The main argument Jason K. Allen makes in his book Discerning Your Call to
Ministry is the importance of discerning if God called you to ministry. c In other
words, an individual needs to understand if it is indeed God calling them to the
ministry. c In discerning one’s call, it is important to understand if they are either
called to minister, called to ministry, or called to the ministry. c c Allen noted, “every
Christian is called to minister. c As I explained to Mike, to minister—or to serve the
body of Christ—isn’t for a select few. c It is part and parcel of the Christian life.”[1]
We are all called to be servants of God. c However, this is different between called
to ministry and being called to the ministry. c If one is called to ministry, then they
are not subject to meeting the qualifications of being an ordained minister as
found in 1 Timothy 3. c Another point that Allen makes is that “a call to preach or
teach the Word is a distinguishing mark of a call to the ministry.”[2] c Allen makes
it very clear that it is important to discern your call to ministry because God sets
apart those who are called to be ministers. c If we are confident that God has set
us apart for His service of preaching and teaching the Gospel by answering
affirmatively the ten questions Allen discuss in ten chapters of his book, then we
have successfully discerned God’s call to the ministry for our lives.
My call to ministry was not similar to what Allen promotes because I was young
when God called me to the ministry. c At the age of ten, God called me to the
ministry in a dream. c In the dream, an angel dressed in all white was in my
bedroom at the foot of my bed. c The light of the angel brightened up my entire
room. c The angel expressed to me that God has chosen me to preach the Gospel
to the nations. When I looked up, the angel was gone. c I had trouble sleeping the
rest of the night. c Even with this vivid call to ministry, I was not interested in
preaching the Gospel or serving God in any capacity. c I was very passionate about
sports when I was younger and had a desire to become a professional athlete. c
Even though I did not make it as a professional athlete, God still called me to the
ministry. c Honestly, I did not think that I was good enough because I felt as if I
could not preach dynamically as the pastors I served under throughout my life. c All
of this changed in August 2010. c I was returning home from our church’s revival, I
heard God’s voice again to call me to preach and serve Him as a minister of the
Gospel. c The final excuse that I gave to God was that “I cannot preach like Bishop
Sheals (my current pastor), Pastor Smith (my first pastor in Buffalo), or Pastor
Alexander (the pastor I served under while living in Charlotte, NC).” c After I said
this to God, God in response directly told me “I did not call you to preach like
these men, I called you to preach the Gospel.” c Needless to say, I surrendered to
God’s call and said yes. c As a result, running from God’s call and my questioning
and giving God excuses ended and I was very confident in God calling me to the
ministry.
I believe that it okay to question God’s call on your life for ministry. c I believe this
because this is a very serious call as lives and souls are at stake. c It is important
to evaluate yourself to determine if God has set you apart for service to the
ministry. c This will include questioning your call to ministry. c As Allen eloquently
stated, “the ministry is too consequential to be taken casually.”[3] c Therefore, it is
extremely important to know for sure that you are set apart by God to the
ministry.
