Engaging this module
You are invited to explore this module by reading the content, watching the presentations and videos and responding to the suggested exercises and activities. You are encouraged to have a Bible and journaling materials nearby to take notes.
Exploring Your Call
Congratulations!
You have been chosen to ‘fill in the blank’. It could be to teach the 2nd and 3rd grade Sunday school class, or to chair the Christian Education Committee, lead an adult Bible study, join the youth advisor team or serve as a confirmation mentor. It might even be to serve as the employed Christian Education staff person.
How do you respond? Is this your calling to ministry?
In the Reformed tradition we affirm the priesthood of all believers…that is, all are called to lives of faithful service. Calling is a holy moment. True callings are blessed by God for the work of the kingdom of God. Not all callings happen the same way. Some are dramatic. Some are quiet occasions. All are rooted and confirmed in prayer.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT BEING CALLED?
EXPLORE
Choose two of the scripture passages from this list:
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- Genesis 6:9-7:5
- Exodus 3:1-22
- Esther 4
- Isaiah 6:1-8
- Judges 4:1-10
- Matthew 4:18-22
- Luke 1:26-38
- Acts 6:1-6
- Acts 9:1-19
- Acts 16:11-15
Reflect on the call story using these prompts:
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- Is the call to an individual or a group?
- Is the call to a specific task or a long-term commitment?
- Does the call come directly from God or through another person?
- How does the person respond?
- How does this story help you understand your call?
ENGAGE
Listen to the journey of educator Tamar Wasoian and see ways in which you can identify with her call.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE CALLED?
As you ponder how to answer your invitation to ministry, consider these points:
A calling invites you to be part of something bigger than yourself. It invites you into a project that benefits others. It gives you a space to make a difference in your church, in your community and in the world. A call allows you to share the good news of the gospel. A calling gives you an opportunity to use the gifts and skills, talents and passions, that God has bestowed upon you.
To help discover and/or affirm these gifts and passions use one of these spiritual gifts inventory exercises.
The Team Ministry Spiritual Gifts Survey
Discovering Your Spiritual Gifts
Make a list of the gifts, skills, and talents that enable you to fulfill this call.
What excites you about this call, job, or position?
ENGAGE
Listen to journey of elder Steven Erhart and see ways in which you can identify with his call.
HOW DO I KNOW I’M BEING CALLED?
FINAL THOUGHTS ABOUT YOUR CALL
- A calling is an opportunity to participate in transformation; transformation in an individual’s life of faith, transformation in a community of believers, transformation in the world.
- Callings come in all shapes and sizes.
- Some callings seem big and important like being on the front lines of ministry. Reorganizing the Sunday morning schedule may not sound transforming but it could open the door to deeper, more meaningful relationships that transform a community.
- Other callings may appear small and inconsequential, like setting up chairs and making copies. It may seem like a small thing to open the Bible with children but in doing so, you just may open that child to a faith that transforms life.
- A task undertaken for the sake of the kingdom of God is a calling.
Frederick Buechner offers that God usually calls us to the kind of work that we need to do and that the world needs to have done. God calls us to the place where our deep gladness and the world’s hunger meet.
Write a statement describing your call and how the gifts and skills you bring to it will enable and empower you to serve in this way.