CHAPTER 3 "HOW DO YOU KNOW?"

How does one hear the call of God for their life? I have a friend, Mark Geppert, who heard the audible voice of God direct him to the mission field. I know others who have heard the call through a prophetic person speaking to them. I have heard others say they had a nagging and pulling in their spirit directing them into their call of ministry.

How does one really know? Regardless of how it comes I believe it comes in alignment with the Word of God and confirms what God has already spoken to the individual. How He speaks to each individual varies and I have learned to never put God in a box. God is God and He can call people however He wants. It varied throughout the Bible and it still varies in our lives today.

The call and direction in my life came subtly and a little differently. Most people look forward to the future when seeking the direction of God for their lives. The Lord had me look backward to help me see how He wanted me to serve Him in ministry.

I stayed in the small Assembly of God Church for about six months. This was in Newport News, Virginia. There was another Assembly of God close by that was experiencing revival and great growth. The church was Bethel Temple Assembly of God in Hampton, Virginia. Someone told me of this revival and invited me to attend with them. I had no idea what revival was or what it looked like at that time. All I knew was that this church was exciting! The pastor was very dynamic and his messages were relevant and life changing. There were multiple services. At the end of every one people would fill the front altar to accept Jesus into their lives. I have never met a preacher since who could give an evangelistic call like this man. He would preach on tithing and then give the call and people would flock to get saved!

I was water baptized and baptized in the Holy Spirit at the small Assembly of God Church. The pastor and his wife were so kind to me. I was feeling guilty when I missed service there to attend Bethel Temple, which was happening more and more. After missing a service one Sunday morning to attend Bethel Temple, the pastor called me to see why I was missing. I felt so badly telling him that I was attending another church. He was such a kind man and said that he was so happy that I was attending the other church. He was relieved to know that I was not backsliding. He told me I should go where I thought I would grow spiritually. He then said if I decided to leave his church that I was welcome back anytime. This humble pastor’s main concern was my growth and not the growth of his church. This was the first pastor/leadership lessons that I learned.

I was attending three services a week at Bethel Temple, Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Wednesdays. I was learning so much. With the church growing so fast the needs in the church were growing, too. Every service they presented opportunities for people to get involved. They never begged for workers or put guilt trips on people. They always presented the needs as great opportunities for people to serve the Lord. For six months I resisted getting involved beyond attending services. My part time real estate career was growing so I really did not see how I could find the time.

The pastor was Daniel Livingston. He was incredible. When he did not preach he had other gifted and anointed speakers. At that time Reinhard Bonnke, Benny Hinn, Benson Idahosa, David Wilkerson, Betty Baxter, John Wimber, James Robison, Ron Luce, Paul Yonggi Cho, Phil Driscoll, Rich Wilkerson and others would preach at the church.

Mike Murdock came to the church for one of the weekend services. During the Sunday evening service he preached about the necessity of every believer to be involved in serving in ministry. He taught that most people look toward the future when seeking God’s direction. He then taught that when God wants to use us, it is usually where we have been used in the past. Where were we effective and what did we enjoy doing as we look back on our lives. He also shared to look past our salvation experience and see what we enjoyed doing throughout our life.

He had an altar call for those who wanted to be prayed for to help them find their place of ministry and service. I did not respond to the call but sat in my seat and started to reflect back on my life and prayed.

What did I enjoy doing? Where was I used and fulfilled in the past? The first thought that came to me was “kids.” I thought of how I enjoyed being with my nieces, nephew and other children. I remembered how the children had so much fun with me. I prayed, “Lord, do you want me to get involved with children?” After sitting in the pew for the last six months I was ready to serve and maybe it was in the children’s ministry? Then I thought, “I am not even a member of this church, how can I get involved?”

The next morning was an early morning, prayer service for men. I had been attending them. I quietly sat in the back and prayed. When prayer was over and as I was leaving the children’s pastor, who I had never met, grabbed me. He commented, “Brother, as I was praying this morning I noticed you and the Lord directed me to ask you something. We have a need in our ministry to young boys called Royal Rangers. Is the Lord, speaking anything to you about getting involved in children’s ministry?”

I was shocked! I guess this was one of the first times that God had answered my prayer and it happened so quickly! Pastor Scott was the childrens pastor’s name. I shared with him how I had just prayed the night before about getting involved in children’s ministry. I then informed him that I was not a member yet. He was probably jumping up and down on the inside but calmly told me to pray some more to be sure and get back with him. Getting volunteers in children’s ministry is always a chore and I am sure he wanted to grab me right away but he used wisdom and patience.

I did pray some more and the next thing I knew I was becoming a member of Bethel Assembly of God and was soon to be serving as a Commander in the Royal Rangers Ministry. I was now involved in the fulfillment of the call of God on my life. There was more training and experience to follow but once I answered the call God made provision for all of that.