while God may challenge us at times by putting us in ministry situations in which we really feel inadequate and uncomfortable—perhaps to stretch our character and increase our humility—God normally employs those who serve Him in the kind of ministry that brings them joy. In fact, joy is a major aspect of finding out one’s gift. (See Question 10, part 1, “How do I know what my spiritual gift is?”)
Thirdly, our call will be consistent with our Vision. By that I mean the kind of ministry that grabs us, and compels us. Take for example, a person convinced that working with young children would be a great investment for their futures as adult Christians. That conviction would motivate that person to focus on that kind of ministry, leading young ones to a childlike faith in Jesus, and helping them, appropriate to their age, to be pleasing to God. That’s what is meant by a compelling vision for ministry.
For me, the ignition point was hearing Dawson Trotman’s (founder of The Navigators) message “Born To Reproduce.” The vision in this message was that if each serious Christian were to spend enough time to help another young, interested Christian grow in faith and obedience, then that person could do (and likely, would do) the same thing with another person. Then there would be two people walking closely with God and having both the heart and skills to serve the Lord. Then the two would become four, then eight, then 16, 32, 64, 125, 250, 500, 1000, then 2000, ad infinitum. It was the idea of spiritual multiplication that captured my heart.
It was the wonderful realization that an individual person could have a huge impact on the world for Christ and do it in everyday life. It was the concept that the same way the world got populated—by human reproduction—was the way we could take part in getting the gospel to every person. As someone once quipped, the only commandment that people ever really gladly obeyed was, “be fruitful and multiply.”
To paraphrase Trotman’s biographer, Betty Lee Skinner, Trotman felt that two things—personal discipline unto godliness and the spiritual power of reproducing lives—“. . . were largely lacking in Christian work . . . “ and that God wanted Trotman to focus on this kind of ministry. (* Skinner, Daws, p. 270)
As you can tell, I am very excited by this vision, and have been for many years. God has put it on my heart. This is the kind of intensity and passion you should feel about the type of ministry to which you believe God is calling you.
So what are some kinds of ministries that match well with what kinds of gifts?
Let’s say your passion is to help persons with emotional issues or life problems. You find your gifting is in the area of mercy and compassion. You have empathy with and communicate well with those who are struggling. The type of ministry may well be one of Christian counseling.
If your gifting is to be a behind-the-scenes helper, finding real joy in making sure everything is set up perfectly, e.g. for the conference, you may be that extremely valuable person: a servant of God who loves to work for the Kingdom, seeing needs and meeting them in the Christian community.
What if you enjoy bringing order to chaos, and excel in keeping your church or ministry operating smoothly? Your gift may be administration, one of the most essential parts of modern-day ministry.
Or, you find that whenever a Christian activity requires someone to step up and take charge, people look to you, and you enjoy giving direction to groups or events. Your gift might well be leadership, and this is a key function for most Christian endeavors. You recognize that leadership is important, but you remember that leading as the Lord did means humility, servant-hood, and being an example . . . not a boss.
• People group: Obviously, the group of people to whom you will minister depends primarily on the type of ministry to which you feel called.
• If discipleship, the logical group would be college-age, or young couples.
• If counseling, with the ones struggling with life issues, regardless of age.
• If evangelism, to the lost in the USA or overseas.
• Team: Very few of us operate well alone. Being on a team brings us encouragement, learning and sharing opportunities, and a real sense of working together toward a biblical goal. Here are some likely connections with teams that fit well with your calling:
• For myself, with a focus on discipleship = the Navigators ministry was a perfect fit.
• Someone strong in languages, = Wycliffe Bible Translators, or Wycliffe Associates would make a wonderful partnership.
• Serving ministry = local church lay ministry team, Young Life club host.
• Teacher = Sunday school board, church small group council, seminary faculty.
• Counseling = almost any church staff, an independent practice, volunteering at a mental-health center or a Veterans hospital, or community addictions counseling center, or perhaps even a prison-based ministry team.
• If administration, your church office staff, or the administrative staff of any of the non-profit Christian organizations.
• Or . . . you may be the initiator of your own team, building a nucleus of co-laborers around your passion and vision.
The team may change from time to time, but the type of ministry will
probably not change.
• Location – where to do it: Whereas the type of ministry you are called to by God will probably not change, the location often does. A person, for example, who loves evangelism can do that ministry pretty much anywhere. She or he may begin in a local high school ministry and find himself in a foreign country a few years later. The Apostle Paul was certainly a man who had evangelism, disciple-making, and church-planting on his heart, and he did it all over the Mediterranean world. The locations he went to were basically determined by God’s leading. (Acts 16:9,10) And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a certain man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, saying ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.’
The old saying in ministry is, “Keep your hearts open and your bags packed.”
God can well use your service of ministry in many places. Or He may have you stay and minister in the same location your whole life. He will call you as He desires. One final thought on this topic: that is, the question of whether or not God wishes you to be a full-time Christian worker. This might be as a pastor, church staff person, missionary, or para-church minister.
While there is probably no one simple answer to this, I feel that the adage of “grow into ministry, rather than go into ministry” can be helpful. In other words, being committed to and significantly involved in personal ministry as a lay person gives one a solid idea of whether he or she should do it as a full-time vocation.
Conclusion: Once you’ve determined what kind of ministry God is calling you to—based upon your gifts & abilities, what you love to do, and the vision God has put on your heart—then the group of people you’ll minister to, and the team you’ll minister with, becomes quite evident. Where you’ll minister depends on need and opportunity.
And remember, regardless of the type of ministry you pursue, the commands of Christ to share the Gospel, help others grow (spiritual parenting), and show love to all . . . apply to all Christians.
Question 3
How do I lead a small-group
