Help! I don’t know what I want to do! (Part 2)

Four helpful questions for those who are unsure about their future

I have a friend who plans and builds hospitals.  He’s an excellent businessman.  He’s helping to bring health and wholeness to the world.  He sees particular needs among the homeless and young people, so he uses his business skills and gives financial resources to help meet needs in those areas.

I know a young woman who just finished her degree in journalism.  She’s a good writer and story-teller.  She sees particular needs among young people and women and she is using her skills to help raise awareness in those areas.

In part one of this series we discovered that calling is who you are called to be. Among other things, we are called to love our neighbour, make disciples, and walk in step with the Spirit. Vision, on the other hand, is about noticing what the world really needs. Once our heart begins to notice what the world really needs we will begin to ask, what will it take to see that need?

Question 3: What will it take to reach those people or meet that need? 

This isn’t the part of the article where we tell you that what God really wants is for you to become a youth minister or missionary.  

Now, it could be that you need to become a youth minister or missionary.  But it very well could be that you become a teacher or an estate agent, or a filmmaker because some of us are sent to proclaim the gospel as our vocation, but many of us are to live out the gospel as we seek to bring healing, regeneration, beauty, compassion, mercy and grace into our everyday lives.  Many of us are called to be senders, enabling God’s work to go forth around the world.  You could be the person in the shelter helping homeless women or you could be the business man or woman in the background who gives generously so that the homeless can be cared for.  

Or, you might get a job and earn a wage to provide for your family,  and engage in God’s work through volunteering.  Your paid job may not be how you get to work out your calling and vision.

As you learn and grow you’ll keep noticing that broken place in the world, and your heart will get most excited about how you can help meet that need. At this point you’ll need to be asking the most practical question of all- what training will it require if I am going to meet this need?

Question 4: What training will it require?

Once you begin to get a vision for who you are sent to, then you can start to explore what job or role would help accomplish the vision.  Do I need a degree?  Do I need an apprenticeship? Who can mentor me?

Are you fifteen and nearing exams?  Push yourself to have as many experiences as you can outside of your comfort zone. Start noticing what moves your heart. Mostly, practice hearing from God and obeying in the small things to prepare yourself to be able to hear Him in those big decisions.

Are you picking A-Level options?  Start thinking about who or what problem might God be calling me to?  What would I need to do, with my skills and passions to make a difference in that area?

Are you finishing school?  Consider taking a year out to explore your future, grow deeper in your faith and learn youth ministry skills. At Reign Ministries we offer a 9-month Gap Year programme that can help you focus in before you pursue further training.

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?

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Categories: Youth Ministry Resources

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