving Him is not at the center of who you are and what you do, you are working in vain and building castles of sand.

Each person that is called by God is unique. Each journey is different. There is no one way to do ministry. Ministry looks different for everyone and just because you're "called" doesn't mean you will do it full-time as a job. You have to be connected to God and what He wants you to do. He may tell you to go to a Ministry School, or He might tell you to go to college and pursue a career. He might connect you to a mentor to help raise you up, or you might be like Paul in the wilderness for a few years. There is no wrong way to do it, unless you do it on your own based on what you think you should do. You must start with your relationship with God. Everything you will need for life and ministry comes out of that.

Happy growing!

Sarah Dawn