Sometimes, the question 'Is God Calling Me?' is answered affirmatively. If God has called you to the ministry, then He will make that calling sure so you will have no doubts. Once that happens, you may wonder what you should do next.
Possible Next Steps:
- Contact your pastor. I hope you have been in conversation with your pastor already. If you have not, then you should contact him as soon as possible. He will want to pray with you about this major step in your life. Also, he will have some advice for you too.
- Go Public. A call to ministry is not a private matter once the calling is made sure. You need to make you calling known to your family, friends, and, especially, to your local body of believers. Why to your local church? The local church will confirm for other people that your calling is sincere (see step 4 and 5).
- Start serving somewhere, somehow. If God called you to the ministry, then you should start serving in the ministry before you are called to a specific vocation. There are always opportunities to serve by preaching at nursing homes, serving food at homeless shelters, and many other ways.
- Get Licensed. Your pastor may want to license you to the ministry. Licensure is a way for one local congregation to say to another that a person may be called to the ministry. Every denomination does this differently so talk with your pastor.
- Be Ordained. Once you are called to a specific vocation your home church, or the church who is calling you, will ordain you to the ministry. This is a special service where an ordaining council seeks to gauge your calling and effectiveness to the ministry. Upon recommendation of the ordination council, the church will proceed to ordain you and the ordained members present will lay hands on you.
