I have been a part of the Church of the Brethren since before I was born. My parents instilled in me the responsibility that all of us have to serve Christ in whatever ways we can. I was blessed to be raised in a small congregation of loving people. After we merged with another congregation, we kept both of our pastors and the support I had increased. I was called to leadership in our youth group and in other church responsibilities. My pastors and my church family encouraged me to consider the gifts I had been given and at the age of nineteen I was licensed to the ministry.
My plan was to major in religion at college, but I believed I was being nudged to consider social work as my call and graduated with that major. I had moved to a different part of the district and was adopted by another supportive congregation.
About a year after I graduated, my District Executive challenged me to determine whether I was still feeling called to the ministry. If so, I needed to continue my education. I needed the accountability he showed me. It led me to enroll part-time in an area seminary (United Theological Seminary). That same District Executive worked to provide ministry opportunities for me. One congregation invited me to do two years of supervised ministry with them as I continued my secular employment. Not long after completing my supervised ministry, the company I worked for changed ownership and I no longer had a job.
That summer I attended Annual Conference and heard the leaders of Bethany Theological Seminary invite people to come. I shared my situation with them and was told to come to campus, and we would work out how many more classes I needed to take. That trip to Bethany provided me another supportive community. I was able to complete my degree with one year of full-time study at Bethany, completing 10 years of seminary education. It has been my honor to serve in various roles in Christ’s church since that time.
I share this with you to challenge you to encourage people to consider a call to ministry in their lives. I also ask you to continue supporting those you have called throughout their journey (no matter how long it takes).
Mark Liller is ordained in the Church of the Brethren and is chairperson of the SVMC Governing Board. He is currently serving the Tyrone Presbyterian Church.
