First, it’s important to remember that every Christian is called into ministry. The measure of my success as a pastor is not in how well I perform my ministry, but in how many people I equip to do the work of ministry: “[Christ] himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry to build up the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12). Every Christian is called to use their gifts to glorify Christ and serve his bride.
Second, every Christian is a minister in whatever roles they might have at home and work. Husbands are called to wash their wives with the Word, parents are called to shepherd their kids, workers are called to glorify God in their jobs, and bosses are called to serve their employees.
Third, a calling to vocational ministry is not any higher or different from any other calling. It’s simply a question of how much time you’re freed up to spend in ministry through a paycheck or some other form of God’s provision: “Those parts of the body that we consider less honorable, we clothe these with greater honor, and our unrespectable parts are treated with greater respect, which our respectable parts do not need. Instead, God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the less honorable” (1 Cor 12:23-24).
Fourth, if you’re interested in pursuing vocational ministry, there are certain spiritual gifts that lend themselves well to church leadership. Leadership is the most obvious one. Teaching and Shepherding are a few more. Administration sure doesn’t hurt.
How do you find out if you have those gifts? Just start serving in the church. Through trial and error, you’ll discover there are things you’re really good at, and things you’re terrible at. Try out different things, and pay attention to the results. Have your ministry efforts built up the body of Christ or not? If you teach and nobody listens, maybe teaching isn’t your gift. If you lead and nobody follows, maybe leadership isn’t your gift.
Or maybe you just need more training and reps. Spiritual gifts don’t produce fruit automatically. It takes intentionality and effort, as Paul said to Timothy: “Fan into flame the gift of God that is in you” (2 Tim 1:6). HarborU is a great place to pursue ministry training. Community groups and ministry teams are great opportunities to fan gifts into flame. Building practical skills is important. But even more so is building perseverance and tenacity. Because…
Fifth, vocational ministry isn’t a higher calling but it is a tougher calling than most. There aren’t many jobs in the world where greater success leads to greater opposition. The spiritual opposition and warfare that comes with spiritual leadership is real, and it’s intense. Many new pastors aren’t prepared for it, and quickly bail on vocational ministry as a result.
That’s why I advise potential pastors to try out every other career possibility before pursuing ministry. If there’s another possible path, you’ll hit the eject button at the first fiery trial of ministry. But if you’ve tried everything else, and come to the conclusion that vocational ministry is the only option, then you’ll stick with it when times get tough (as they inevitably will).
For more about vocational ministry, check out Dangerous Calling by Paul Tripp and On Being a Pastor by Derek Prime and Alistair Begg.