I Am A Pastor At A Church

On top of this, my parents always specifically looked up to me for being a leader in the house. The reason for this is, my parents knew very little English, and needed assistance with almost everything they would do. Also, I am the first child; the child that has to fall and learn from the mistakes without any older siblings advice or wisdom. Because of this, I make sure that once I learn the most efficient and effective ways of doing tasks, I then pass it down to my younger siblings. I make sure that they learn from my mistakes and accomplishments, while doing my best to lead them in the right direction to attain

Each child has his or her own personality. Typically the firstborn is a natural leader, while the last is always the baby, but what about the overlooked middle child? The middle child can sometimes feel lost in the crowd when it comes to family dynamics. They crave their parent’s attention and are willing to do anything to believe they have it, but immediately close up when it comes to conflict, they become people pleasers. They will do anything to make their parents, or others, happy. This makes the middle child a skilled peacemaker and negotiator (Varma, 2013). They are amazing listeners because of the fact they hate conflict,

In recent years, God has become a very important part of my life. I am determined to learn more about God and look forward to seeing what he has in store for me and my family. At one time God was not a big part of my life, I did not attend church regularly or feel close to him. I have always believed in God and Jesus Christ as our savior, but did not actively seek a closer relationship with him. I feel that much of that changed when I accepted my current job in a church based preschool program. After taking the position in the preschool, I was then offered a position in the church’s nursery on Sunday mornings. I accepted this position also and my son and I started attending Church every Sunday. In the time since, my husband, myself, and our children have all joined the Church, been baptized, and become very active in our Church. I feel that this was God’s plan for us all along. I feel that God guides our decisions each and everyday, and I now use prayer to seek his guidance for our lives.

Last Sunday at church Father Ron said something that hit home for me. He said that a mission begins with an invitation. I grew up in a rural area in the highlands of Nairobi, Kenya. Life was not easy and I always made a point of maximizing the opportunities I got. I grew up knowing that I wanted to be in a profession that really helped people improve their wellbeing. When I got the opportunity to go to university I choose to do Biomedical Science because I was very good at science and I thought that being a scientist was my calling. However, becoming an adult and having varying experiences like volunteering in a children’s home, working in the field doing research, working in a laboratory and currently working as a nurse aide has taught me

The one thing many people do not talk about is vocation. Gordon T. Smith declares there are three different forms of vocation. First is the general call which is the invitation to follow Christ. Second is the specific call, this is unique to each person and can be classified as their mission in this world. Third is the immediate responsibilities; these are the task God requires of us daily (p. 10). As a Christian, one's vocation is their response to God; their call is to serve Him in life and reflect who He is to others, no matter the stage of life they are in or the occupations they are call to pursue. Occupations may change through life, but the vocational call remains consistent despite the

Whitbourne explains the stereotypes surrounding sibling roles, such as the first-born is most likely to take on the leadership position, and tend to “stick to rules and order, and strive toward achievement

Ministry is more than just choosing a vocation for life; ministry calls the individual and beckons them to follow. At 53 years of age, I have taken a long journey to get to where I am today in ministry, yet I can say with all honesty, "I have not yet arrived." In describing the ingredients to a lasting ministry, Kevin Miller states, “A ‘call’ to ministry is not easily defined, but nothing could be more solid to most pastors. The call of God is

I must find my calling if I am to truly live my life to the fullest and to live out God’s plan for my life. God is the only one who can help me find my purpose. He has had a plan for my life long before I was even born and that God has a purpose for me that no one else could fulfill. “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future, Jeremiah 29:11” (NIV). This means that no matter what I do as long as I am in accordance with God’s will, everything will turn out for the best in the end. God has promised to give me hope and a future and to bless my life. “For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do, Ephesians 2:10” (NIV). With this knowledge I know that God has created me exactly the way I should be and that he has given me talents and skills enough to do all he asks of me to do.

As the eldest sibling, I had no choice but to become a leader. At first, bearing total responsibility seemed to be an enormous undertaking at such a young age. Oftentimes, I wished for an older sibling to take my place and carry that burden instead. However, that responsibility honored me with values and skills I wasn't able to recognize until years later. Still a child myself, at eleven years old, I was babysitting babies less than one year old. Changing diapers, administering medicine, and preparing food came naturally to me, as I had been helping and leading others all of my life. Having responsibility no longer felt like a burden, but a gift. Leading others is now what comes most naturally to me, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I am a middle child. I am not the assertive, naturally confident first-born, nor am I an attention-seeking youngest child; I am the quiet, quintessential middle child. For the first 16 years of my life, I was always an afterthought to the craziness of my two sisters, and I loved it‒ it made me independent and self-reliant. I have always been very comfortable being the easy-going child, happily accepting anything that comes my way. Never have I felt that my parents loved me any less; they merely had to worry less about me than they did my siblings, with their stubbornness and constant desire for affirmation. I easily slid under the radar, preferring to mind my own business and handle problems on my own. There was never anything wrong with my

In chapters 4-6 of Every Good Endeavor by Timothy Keller, Keller focuses on the frustration and fruitlessness of work. He even set it up perfectly in chapter four saying "something can be a vocation or calling only if some other party calls you to do it, and you do it for their sake rather than your own.” In most cases, our callings do not add up with what we had hoped for our lives. I have met so many people who are in ministry school or new in ministry who had plans to be in the medical field, but God called them to kids ministry. Back in high school, I had a mentor who ended up choosing an internship at a church, that would lead up to her directing a ministry school, over medical school at Oklahoma State University. Being called by God to

I was the youngest sibling in the family. But, don’t be fooled, somehow I have managed to meet and fail majority of the stereotypes resembling the youngest child. I have always been described as a natural leader, risk taker, and social butterfly.

The oldest child plays an inimitable role in the structure of her family. She has a propensity to be confident and often craves her independence at an early age. She sets the standard for her younger siblings and realizes that her actions are observed closely by impressionable eyes. This accountability often instills in her a drive to act in a respectable and responsible manner. As the oldest child in a family of eight, I have been persistent in regarding these characteristics and have enabled them to shape my identity.

My call to ministry was actually not my own doing. At the start of my Christian life, my mother and grandmother raised me in the church where I would sacrifice my life to be a part of ministry. I participate in different ministries as a child. I became a choir member at an early age. Then, I became a praise dancer, a junior deacon, and a Sunday school teacher. This transition to different ministries became a part of my true purpose for God: to fulfill His purpose in my life.

When you first begin a class you never know what to expect. When I first began Intro to Ministry, I did not know the level of insight that I would have about myself and about the character of God. I have been able to combine the things that have happened in my past and things that are happening now to try to paint God's picture in my life to come. Although you do not need to pinpoint the exact moment in time when you received your call for it to be legible, I am thankful that I do. I think it was a series of people and events unfolding in my life and God opened my eyes to the plans He had for me that lead me to that night. The day that I accepted my calling to be a youth pastor (December 30,2015) I did not go into that evening thinking “I’m going to listen to God and go into Ministry” - but I guess you never do. Since then God has been preparing me emotionally, physically, and mentally through programs that I have gone through, people in my life such as my friends, family, and professors I have gotten to know during the short time that I have been at Indiana Wesleyan. I am nowhere close to being where I want to be but that is the beauty of accepting God's call into any type of ministry, you do not have to have it all figured out, you just have to trust Him.“God is a God of infinite variety, and His call comes to people in many ways.” (Drury, K. Pg.67). I didn’t receive my calling in a damascus road way, instead God knew my heart and character so He gave me my calling in a