So, what have we learned about the call?
The call of God is rooted in God. It is God’s choice to direct the call he has given to his Son to those in his Son for special work. Yet, it is first to himself, such that any action—success or failure in church planting, specifically—is experienced not as crushing one’s identity, but as being in the presence of Christ. Like Jeremiah’s call, the call might be difficult—more tearing down and overthrowing, uprooting and overthrowing—but God promises to be with us.
The call of God also comes with confirmations. We saw points of congruence and interest, affirmation from overseers, and interest in specific places. Yet, there was much more that could have been said about the call. We leave you with a few resources:
- The Call by Os Guinness
This classic text presents overarching questions of purpose, mission, success, and career. God’s direction in life pushes our limits and reorients our bearings.
- “Are you Called to be a Church Planter?” by Ed Stetzer and “Am I called to be a Church Planter?” by Daniel Im.
The call of God is mixed into personal lives, including our wirings and experiences. There are questions to ask, realities to face, and risks to take. And yet church planting is not optional. Im forces us to ask the question, “How am I oriented to church planting? How am I about church planting?”
This free download comes with bite sized chunks to inspire your own orientation to church planting. Church planter veterans bring readers into the church planting experience. As part of assessing a call, get a sense of what comes with planting.
Personal experiences and lessons learned from a church planter and professor.
November will be covering Christmas and Advent in church plants! We hope you will join us for the journey to learn how to navigate, reach out, and enjoy your Advent and Christmas seasons.