HERE I AM, LORD, SEND ME
I am grateful for my grandmother and aunt, who not only took me to Sunday school and worship every Sunday when I was growing up, but also taught me Christian values and the importance of prayer. I grew up in the Robinson Church of the Brethren and was baptized as a teenager. My baptism was meaningful, but I lacked commitment to serving and following the Lord.
In college I held to my Christian beliefs intellectually but drifted further away from the Lord in my daily living. Worship and prayer and service became even less of a priority, and I began to follow more of the ways of the world. Getting high with my friends became more important than worshipping the Lord.
While in graduate school, a neighbor invited me to her church. The church had a strong outreach ministry to students, and I started attending worship, fellowship activities, and Bible studies. I began to sense the Lord drawing me closer. These young people had a love and devotion to Jesus that I didn’t have. One night I prayed to the Lord, repented of my sin, and asked him to give me a new heart and desire to serve and follow Him. There was a big change in my life from that day on.
As I became more involved in the church and its outreach ministries, I began to sense the Lord calling me to set-apart ministry. Through prayer and the encouragement of others, I responded to that call. Two staff members at the church were graduates of Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. They influenced me to go to seminary for ministry training. I am grateful for the education I received there, as I grew in my understanding of God’s Word and its trustworthiness, received additional confirmation of my calling, and developed gifts and skills for ministry.
As I prepared for ministry at seminary, I was licensed to the set-apart ministry in my home congregation. Following graduation, I accepted the call to become pastor in the Western PA District COB, where I served for 35 years in two different congregations.
The need for pastors and those in set-apart ministry is even greater in today’s world. You may feel unworthy or inadequate for such a task, but the Lord will give you grace and strengthen you. He will use valuable ministry training sources such as seminary or SVMC to help equip you. If you sense the Lord calling you, respond as the prophet Isaiah did, “Here I am, Lord, send me.”
Ron St. Clair
Ron recently retired after 35 years of ministry in the Western PA district. He is a former member of the SVMC Governing Board. In retirement, he is enjoying living closer to family and all the activities of grandchildren.
