Am I Called?

Is God calling you to the ministry?

A brief answer to this question follows. For a more detailed answer, order Keith Drury’s book “The Call of A Lifetime” from Wesleyan Publishing House or call and order at 1-800-493-7539. Your pastor may already have this book for you!

You can also read the Guide to Exploring the Call

The idea of being “called” to a vocation of ministry may be a foreign idea to you. Most individuals choose what they want to do to earn a living. The Bible teaches us that while every Christian is called to be God’s servant and to use his or her vocation to minister to others, God calls some to specialized ministries on behalf of the Church. People do not choose to become ministers, missionaries or some other form of ordained or commissioned minister in the Church; they are called by the Lord.

God calls a lot of different kinds of people to commit themselves to vocations of specialized Christian service and He calls them in a lot of different ways. Some people are called in dramatic ways, but most people experience their “call” as a growing conviction, or compulsion, resulting from a time of commitment to the will of God in their lives. Often this takes place at youth camp, camp meeting, missionary convention, or revival meeting. But don’t worry if your call didn’t come this way – there is no one way that God calls people.

How you are called is not as important as being certain you are called. If God has called you, He can make that call very clear to you. God calls people from within the Body of Christ to minister to that Body and to assist it in incorporating others into fellowship. It seems logical then that He would use the Body of Christ to recognize and nurture those who are called to vocations of specialized ministry. God can use your local church and close Christian friends to help make your call clear and to help prepare you for ministry.

Those who are called by God should be able to pass five “tests” regarding the genuineness of their call. These five tests are:

1. The test of “grace.” Have you been saved and entirely sanctified? Do you live a holy life? Is the fruit of the Spirit evident in your life?
2. The test of “gifts.” Do you have a reasonable amount of ability to understand, reason, communicate and provide loving care and leadership to God’s people? Listen to the counsel of your pastor and trusted Christian friends as they guide you in discovering and developing your gifts for ministry.
3. The test of “fruit.” Are people being helped by your Christian influence? Are you open about your faith? Have you brought anyone closer to the Lord by your witness?
4. The test of “an abiding sense of a divine call.” Do you have an inner awareness of God’s leading? Is this awareness dependent upon a highly charged environment to stay alive or is it an unshakable part of your daily life? Are you ready to pay the price to give yourself wholly to the demands of preparation and service which are a part of this call?
5. The test of “open doors.” Does the Lord open doors for your preparation for ministry? Are there open doors of opportunity for you to use your talents and test your gifts? The enemy will fight against you, but the Lord will also use open doors of opportunity to validate your call.

I believe I’m called. Now what?

Below are some things that you can work on immediately.

Counsel with your pastor. You need the support and direction your pastor can give you. Your pastor may want you to meet with the Local Board of Administration. You may, also, want to give the Chair of the District Board of Ministerial Development a call.

Get involved. You cannot ignore present opportunities to witness, to work in the Church and to help people and think God will use you later. Use every present opportunity to be faithful to those things which will later occupy your efforts more fully. Offer yourself to your pastor to be used in whatever way he/she thinks is best and then listen to their counsel as he/she involves you in church-life.

Learn by watching and listening. Watch what your pastor does and how he/she does it. Ask questions. Listen to what is going on around you. Learn how the Church works and what is necessary in order for people to work together. Ask your pastor if he/she will let you attend some board or committee meetings.

Develop your people skills. More people run into problems in the ministry because of interpersonal relationship problems than anything else. Don’t be a “milk-toast” type person, but develop your ability to get along with others – to be reasonable and rational when others are upset and irrational – to be understanding when that is needed – to hold firm to a principle without being obstinate and “bull-headed” – and to help people resolve their differences without causing division.

Cultivate spiritual disciplines. Many people are more concerned about how big their ministry will be rather than how deep their ministry will be. Make holiness your aspiration. Learn to pray. Spend time in God’s Word. Concentrate more on being spiritual than successful. You take care of the depth of your ministry and God will take care of the breadth of your ministry.

Determine you are going to be adequately prepared. God needs people who are ready to be the best they can be. For most, this will mean a ministerial training program which may involve college and seminary. Not everyone is able to follow this track into ministry, but don’t ever shortchange the preparation portion of your calling. Don’t keep the boundaries of your usefulness too narrow by failure to prepare adequately. Youthful enthusiasm might cause you to feel that the quicker you can get out there and do your thing the better, but a few more years of training may make your contribution to the cause of Christ far greater because you are more equipped to do His thing rather than yours.