I had the privilege to grow up in a home that sought to serve the Lord. God was introduced into my life from birth. As a child I would actively identify myself as a Christian. At a young age my parents took us to Indonesia and later Bolivia to serve as missionaries. Spending my formative years in Bolivia is one of the foremost things that makes me who I am. While there I was very active in my church serving on worship teams and, in the absence of a youth pastor, served for two years as President of the Youth Council and therefore de facto Youth Pastor.
This time was a formative time as it taught me many things that have become foundational to me and my approach to pastoral ministry. It allowed me to learn what leadership is and is
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As such, I was thrust into a situation where I was doing much of the work of a pastor without realizing it. Right away I was putting together and leading services and serving as the pastoral representative on boards and committees. This continued for several months and I was asked to assume primary preaching responsibilities until a new Senior Pastor was called. Looking back, I absolutely convinced that God ordained all of this. If I had known what I was signing up for, I would never have accepted that position. Once I found myself doing it though, I discovered that not only did I enjoy it, but I was gifted at it. I remained in that role for three more years as the church had difficulty finding a permanent Senior Pastor. Several Interim Pastors were appointed and they each helped mold and mentor me in unique ways. You could say that this was a crash course in pastoral ministry. Once a new Senior Pastor was found, both the church and I agreed that I had outgrown the role I was originally hired for, and so I resigned with their …show more content…
These included the loss of a child. I needed time to process these events while still providing for my family. As a result, education became the casualty.
Though I experienced many false starts, my desire to pursue higher education in the area of theology and ministry has never waned. It has always been my goal to better my understanding and knowledge through formal education. Specifically I would like to get a Master’s of Divinity and pursue ordination. This is in response to the clear calling I have received to the pastorate. I have had many conversations with churches and denominational leaders about stepping into a Lead Pastor role, but I do not feel qualified with my lack of education.
For this reason, I resigned my position at the end of August, 2017 in order to dedicate myself full time to studies. After taking three courses in the fall 2017 semester I discovered that I thoroughly enjoy this learning. More importantly for me, I have discovered that I am capable of it. My desire is to work as efficiently as possible toward a Master’s of Divinity. Once that is complete, I would like to pursue a position as a Lead