Do you feel a calling to serve in ministry? Remember that while all Christians are responsible for fulfilling the Great Commission, some individuals are specifically called to shepherd and lead the church as pastors.
Ephesians 4:11–12
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, (ESV)
1 Timothy 4:14
Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. (ESV)
The Internal Call: Through his Spirit, God speaks to those persons he has called to serve as pastors and ministers of his Church.
- The great Reformer Martin Luther described this inward call as “God’s voice heard by faith.” Those whom God has called know this call by a sense of leading, purpose, and growing commitment.
- Charles Spurgeon identified the first sign of God’s call to the ministry as “an intense, all-absorbing desire for the work.”
- This sense of compulsion should prompt the believer to consider whether God may be calling him to the ministry.
The External Call: Baptists believe that God uses the congregation to “call out the called” to ministry.
- As a family of faith, the congregation should recognize and celebrate the gifts of ministry given to its members, and take responsibility to encourage those whom God has called to respond to that call with joy and submission.
- These days, many persons think of careers rather than callings. The biblical challenge to “consider your call” should be extended from the call to salvation to the call to the ministry.
- John Newton, famous for writing “Amazing Grace,” once remarked: “None but he who made the world can make a Minister of the Gospel.”
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Southern Seminary Equip: A Call to Ministry
Please reach out if you would love to talk further about how God is stirring your heart.