Finding Your Place in Ministry

Ever since my life changed so dramatically in July, I’ve thought many times about what God’s plan in all this is. I certainly didn’t plan on taking in my handicapped niece and spending my days caring for her.

Suddenly my husband and I, who were reveling in being empty nesters and discussing other ministry opportunities, had a ministry of another kind dropped on our laps.

Over and over the last few weeks, the Scriptures in the DbD material drive home the point that God created us for service, that His plan is for us to be doing good works, that we are to bear fruit for His kingdom.

But how do we find our place in ministry? While sometimes we are given a ministry, at other times we need to seek on out.

A good place to start is by thinking about our natural abilities and our spiritual gifts. “What am I good at?” is a natural first question. “What do I like to do?” is another good question.

Then we can think about our own unique experiences and education that will have prepared us for a particular ministry.

I think back in my own life. In college, I was a Child Development/Child Care major. I never worked in that field, since I went on and got a master’s degree in hospital administration. But I am using everything I remember from that child development degree in dealing with my niece. That training gave me many of the tools I need to manage her behavior, and also gave me enough knowledge of how the mental health system works to know what questions to ask. God knew 30 years ago that this degree would come in handy.

So it is with any experience we have had. It may seem completely random, but months or years later will be used by God in service somehow, somewhere.

Having said all that, I think the key is to not spend too much time trying to come up with the perfect ministry that will be fulfilling, enjoyable and bear much fruit. If you don’t start serving until you find that perfect opportunity, you probably never will.

The key is to find something that you can commit to for a few months, and give it a try. Just get out and start serving someplace. It may not seem like a glamorous ministry (like washing pots) or one that uses all your gifts. But try something, get started.

You may find that the ministry you tried is not for you. But that ministry could lead you to another that you never would have considered which turns out to be the one you were searching for.

Once you are in motion, God will lead you and use you. I know, because He’s done that for me.