Call to ministry

I had the opportunity this morning to share in our weekly staff meeting about my ministry area. I dedicated a portion of this time to talk about my call to ministry. It helps me to re-live this time in my life to keep the calling that God has placed on my life fresh and exciting. It’s easy to get lost in the day-to-day minutia of ministry. What it is that God has called you to do…or is currently calling you to do.

In 2001 my wife and I moved to Hendersonville and joined First Baptist Church. I immediately got involved in the newly forming media ministry as our first media minister (Justin Diel) was coming on staff. I served as a volunteer for several years, watching the ministry grow rapidly.

During this time I was working in the corporate offices at LifeWay Christian Resources. I enjoyed my job there, but felt like God was calling me to do something else. So I spent several months praying and asking God to show me what it was He was calling me to do. At the same time, I was thanking God for allowing me to serve in our media ministry and continually prayed that he would give me more opportunities to serve.

While praying one day in April 2003, God said “I want you to do media ministry as your career.” I didn’t audibly hear Him, but I heard Him! I immediately realized what God had been preparing me to do…what His purpose for my life was.

I began pursuing media ministry with a laser focus. I attended any training I could find, started doing freelance video production, went back to school and spent time being mentored by Justin Diel and later Jeff Stoll when he came to First Baptist. Basically I took every opportunity that was given to me. When God opened a door, I walked through it. I’m pretty sure my family thought I was crazy.

I even went to my boss and told her that I was in the wrong job…kind of a risky thing to do! She wasn’t real sure what to do with that, so she sent me to her boss (our director). I met with him and told him the same thing – that I was in the wrong job. The advice he gave me was possibly the best advice I’ve ever been given. He asked me what I wanted to be doing in 5 years. When I laid it out, he said, “Let’s start today.” He sent me to do more training and even allowed me opportunities to do video production work in our department and other areas as much as possible.

In 2006 I accepted a position at First Baptist Goodlettsville as their Interim Minister of Media. This was a new position for them and they weren’t even sure that they needed it, but were willing to give it a try. By the time I left about a year later, they insisted that I find someone to fill that position. Thankfully, God had already been working and someone stepped into that position immediately.

I came to First Baptist Hendersonville as Director of Audio and Video in March 2007. I spent the next several months working closely with Jeff Stoll…he’s been a great friend, confidant, and mentor. When he left in November 2007, I took over as Minister of Media.

Less than 5 years after the meeting with my director, I was doing what God had called me to do. Don’t give up…don’t worry about what other people think…if God is calling you to do something, do it. God has a very specific plan for your life.