ANSWERING THE CALL
During my call to the set apart ministry my go to verse was from Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” In responding to the call, it took a number of years to finally say yes.
I grew up on a farm and went to a small country Church of the Brethren. Having strong Christian parents and grandparents our family never missed going to church. It was there that I found myself as a Sunday School teacher and Pianist at a young age. I also had a great encourager, my pastor at the time. Little did I know that God was gently encouraging and preparing me for my retirement years? Yes, retirement years. It took me that long to answer the call. You see, I was a very shy, timid, and soft spoken at the time. It would take everything I had in me to get up in class and give a report.
Then I met my husband. Oh, what a blessing he was in those early years of our marriage. I was willing to just support his work in the local church and wider church. There again God worked through my husband to encourage me as I took on more responsibilities in the church such as: Sunday School and Bible School teacher, church organist, and leadership in other areas of church life.
During the time that Ron served as pastor, I was employed at JCPenney. Later I was encouraged by my manager to become the Training Supervisor. He indicated his faith in me that I was the right person for that position. This meant that I needed to be in front of 20 to 30 associates while training them. Again, through the training I received, God was preparing me for a greater service. It was then that some associates told me that I should get into preaching. Yes, they said preaching. It was during that time that I discovered I could be a good listener and could talk to people when they needed someone to listen and give guidance in their lives.
It was the encouragement of my Sisters in Christ group that I finally started to realize they had faith in me as well. I started the process to be licensed into the ministry and enrolled in SVMC classes. These classes challenged me and through these classes I learned a lot in my faith journey in becoming a pastor. I was interim for a couple of months at the Nanty Glo COB and then was called to be their pastor. This was a journey that I will never forget and am grateful for the training I received through SVMC.
I would encourage you to consider a call to the set apart ministry. Also, if you see other individuals gifted by the Holy Spirit, challenge them to consider a call to the set apart ministry.
Linda Beachley is a retired pastor in the Church of the Brethren and a former board member for the Susquehanna Valley Ministry Center.
