Taking the Next Step Toward Full-time Ministry: God's Next Step for You

People are being called into ministry all the time. I just heard of a Brazilian physicist and a retired Indian railroad worker who are being called into the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many others have sensed God speaking to them too. You might be one of them. We all remember Samuel’s call. In the middle of the night he heard God calling him. He needed Eli to clarify some things for him that put him on the right track. Eli’s advice wasn’t anything astonishing. He told Samuel that when God called again he was to tell the Lord “Speak, Lord for thy servant heareth.”

Those who sense a pull in the heart from the Lord often have many questions. They are searching for answers, but perhaps even more, they are wondering if they are on the right track. We are unable to provide personal answers here for you in this article. We do, however, hope to keep you on the right track to find the answers that you need. God deals with each of us differently, and yet He brings each willing servant along a similar pathway. We would like to help you see more clearly the boundaries of that path to both encourage and confirm you on your way.

Our world has pretty much secularized the way a person looks for a job or profession. We must refuse the tendency to leave God out of our lives at this critical point. He is the One who both calls and trains. He is the One who gifts us as well as provides for us. A real minister of God will always have his ear highly tuned to what God is saying.

The timing of our call with respect to our actual entrance into fulltime missions. One of the first impulses we have when we sense God’s calling upon our lives is to think that we need to make a drastic, radical shift at that very moment. Although it could happen that way, it doesn’t necessarily need to. First, God touches our hearts and gains our commitment to His plan for our lives. A young boy might dream of being a soldier, but he still needs to grow up before he can wear that uniform. In the same way, we might have a great burden to serve the Lord full-time, but we often need to go through a lot of training before the Lord deploys us as full-time missionaries or pastors.

One of the greatest mistakes those who have received God’s call to enter full-time ministry make is to think that Bible College or seminary is what qualifies them to serve the Lord. The Lord doesn’t say that, even though most around us believe that formal training is necessary. We should remember that the Christian training institutions that we now have are a relatively modern invention-grown up along with our modern educational system. Although a seminary can prepare us in some ways, we do ourselves much harm when we equate this kind of training with the training that the Lord wants to provide for our lives.

The Lord’s training is holistic; it involves each part of our lives. He is much more interested in building our faith than in any degree you might obtain. I remember when I was readying myself to go on my first short-term trip to Asia. I was excited and yet I realized that I didn’t have money for the trip. Excitement would not get me to the mission field. Eventually, the mission called to see whether or not I had the money. Not much had come in. They suggested calling it off. But something in my heart was still hopeful so with a little persuasion they gave me two more days. Would you believe that God prompted someone to ask me how my preparation was going and then wonderfully took care of that need the very next day?

God is very interested in the process of how things work. He trains us through what otherwise would be mundane steps of life. Even today I am still encouraged as I remember how God intervened in that impossible situation.

Many times when we examine our calling in light of our present situation or qualifications, we get discouraged. There seems to be an insurmountable number of obstacles to prevent us from serving the Lord. Don’t allow these circumstances to discourage you. Instead look at them as opportunities for God to prove His call on your life. God uses financial needs, parental objections, lack of opportunity, spousal disagreements, etc. to further train us. The Lord is in no hurry. If He were, then He would quickly eliminate the obstacles. Yes, men are perishing without Christ. The mission is urgent.

And yet, God wants to properly train us and will take the time necessary to carry out that training. If God is patient with the training process, then we should be too. In fact, pause a moment and tell the Lord right now that you are willing to wait however long He thinks best before entering full-time service. Consciously allow Him to lead you. Don’t rush things. He may do things very quickly or he may choose to do them very slowly. The most important thing to do is to stay in learning mode. You are anticipating His training. His training is critical for effective service.

Congratulations! You have now entered into a life of training for ministry! We hope this article broadens your understanding on how God might train you. Remember, God’s training program never stops. Think of your training as an obstacle course. Although the evil one would want us to fail, God has given us just what we need to trust Him through all the obstacles that we will face in life. Just trace the Apostle Paul’s life, and you will see that sometimes the training can even increase at the end of ones ministry!

Training for ministry is the training of our lives. It is true that a seminary degree is often the first qualification Christian organizations look for before you can join them. But God is more concerned with who we are than with what we know. He is more interested in the way that we trust Him than in what we have ‘done for Him.’ We tend to think that we are ready for service far earlier than He thinks so. Or in other words, we are much more ready for the training period to stop than He is. God’s true graduation ceremony takes place when we step into His presence in heaven.

To be honest it is difficult for us to objectively judge where we are at in our own lives. We tend to focus on the areas in which we are doing well while ignoring areas in which we have struggles. It is helpful for us to look at our life through a timeline. We start with our birth and map out how God has dealt with us throughout our lives, trials and significant experiences. If God has called you into full-time service, then you can be sure that God has already entered you into His training school. It is encouraging to go back to see in what areas He has already begun His training.

God does not call His leaders out of nowhere. Like Moses and Joshua and the myriad of other servant leaders that He has called through the ages, they all have a background. They maybe young or old, but they all have sensed God significantly moving in their lives.

The more clearly we understand how God works in preparing us for the works He has called us to, the easier it is to observe what He has already done and what still needs to be worked on. But to be sure, our understanding of what God will do through our lives is often rather vague until we look back into history. We can trust God in His self-appointed role to train us. He uses many people, situations and His Word to train us, but He ultimately is overseeing the process. We can fully trust Him in this process even if like Moses we need 80 years to get us to the point where He can use us.

We have designed two lists which will help you better understand the important areas of your life that God is most interested in. These are areas we should expect God’s training. The closer we work with Him on these areas, the easier and smoother the training will go.

Starting Point is for those who are just beginning to think about God’s call for their lives.
Pursuing Him is for those who have already started thinking and actively working along with God in this training process for full-time ministry. This second set of questions helps evaluate and enhance your preparations for full-time ministry.

We suggest that you get a long piece of paper out and begin to jot down your observations on a timeline. Then you will begin to see where you are going! If you have access to a computer, then download the file at the NextStep website, and just insert your answers as you go.

Taking Your Next Step Toward Full-Time Ministry

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God’s Next Step for You

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