So exams are in your near future and you still have no idea what you want to study, let alone what you want to be. Or maybe you’re looking at the endless list of University courses and trying desperately to find one that will work for you. The pressure is coming from all sides. Your parents want stability so they are constantly suggesting career choices, but nothing clicks with you. Lots of things sound interesting, but how do you know if that’s what you want to do with the rest of your life? There’s immense pressure to get it right.
And then there’s God. Why doesn’t He just tell you what to do? Is there one career that He has in mind for you? And if you don’t get it right will you spend the rest of your life in His bad books? Pressure from your parents is bad enough, but ticking off the Creator of the Universe has generally been something you want to avoid.
As you read your Bible it’s tempting to allow yourself to think that it was easier for the men and women you read about in the stories to figure out what God wanted them to do. Moses plainly got sent to Pharaoh, Nehemiah was told clearly to rebuild the city walls of Jerusalem, Mary was given clear direction to give birth to and raise Jesus, and God showed up and called Paul to carry the gospel to non- Jews. The truth is most of those people were quite old by the time they received these clear and exacting instructions from God, and getting to that point certainly involved a lot of struggle and change.
At Reign Ministries we spend a lot of time helping young leaders explore their future. We talk about:
If you are wrestling with those questions, or know a young person who is, this series will raise four helpful questions that can help you evaluate what further training to pursue – no matter what field you are interested in.
The idea of having a calling – or one specific thing you were put on the planet to do is talked about a lot in Christian books and blogs. Frankly the idea that you have to find the one thing that you were created to do is completely overwhelming and really isn’t reflected in the Scriptures.
Calling is who I am called to be. It’s not this one secret thing to try to figure out. The Bible is very clear about who we are called to be. Jesus gave us our first calling which is to love and obey the Father, and to love others as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39).
After the resurrection He gave us a clear call to make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). It’s not just the job of your Minister or youth leader. All of us who are disciples of Jesus are to be involved in making disciples. Your calling in life is always based off of God’s general calling to make disiciples.
Paul talks about who you are called to be when he repeatedly encourages us to walk in our new identity in Christ- you are a new creation, complete and able to live daily in this intimate relationship with God by keeping in step with the Spirit. Add to that identity all of your unique personality, your strengths and your spiritual gifts and it’s not a mystery who you are called to be. God doesn’t call you to one specific vocation. It’s not a secret that you have to discover. He’s calling you to join Him in his mission to rescue the world. He wants you to use your life to walk in the Spirit, love others and make disicples.
Asking this question is a big switch because for most of us we’ve spent our growing up years wondering, “what am I good at?” and “what job would I enjoy?”
Scripture is clear that God does have good work for you to do in your life.
Since calling is fairly clear- in the sense of who God has called you to be, the real journey of discovery is unearthing your Vision. Vision asks, what does the world really need? This vision could be a country, a city, a people group or an age group. Question number two helps us start to discover our Vision.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Your story has the most significance when it is connected to His story- and God’s story is one of bringing healing, regeneration, beauty, compassion, mercy and grace as His Kingdom grows. The world needs more of all of those things. When you start to notice what the world (or your city, or school) needs, you are developing Vision.
God’s story is one of bringing healing, regeneration, beauty, compassion, mercy and grace as His Kingdom grows. The world needs more of all those things.
Vision isn’t something that strikes you when you are flipping through Uni courses. Vision is like a treasure buried underground – it has to be unearthed and discovering it may be a slow process. It’s not about figuring out ‘should I be a youth minister or an architect? Should I be a missionary or a nurse?’ Being a young person of vision is about discovering:
When you join together your calling – who am I called to be – and the needs you see in the world you are well on your way to developing vision. Now we need to get more practical.
Read our second post in this series to grapple with the next question, what will it take to reach the people or the need I see?
This is a 2-part series: Part 1: Who am I called to be? and What does the world need? >> Part 2: What will it take to reach those people or meet that need? and What training will it require?
Categories: Youth Ministry Resources
Updated: 28 Mar 2024 | Posted by: Charlie Morris
Hi everyone! I am Jamie Gurling and I started studying at Reign this year. I am 19 and from Glasgow in Scotland. I left high school in 2022 and I thought the next step was obvious, to go straight into further education, just the same as everyone else. So, I followed the norm, moved city […]
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Updated: 18 May 2023 | Posted by: Charlie Morris
As a ministry we have been reviewing how we deliver the degree progamme in a way that fits both our vision and DNA, whilst still providing quality training for the next generation of disciple-making leaders. From September 2023 we implemented some changes and we are excited to see how God is going to lead us […]
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Updated: 26 Apr 2023 | Posted by: Charlie Morris
“Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve – designating them apostles – that they might be with him and that he might send them out…” (Mark 3.13-14) Where do I start? I had just started my first real ministry role in […]
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Updated: 29 Mar 2023 | Posted by: Charlie Morris
Is Bigger Better? The bigger your youth group, the better, right? We get a special energy from the buzz of a crowd. We believe that when we’re connected to more people we’re able to have more impact. But is this really the case in youth ministry? Most of us have the feeling that this approach […]
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Updated: 22 Feb 2023 | Posted by: kmckinnon
If you were to attend one of our Expand Training Experiences you will hear our team talk about discipleship. That’s because it is the foundational to who Reign Ministries is. During our Expand: Online training you will learn the tools to help you be effective in your discipleship of young people. Watch the video below […]
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Updated: 8 Feb 2023 | Posted by: Charlie Morris
Where Is God Calling Me? I have a calling to youth ministry. But 30 years ago – I had no idea! I remember sitting in a marquee at a Christian music festival as a teenager, listening to a speaker talking about ‘Hearing God’s Call’. This was something I was wrestling with, so I figured that […]
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Updated: 8 Apr 2025 | Posted by: Charlie Morris
Exciting news! Reign Ministries is excited to announce we have a new college we are linking with for an undergraduate degree! Moorlands College will be the new home for our degree students from September. For over 20 years, Reign Ministries has played a key role in the development of a youth pathway for an undergraduate […]
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Updated: 24 Mar 2025 | Posted by: Charlie Morris
Learning from those that have gone before you. “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” writes the wise King Solomon in Ecclesiastes. He saw that life can sometimes resemble a treadmill, where history simply repeats itself and continues in a loop. […]
Read moreUpdated: 16 Dec 2024 | Posted by: Charlie Morris
After a few years of considering this move, the trustees and leadership have decided the time is right to try and sell the building we affectionately know as “the moto” (in it’s former life it was a motorcycle sales and repair shop). This building has served the charity well over many years, as a base […]
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