So I had this interesting epiphany while praying at church this evening. I know many people from college and camp who are youth leaders, but I have never felt particularly called in that direction. Growing up, I was never part of a youth group, so I don't really fully understand the role that those organizations play in people's lives. While we were praying for the Jr. High group at the church, it was mentioned by someone else that much of the work invested by the leaders in that age group doesn't show fruit until the children have moved on to high school and college.
So it occurred to me, that if I was ever to get involved in assisting with that aspect of ministry, instead of working with a particular age group, I would want to follow one particular group all the way through the process as they grew older. This seemed extra suitable when I factored in how it takes me such a long time to develop close relationships with people.
Then it dawned on me that this sounds a lot like the process of raising children. Now I was already planning to do that, and almost always have been, but this added a new dimension to that idea. When praying about the direction my ministry to others should be focused, I have usually felt led towards the idea that my ministry to my family, specifically the family I intend to raise someday, will be my primary conduit of ministry to the rest of society. In a certain light, that can sound fairly selfish, if I devote all MY energy towards the growth of MY wife, and MY kids, and such. But if looked at from this new perspective, if my ministry is to be focused on my kids, AND their friends & classmates & teammates & such: then that is a much broader and more generous target group.
Now it is going to be a while before I have to worry much about any of these choices or options, and in a way, it is putting the cart far before the horse. But it is relevent to the question of what I should be doing for ministry now, since knowing where you intend to end up, is an important prerequisite for taking the first steps in that direction.
I don't have much of an impulse towards direct evangelism, but I don't believe that my primary ministry to others is intended to be limited to financially supporting those who are more directly involved. It has been repeatedly pointed out to me that my natural talents lend themselves to the role of teacher. And this fits with my feeling that my calling is more towards helping strengthen the faith of existing believers than towards finding new ones. I think that one of the things that has been lacking in my life recently has been the opportunity to teach others. My pursuit of God has led to my involvement in quite a few Bible studies, home churches, and community groups recently, but I have primarily been on the recipient side of the flow of knowledge and wisdom for quite a while now. Besides camp my role at camp, I haven't started and led a Bible Study since before I graduated from college.
This situation is probably due to the fact that I am not in a position to provide the structure that a group like that needs, because of my inconsistent work schedule. I am not sure what to do about that, but I think it is time to start figuring out how to start giving back in some way.
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