Called to be a pastor

[Kota]

How can I know if I am called to be a pastor? I’ll start with a little background. The church I go to is called Rocky Mountain Calvary. I go there a lot and sometimes I am able to chat with the lead pastor. The lead pastor to me is like an example of what a pastor should do, which is teaching the truth.He does an amazing job diving deeply into the Bible and does not preach things that only tickle the ears.The church has a large staff of pastors. I always have this unbearable urge to teach Gods word. I pray about it a lot. The church has 2 campuses and I attend both. I go to the smaller campus and many of the people there always tell me I am going to be a pastor one day. My parents also tell me that too. I love being able to just have a few hours to my self each day to pray and read the Bible. I know that being a pastor can be a complicated job. I mean to some extent people’s salvation is on your hands, because if you are not teaching the truth of salvation or making up false doctrines, it could affect their eternity. Also, there will always be temptations to stray from the truth. By being a pastor, you have to be searching deeply for the truth. You can’t just open one study Bible, look at the study notes, and make your lesson. The Bible has to be deeply examined. I just want to know how I can know if being a pastor is really my calling.

 

[Kota]

I just couldn’t imagine me having a different job(only word i can think of, btw it’s more than a job.) My church is also looking for biblical counselors. I just want to somehow teach people Gods word and help them with struggles and lead them to truth.

 

[maintenance man]

I just want to know how I can know if being a pastor is really my calling.

It sounds to me like you do know.

Find one of those staff pastors who is willing to mentor you and get busy.

 

[Radagast]

How can I know if I am called to be a pastor?

There is a road towards becoming a pastor. It involves serious Bible study (usually finishing up in college) and service within the church. Many pastors also benefit from a season spent doing an "ordinary" job, just for a wider experience of people.

Walking part of the way down that road is a good thing to do even if you don't become a pastor in the end.

So start walking, I guess!

 

[Brian Mcnamee]

How can I know if I am called to be a pastor? I’ll start with a little background. The church I go to is called Rocky Mountain Calvary. I go there a lot and sometimes I am able to chat with the lead pastor. The lead pastor to me is like an example of what a pastor should do, which is teaching the truth.He does an amazing job diving deeply into the Bible and does not preach things that only tickle the ears.The church has a large staff of pastors. I always have this unbearable urge to teach Gods word. I pray about it a lot. The church has 2 campuses and I attend both. I go to the smaller campus and many of the people there always tell me I am going to be a pastor one day. My parents also tell me that too. I love being able to just have a few hours to my self each day to pray and read the Bible. I know that being a pastor can be a complicated job. I mean to some extent people’s salvation is on your hands, because if you are not teaching the truth of salvation or making up false doctrines, it could affect their eternity. Also, there will always be temptations to stray from the truth. By being a pastor, you have to be searching deeply for the truth. You can’t just open one study Bible, look at the study notes, and make your lesson. The Bible has to be deeply examined. I just want to know how I can know if being a pastor is really my calling.

Hi one of the gifts a pastor needs is to be able to teach. Another quality is to be humble and be willing to start serving in the church in many lower capacities. Teaching the kids is a good place to start breaking down the lessons and sharing with the kids is very important. Also do some of the thankless stuff behind the scenes like show up early help set up, clean up and what ever is needed that you can do. Talk with your pastor about the path towards being ready and see if he has advice on how to prepare. You will get confirmation as to your gifts and abilities but the key foundation is Godly character.

 

[Sabertooth]

How can I know if I am called to be a pastor?

Well for one, you will have to be a lot more secure in your Christianity than you have been up until now, but that comes with time, prayer and study.

According to 1 Timothy 3:1-7 (particularly verse 6), such a person shouldn't be a novice.

 

[Tolworth John]

How can I know if I am called to be a pastor?

You test it by getting heavily involved in your church.
Volunter to help wereever help is needed, get involved in teaching a bible class, read apologetic blogs, theological books, get to work talking to people about what they believe and explaining Christianity to them.

Any keen and eager person will be watched by a pastor to see if they are fit to be a minister.

Basicly which is easier to steer a car with the bralke on or one that is moving.

 

[Paidiske]

Your profile says you are 38. What are you doing in your life now? Does it have any comparison to ministry, and do those things which are comparable bring you a sense of fulfilment and joy? That would be one thing to reflect on.

But I'd start by finding out what your denomination would expect in the way of discernment and training, because that will help you work out what a first step might look like.

 

[Kota]

Well for one, you will have to be a lot more secure in your Christianity than you have been up until now, but that comes with time, prayer and study.

According to 1 Timothy 3:1-7 (particularly verse 6), such a person shouldn't be a novice.

I know that. I have a lot of room to grow and it’s not like I’m going to become a pastor next year. It would still be a while, like finishing up college and all of that.

 

[bekkilyn]

Best thing to do to start off with is to make an appointment and talk about it with your own pastor, and then go from there.

 

[shout4Lord]

How can I know if I am called to be a pastor? I’ll start with a little background. The church I go to is called Rocky Mountain Calvary. I go there a lot and sometimes I am able to chat with the lead pastor. The lead pastor to me is like an example of what a pastor should do, which is teaching the truth.He does an amazing job diving deeply into the Bible and does not preach things that only tickle the ears.The church has a large staff of pastors. I always have this unbearable urge to teach Gods word. I pray about it a lot. The church has 2 campuses and I attend both. I go to the smaller campus and many of the people there always tell me I am going to be a pastor one day. My parents also tell me that too. I love being able to just have a few hours to my self each day to pray and read the Bible. I know that being a pastor can be a complicated job. I mean to some extent people’s salvation is on your hands, because if you are not teaching the truth of salvation or making up false doctrines, it could affect their eternity. Also, there will always be temptations to stray from the truth. By being a pastor, you have to be searching deeply for the truth. You can’t just open one study Bible, look at the study notes, and make your lesson. The Bible has to be deeply examined. I just want to know how I can know if being a pastor is really my calling.

i am school teacher in 1988 when i was 26y old.. God blessed me to go to church.. Day time i went to do my school teacher job and evenings i went to witness to people on my personal salvation.. i don't know the call of God but i know how he saved me through his grace.. i witnessed for two years.. God blessed few people started to believe in Jesus ... slowly they turned to gather in one place ...And i started to Bible studies in postal education like distant education... after 5 years i have left my schools teacher job and came to do full time ministry..Slowly God helped me to grow in knowledge and faith... i decided to live in very remote area where is no churches.. I faced attacks too because our country is not with many Christians and churches.. now i am 57y old .. 31y passed.,. i am with some huge ministry and many ministers are trained in ministry (by our bible college ) and they are working with me,... God can help you.. try to humble and use your all free time to witness to people by giving your testimony and telling gospel ... God is with you .. Emmanuel.. an infant grows like a 6 foot gentle man... do not worry.. God bless you..

 

[Rawtheran]

How can I know if I am called to be a pastor? I’ll start with a little background. The church I go to is called Rocky Mountain Calvary. I go there a lot and sometimes I am able to chat with the lead pastor. The lead pastor to me is like an example of what a pastor should do, which is teaching the truth.He does an amazing job diving deeply into the Bible and does not preach things that only tickle the ears.The church has a large staff of pastors. I always have this unbearable urge to teach Gods word. I pray about it a lot. The church has 2 campuses and I attend both. I go to the smaller campus and many of the people there always tell me I am going to be a pastor one day. My parents also tell me that too. I love being able to just have a few hours to my self each day to pray and read the Bible. I know that being a pastor can be a complicated job. I mean to some extent people’s salvation is on your hands, because if you are not teaching the truth of salvation or making up false doctrines, it could affect their eternity. Also, there will always be temptations to stray from the truth. By being a pastor, you have to be searching deeply for the truth. You can’t just open one study Bible, look at the study notes, and make your lesson. The Bible has to be deeply examined. I just want to know how I can know if being a pastor is really my calling.

I was once in your shoes so I'm going to give you some advice. First, its important to know that God calls all people to be active in the ministry whether that be participating in Sunday school, singing in the choir/praise band, member of the prayer team, etc. because these are all gifts that God gives us. Now there are times where God calls people to occupational ministry full time and usually those involve being a Missionary, being a Youth Pastor, Worship Leader, or the most common one everyone thinks of "The Pastor" where your job is to visit people in the hospital, lead Bible Studies, lead committees and preach from the pulpit. Know calling is divided into two parts. The first part of the call of God is he puts a passion in your heart to pursue something like you really enjoy teaching/preaching to Youth and are very gifted in this area therefore God is calling you to become a Youth Pastor because he has put that desire in you. Next, the call of God is outward as in it is something that must be confirmed by the church or God must tell you where you are to go. The other biggest piece of advice I can offer is don't ever become a Pastor of a church or denomination unless you seriously agree with their belief statements otherwise you're just going to be miserable and suffer from burnout.

I once felt the call to become a Pastor and I jumped the gun by joining a United Methodist Church and within two years was on the fast track to become a Licensed Local Pastor and go to seminary. The problem was I never evaluated myself or really asked the question what type of ministry is God calling me to and where does he want me to go? It turns out what was a desire to go into ministry was really just an intense passion to want to get involved in the right church and serve Jesus. I still feel that God has called me to ministry but I'm not going to just jump into it head first until I know what type of ministry he is calling me into and what denomination. I hope that this helps you.

 

[woobadooba]

There is a road towards becoming a pastor...usually finishing up in college..."

Not needed unless you plan to become a part of a specific denomination requiring such credentials and expect to get paid for your services.

In my opinion, it is wrong to expect people who desire to serve God to go into debt for tens of thousands of dollars to earn a bachelor's degree in Theology. And then expecting them to go deeper into debt by entering the seminary! The way the system is set up today is unbiblical.

But I do believe you need to demonstrate you know how to handle the word of God before becoming a pastor.

 

[Paidiske]

I see this kind of anti-college, anti-intellectual post a lot here, but as someone actually in ministry, I'm going to just put it out there and say that's quite dangerous.

True you don't need a masters in Biblical languages to love and serve God's people. But you do need some basic knowledge and skills, and it's very difficult to obtain those in an unstructured way.

Knowing how to deal with people who are suicidal, who are addicts, who have been or are being abused, who have various types of mental illness, for example; those are situations where handling it badly can lead to really, really bad outcomes.

Having some idea about basic legal requirements and what a church needs to do to meet them; how to build a church culture where children are safe from predators; again, those are things that are not necessarily intuitive, but if you go into ministry without them, you can shipwreck a church.

There's much more to being a pastor than handling the Scriptures (although a bit of study there is enormously beneficial too), and suggesting that this stuff isn't important reveals a significant blind spot that too many people in our churches still have.

 

[mnorian]

I see this kind of anti-college, anti-intellectual post a lot here, but as someone actually in ministry, I'm going to just put it out there and say that's quite dangerous.

True you don't need a masters in Biblical languages to love and serve God's people. But you do need some basic knowledge and skills, and it's very difficult to obtain those in an unstructured way.

Knowing how to deal with people who are suicidal, who are addicts, who have been or are being abused, who have various types of mental illness, for example; those are situations where handling it badly can lead to really, really bad outcomes.

Having some idea about basic legal requirements and what a church needs to do to meet them; how to build a church culture where children are safe from predators; again, those are things that are not necessarily intuitive, but if you go into ministry without them, you can shipwreck a church.

There's much more to being a pastor than handling the Scriptures (although a bit of study there is enormously beneficial too), and suggesting that this stuff isn't important reveals a significant blind spot that too many people in our churches still have.

In the churches of the evangelistic movement of the 70's and 80's in the western US part; (this is the part I was in--there may have been others in the others parts of the US also) where a lot of churches were started by "Lay preachers"; evangelist; and "fly-by-night" commune groups; there were a lot of start-up churches that had their ships crash on the shoals of reality.

Good intentions are great; but knowing how to sail a ship of the Lords thru shark infested waters takes more then that; as we know what the road to Hell is paved with.

 

[Rawtheran]

I see this kind of anti-college, anti-intellectual post a lot here, but as someone actually in ministry, I'm going to just put it out there and say that's quite dangerous.

True you don't need a masters in Biblical languages to love and serve God's people. But you do need some basic knowledge and skills, and it's very difficult to obtain those in an unstructured way.

Knowing how to deal with people who are suicidal, who are addicts, who have been or are being abused, who have various types of mental illness, for example; those are situations where handling it badly can lead to really, really bad outcomes.

Having some idea about basic legal requirements and what a church needs to do to meet them; how to build a church culture where children are safe from predators; again, those are things that are not necessarily intuitive, but if you go into ministry without them, you can shipwreck a church.

There's much more to being a pastor than handling the Scriptures (although a bit of study there is enormously beneficial too), and suggesting that this stuff isn't important reveals a significant blind spot that too many people in our churches still have.

I agree with your post but I just wanted to add that the majority of denominational/nondenominational churches out that don't have higher education requirements don't just thrust people into ministry. There are several churches that have great discipleship and intern programs where candidates for ministry will usually work alongside their pastor step by step through Bible Study, Exegesis, Preaching, Pastoral Care, etc. for a couple years before being allowed to take on a church of their own and I've met some great pastors who went through this type of program that were just as equipped for ministry as a seminary trained pastor. Besides a weakness I'd like to point out with several mainline denominations that do require a seminary degree is that a lot of times they will send candidates to seminary without ever testing the authenticity of their call and then place them in a church when they graduate because there is such a desperate need for pastors. I don't think just churning out seminary graduates who may or may not be qualified for ministry and then sending them on their way is very healthy for congregations.

 

[Paidiske]

I agree with your post but I just wanted to add that the majority of denominational/nondenominational churches out that don't have higher education requirements don't just thrust people into ministry. There are several churches that have great discipleship and intern programs where candidates for ministry will usually work alongside their pastor step by step through Bible Study, Exegesis, Preaching, Pastoral Care, etc. for a couple years before being allowed to take on a church of their own and I've met some great pastors who went through this type of program that were just as equipped for ministry as a seminary trained pastor. Besides a weakness I'd like to point out with several mainline denominations that do require a seminary degree is that a lot of times they will send candidates to seminary without ever testing the authenticity of their call and then place them in a church when they graduate because there is such a desperate need for pastors. I don't think just churning out seminary graduates who may or may not be qualified for ministry and then sending them on their way is very healthy for congregations.

I don't have any experience of such internship programmes, but in theory I can see how they could be a good foundation. I would still worry about some of the things it would be difficult to do well in that kind of programme (two years is a very short training period).

And I absolutely agree that a degree is not in and of itself enough. My denomination was very clear with us that although they require the degree, "We don't ordain degrees." The questions of vocation, of spirituality, of leadership potential, of personality and so forth were all taken very seriously, and I'd worry about a church that didn't do that, either.

In a way the question of "What makes for adequate, or for excellent, preparation for ministry?" could really be a thread of its own. But in a way it's irrelevant for the OP, who needs to find out what his own church expects.

 

[Southernscotty]

I just couldn’t imagine me having a different job(only word i can think of, btw it’s more than a job.) My church is also looking for biblical counselors. I just want to somehow teach people Gods word and help them with struggles and lead them to truth.

SD - Basic and Advanced Training - Sonrise Biblical Counseling Ministry
I took my biblical counseling training with Sonrise Baptist. They will cert you for the American Bible Counselors Association. The price is very reasonable and the training invaluable. Awesome Dr's and professors.
Bless you friend and good luck.

 

[bekkilyn]

As a UMC licensed local pastor, I am not required to get an M.Div, but am required to participate in a 5-year course of study during the time I am appointed as pastor. (And typically the same schools that offer the M.Div offer the course of study.) With that said, we have a pretty lengthy months-long candidacy process that involves mentoring and preparing for various committee interviews to test and affirm the calling, and also if one possesses skills and abilities required for pastoring, and possibly transferable skills from former jobs and careers.

To become an ordained Elder, one either must complete an M.Div or have completed the basic course of study per above, as well as an advanced course of study, and then of course make it through all the various committees and other candidacy requirements.

Also, there are some UMC churches pastored by licensed lay ministers, and there is another set of requirements they go through for that license, and have classes they are required to take.

There are both pros and cons to all of the above options.

 

[Rawtheran]

As a UMC licensed local pastor, I am not required to get an M.Div, but am required to participate in a 5-year course of study during the time I am appointed as pastor. (And typically the same schools that offer the M.Div offer the course of study.) With that said, we have a pretty lengthy months-long candidacy process that involves mentoring and preparing for various committee interviews to test and affirm the calling, and also if one possesses skills and abilities required for pastoring, and possibly transferable skills from former jobs and careers.

To become an ordained Elder, one either must complete an M.Div or have completed the basic course of study per above, as well as an advanced course of study, and then of course make it through all the various committees and other candidacy requirements.

Also, there are some UMC churches pastored by licensed lay ministers, and there is another set of requirements they go through for that license, and have classes they are required to take.

There are both pros and cons to all of the above options.

Congrats to you sir! Once upon a time I was a UMC candidate for ordination but finishing up my military contract with the National Guard, College, and my theological leanings just didn't fit well within the vision of the UMC and it was with a great reluctance that I wrote my DS, and called my Pastor telling them I could not in good conscious serve the UMC as a Pastor. It was really hard too because my church, the DS, and DCOM were very spirit filled and friendly people. On a side note my first and only interview with DCOM was with a room with all female Elders and it was by far one of the most insightful/intimidating interview I've ever had especially with all of the questions they asked but overall it was a great experience.