Ministry Every Day
DOING EXTRAORDINARY THINGS WITH ORDINARY SKILLS: AN INTERVIEW WITH TWO WOMEN PURSUING JESUS NOW
It’s natural to think that if God calls you to full time ministry it must mean you either become a pastor or an overseas missionary. But these tired tropes miss an important truth. God calls every Christian to full time ministry. He calls the college student anxious to graduate. He asks her to set her worries aside and see the need outside her doorway at this unique time in her life. He knocks on the cell of the inmate and asks him to help those around him who don’t know about Jesus yet. He asks the gas station worker to pray and reach out to the customers busily filing through the station. There’s no special clause that exempts you from fulfilling your purpose now. It may not be glamorous-looking, but is any ministry work really glamorous?
Word on the Street reached out to Set Free, an organization in South Carolina dedicated to installing wells. We spoke with Claire and Afton, two women working full time using their ordinary skills to fulfill God’s calling.
DESCRIBE A DAY IN THE LIFE OF YOUR JOB AT SET FREE.
CLAIRE: As the Communications Coordinator I handle all things writing. I send out regular mass emails, write campaign letters, handle some design work, and run our social media platforms. We’re a small team of just five Americans working stateside to champion our indigenous partners in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and India, so we work together a lot. I get the opportunity to get creative, learn new things, and grow in my writing. The most consistent part of my job is writing – on whatever platform it may be.
AFTON: I get to have the opportunity to meet and interact with our incredible donors and come up with ways to communicate the work that the Lord is doing around the world. I feel privileged to get to go to work every day and hear the stories of lives and eternities changed. My daily activities range from writing thank you cards to making phone calls to presenting Set Free to board meetings or churches.
Allow your twenties to be a time to hone in on the skills God has given you… Allow the Lord to use that knowledge to lead you where He wants you.
HOW DID YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PURSUE?
CLAIRE: I have always been a dreamer and very passionate about different causes and injustices in the world. In high school, I began praying that God would break my heart for what breaks His in this world and use me to make a difference. He was teaching me that we can fight against the bad things that happen in the world all we want, but it is only through a transformation deep in someone’s soul when they learn of the ultimate love that Jesus has for them that we truly start to see change. I can’t believe He led me to Set Free, truly breaking my heart for the darkness in the world, allowing me to so much better understand the Light that is Him.
AFTON: From mission trips together as a family to yearly summer trips with my youth group, it instilled in me a love for service from a young age. I knew that loving God meant loving my neighbor, and that often meant caring for those who I didn’t know. I’ve had several different jobs mostly in ministry, but some not, that helped me discover my passion for a job where I got to wake up every day knowing I was making a difference. But I’m a firm believer that God doesn’t need me to carry out His mission; instead, I’m blessed that He chooses to.
WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU’D LIKE TO ENCOURAGE YOUNG PEOPLE WITH AS THEY CONSIDER GOD’S CALLING ON THEIR LIFE?
CLAIRE: Keep praying and thinking about what God may be placing on your heart. Your passions aren’t an accident. If you don’t quite know what you want yet, that’s okay too. God still has a plan for you that actually leaves your dreams in the dust. If I’ve learned anything, the way God leads us when we allow Him isn’t always the most direct, and may not totally look like what we thought, but every single step has a purpose and He is equipping you through all of it to become who He created you to be. If you feel stressed out about what comes next, know you aren’t alone. It’s completely normal, and I think we all have felt that way at one time or another. Take a deep breath and enjoy where you are right now because right now is preparing you for what’s to come. God’s got you.
AFTON: Your job isn’t supposed to be merely the fulfillment of your passion. We all do things within a job that we don’t love, so constantly trying to find a job that satisfies your craving for purpose will end up leaving you frustrated. Allow your twenties to be a time to hone in on the skills God has given you. You might light up when giving a presentation or thrive on making cold calls. Find the things that you’re good at and that gives you life and allow the Lord to use that knowledge to lead you where He wants you. And realize that He can use you right where you are, dream job or not!