6 Questions to Ask if you Feel Called to Ministry
All are called to live and serve God. But only some are called to lead the church.
So, how do you know if you are being called to lead in and through the church?
Call of Moses
Moses had a pretty confusing call to leadership. Floated down a river to save his life, Moses grows up at the center of power in Pharaoh’s household. But then he tries to ignite a revolution on behalf of the Israelites—his people—and he ends up murdering someone and then running for his life.
Fast-forward forty years or so and Moses is a nobody out in the desert watching a flock for his father-in-law. But then “the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up” (Ex. 3: 2-3).
“I will go over and see this strange sight.”
That is how the beginning of a call to ministry happens. Certainly God is at work. But Moses needed to go over and check things out. God didn’t layout everything in advance. God didn’t make everything crystal clear. God didn’t even tell Moses that he was going to be a leader in training.
God just showed up. And Moses responded with curiosity, with interest, with a desire to learn more. And Moses ended up leading Israel out from slavery and into God’s presence.
Have I Been Called to Ministry?Your Call
Your call to ministry probably started just like that, with a little curiosity, with a little desire to learn more, to do more for your church. And that’s a really good things.
But then what comes next? How do we know if God is calling us into more?
Well, here are six questions to ask yourself if you are discerning a call to leadership in the church.
6 Questions to Ask When Discerning A Call to Ministry
- How strong is your passion for God? Are you trying to seek God before all else, to make God first in your life?
- How strong is your passion for God’s people? Leading means leading people, you can’t do it alone—Do you long to see God’s people grow.
- Have you noticed yourself be spiritually effective? This could look many different ways, but do you help people move forward spiritually?
- Do you have an inner call/drive to serve? Or is it just an obligation that you perform?
- Do you have an outer confirmation? Have people noticed or commented on where God might be leading you?
- Does your family support this movement? Do you parents and/or spouse notice your gifting or call to more leadership in the church?
You should spend time asking yourself these questions. And ask others (friends, family, church leaders) to answer them for you. If God is really at work in your life, then other should be noticing too (and besides, it help you not feel so crazy when you bring others in on this conversation).
We have created this short, free e-book that you can print out and write in that fills out these questions, helping you to go deeper. We hope it helps you on the journey.
If you are wondering about next steps in your ministry training, then check out our Why Seminary? ebook for ten reasons to consider seminary.