Superintendent’s ConneXions Article

Posted on: Apr 16, 2010 | By: PennDel

March 2010

It was in my junior year of high school that God began to lay a burden on my heart to prepare for pastoral ministry.  Like many, my reluctance gave way to a sense of destiny to “change the world.”  My passion grew as God worked in my life especially during those times recognizing His Spirit was working through me to impact the lives of my friends.

Preparing for a life of ministry yielded three results.  The first was the realization that no matter how much training I received, I would never be ready until I got my feet wet and became involved in ministry.  The second was that without the empowering of the Spirit, my efforts were amiable at best and useless for eternity.  The third was the desire to be a life-long learner, endeavoring to develop the skills and abilities He gave me along with learning new approaches that He could use for His Kingdom.

On the one hand, He makes us His tools.  He fashions us and makes us into instruments that will fulfill His purposes.  On the other hand, He gives us tools to improve our effectiveness in His service.  We also must work to sharpen our skills and continually strive to be faith servants.

As we gather for our annual District Council/MinistrieSummit, we are emphasizing the importance of the Master toolmaker placing His tools in our hands as we endeavor to serve Him.  “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry…”  I Timothy 1:12