“When God is looking for someone to call to the ministry, He’s usually going to reach down and pick the best of the best. He’s going to call people who are actively serving. People who will leave a huge gap in the ministry when they’re gone.”
If you’re not currently and actively involved in your local church, that’s the best place to start. It’s where God will confirm (either way) his calling on your life.
My dad always said, “God doesn’t call the able, he enables the called.” This is so true. No matter what natural, God-given abilities a person may or may not possess, God is ultimately the one who enables any of us to serve him in a ministry capacity. He still uses the foolish and weak things of this world.
3. CONFIRMATION: Validation from godly leaders
Proverbs 11:14 Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.
Over the years, I’ve seen many people (young and old) called into full-time church work. “Is God calling me to ministry?” Well, here’s one thing that confirms God’s calling on a person’s life more than possibly any other. It’s when God also confirms that same calling in the heart of their pastor.
If your pastor isn’t convinced you’re called to the ministry, that’s a red flag to seriously consider. Equally, if your pastor is convinced you’re called to the ministry, consider that before leaving it.
Although God gives many people similar talents and abilities, he doesn’t call them all to full-time ministry. The ministry is not for everyone. The church greatly needs gifted laypeople as well. And you would be better to serve as your church’s finest layperson than to enter the ministry uncalled.
If you’re unsure of your calling, always seek the godly counsel of spiritual leaders in your life. God has surrounded you with other people who can recognize and validate God’s calling in your life. Or at least they can steer you in the right direction.
4. PASSION: You can’t see yourself doing anything else
Jeremiah 20:9 But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones… and I could not stay.
If you can find a secular job to make a living and be okay with that long-term, then that’s exactly what you need to do. The gospel ministry must be a passion you cannot quench. And every time you try, it just keeps coming back.
The last thing churches need is more full-time ministers who are only part-time Christians. God’s ministry deserves people who are top-notch, full-throttle, passionate followers of Jesus who strive toward leading others to be the same.
