What? Where? How?
Part 3
By Rev. Steven Chriscole KT – Grand Master The Knights Templar Church
What will you do in your service to God and his Kingdom?
Where will you get involved.
How do you know if this is what God wants you to do? How will you go about finding out? How will you be able to get your ministry started?
In the first article in this series, we took a brief look at the “What“, meaning:
- What can I offer?
- What is my calling?
- What do I do to begin my search for my calling?
In the part 2 article we will looked at “Where” and by that I mean:
- Where we go to begin our search for our calling?
- Where can we get help to develop our perceived calling?
In this 3rd and final part we will find out about the “How”, which entails:
- How do you know if this is what God wants you to do?
- How will you go about finding out?
- How will you be able to get your ministry started?
Before I get to talk about “How”, I want to remind you of “The Why”, which is a question that has one simple answer:
“Because Jesus Christ commanded us thus:
Matthew 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
King James Bible
The fundamental part of the scripture above is about teaching everyone the truth that is God, the Son and the Holy Ghost. As you see, this is not a request but a command. It’s not something that should be ignored or ventured into half-heartedly.
The How
The first two articles in this series have pretty much covered “How do you know if this is what God wants you to do? “, but it’s worth saying a little more on this subject. As Christians we must always be led by the Holy Spirit. To be led in this way we must be born again, fully accepting and believing on the name of Jesus Christ as Lord and saviour. But recognising the leading of the Holy Spirit may not be a straightforward issue. It depends on your repentant heart and your walk with God. What follows is also pertinent to answer the question “How will you go about finding out?“
It is impossible (and would be inappropriate) for me to determine your individual status or level of spiritual awakening in God’s kingdom, but what I can say is that we are all at different “stages” (for want of another word) in our submission to God. Therefore it follows that we all have variable awareness of the presence of the Holy Spirit within us. I can only provide some sense of how He has worked in my own life, which may be relevant to you or not.
I stress, for me, I see the Holy Spirit working in my life in various ways. Firstly, I pray about my calling and ask God specifically to help, lead and bring to my awareness what he wants me to do. This is not a “one-off” prayer, but is revisited various times. Second, I wait on the Lord. Watching what happens around me for opportunities and being open to hear the thoughts and suggestions of others. Thirdly, to listen inwardly in meditative prayer for connections being made, waiting for a pathway to form in my mind, which is not a contrived thing that I have struggled to create myself. In these things I allow room for the Holy Spirit to bring things to my attention, and when this happens, ideas form, pathways present themselves, I pray again for clarity and confirmation. Finally, I weigh whatever the Lord has directed against the authority of scripture.
The above is something of a summary of a process that takes place for me. The time scale may be in weeks, months or even years (the latter in my case). Another element has got to be patience, and lots of it. Then finally, making sure that you don’t jump in at the first thing that comes to mind, you must weigh carefully your thoughts and ideas.
How will you be able to get your ministry started?
Once again, I can offer only suggestions, as each person has their own individual lives and circumstances. To be able to get a ministry started requires that in the first instance you are sure (and have it confirmed by God) just what that ministry actually is. So I will now work on a basic assumption that this is so, and you are seeking to get started in a specific ministry.
I know, it doesn’t always happen in such a cut and dried fashion. Sometimes the Lord leads us into situations in unusual ways, so we need to be prepared for that to happen too. As I said earlier, in writing this article it is not possible for me to cover every scenario that you may find yourself in.
What Kind of Ministry?
Let me say at the outset, that all ministry is service to God in one way or another. The word “minister” is just one word used to translate the Common Greek word used in the New Testament “diakonos” which is interchangeably translated as “servant”. Understanding that and internalising it means that we need to be sure that what we intend to do is for the Glory of God, in the name of Christ, and does not intentionally bring glory to ourselves. I say intentionally because the work we are directed to do is for God’s kingdom, and not our own. We are not in the business of building our own “empire” and following, rather we are involved in ways that build an ever growing number of people who have come to know Christ as we do. That is our focus.
Whatever the ministry, it might create a certain following for yourself, depending on the ministry you engage in. For example, if you are a preacher (lay or ordained) it might be that others may recognise your sermons, watch out for more, tell others about them, who then may follow you (on YouTube or other social media for example). In a case like this, you can use the popularity of your work to great effect in bringing more people to the Lord. Knowing how to manage that requires a great deal of prayer and connection to a local church who can advise you appropriately.
Local Advice
Of course there are many types of ministry, and you will have sought the Lord as we said above and decided on a direction. What happens in many churches is that they can only offer limited opportunities to help you to engage in your chosen ministry. Their resources are few and they will have their own stated mission for that church, which may or may not align with your chosen ministry. You might have to look further afield. But your local church is the place to start. I would suggest that your first step is to engage with your pastor (if you haven’t done so already) and discuss your ideas. He may at least have knowledge of opportunities which you may not be aware of. It’s also a good idea to speak to other elders of your church and get their opinions. In the end, it’s you who needs to decide on how to proceed. The more information you have at your disposal, the better informed will be your decision. At all times, pray about what you have discussed.
Training
If you have decided to engage in a ministry that is supported by your local church (or other Christian organisation locally) then the first thing to ask yourself is, “Am I equipped to engage in this ministry?” To answer that, you need to take a long and honest look at yourself. Do you have previous experience? Have you taken study enough to be competent in this area? Answering these two questions should give you a fairly clear recognition as to whether you need to do some studies in the field you have chosen.
It might be that your local church/organisation provides in house training, which is great. Get signed up and get started! Once you’ve done that (or even during the training) get started with your chosen ministry. No doubt there will be others there to guide and assist you as you orient yourself. This is probably the easiest and best way to get started in service to God. In my case, apart from a rather unsuccessful stint as a Catholic alter boy when I was a kid, my service has been somewhat varied. I started with local visitation, then some house church work and also stewarding in the local church. I’ve done outdoorsmanship work with children (Royal Rangers) and I’ve since progressed to teaching English as a foreign language to assylum seekers. Ultimately the Lord saw fit to position me to be trained and ordained (currently) as a Kingdom Minister and Leading minister in the Knights Templar Church.
I mention my own pathway just as an example of the long and winding road that service to God can sometimes take. But also to highlight the need for training. In my own pathway, I’ve had to undergo certain training. My local church at the time provided training for visitation. My own past military experience provided the necessary skills for working in the Royal Rangers, with camping and other activities. So in that, my extensive military training came into play. To teach I had to gain a recognised (basic) teaching qualification and then a course in TEFL. You can imagine then, then there was a significant amount of training required for my initial ordination, and that training continues as I build my experience as a Minister.
What About You?
Do you need training is a particular skill but don’t know where to go to get it? Perhaps you’ve researched (as I did) and found somewhere that is ideal, but your finances are pretty thin or maybe your job would get in the way of attending a college? These are the most common reasons why people like you and I find it so very difficult to move forward in an area that you know God wants you to go.
Well, I discovered a way to get excellent training from a reputable college and the best part is that it is free! All you need is a computer (or access to one) and an internet connection. I’m not going to explain any further about that training here, because they offer so many different training pathways, that this article would become a book!
Christian Leaders Institute *
To find out more about the training for ministry, please go to:
https://christianleadersinstitute.org
* I am not in affiliation with Christian Leaders Institute and receive no monies or remuneration from them in any way
To finish this article series, I ill wish you well in your search for your calling and ultimate chosen service to the Lord. I hope these articles have helped to clarify or inform you in your research. May God bless you and keep you.
Rev. Steven Chriscole KT
Knights Templar Church Online 
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