Eighteen years into ministry, I had a sudden interruption in my ministry career. The church I had poured into with my family for 5.5 years had to lay me off due to the financial crisis caused by an affair from people in the church leadership. I was in the middle of one of the most successful and rewarding youth ministry seasons of my life. I had seen over 1000 students give their lives to Christ, I was working with a volunteer team that were incredible people sold out for Jesus, my 3 kids had all given their lives to Christ in the previous years, I was seeing students leading students to Jesus in their schools, and I was in awe of the influence and impact that Jesus was allowing me to be a part of. I felt I was on top of my youth ministry career.
As I started to talk to peers, mentors, and potential church employers from around the country, a common theme emerged: are you still able to do youth ministry as a 40 year old? I was challenged multiple times from nearly everyone I talked to that youth ministry staffing was shifting to younger people and that I should seriously look at being a senior pastor, campus pastor, or maybe use my experience in the secular world. After 6 months of these type of conversations, I started to believe them. After all, aren’t you supposed to listen to counsel? I remember feeling somewhat defeated that my youth ministry career was ending, but excited that maybe the next adventure and calling would be where God would want me to be. I started talking to churches about other positions and found what I thought would be a good alternative – young professionals pastor – a chance to invest and develop 20 somethings in the Phoenix area. The idea of developing people was exciting. The possibility of impacting the next generation seemed appealing, and with a little hesitation I jumped in. Within 6 months my new boss was fired and the Sr. Pastor met with me to let me know he didn’t like the direction we were going and that we would need to shift things dramatically for this to work going forward. Even with a lot of work he doubted that I could take the ministry in the direction he felt it needed to go. So 7 months after taking a risk and moving across the country to start a new ministry I found myself unemployed, uncertain with who I was, wounded by church leadership, and confused as to what God wanted from me.
As difficult as that experience was, it turned into one of the most impactful time periods in my ministry life. I spent the months after leaving the young professionals position spending a lot of time with Jesus, asking Him who I was and what He wanted me to do going forward. Everything was on the table. Should I be a campus pastor? Should I become a senior pastor at a small church? Should I get out of paid ministry and become a manager at In-N-Out? I did not expect what He consistently told me over the next 6 months.
He reminded me of who I was and what He had called me. He reminded me that when He invited me into youth ministry in my college dorm room during my Sophomore year, that it wasn’t for a season, it was for a lifetime. He reminded me that the work He had done in me was still something He wanted me to share with people. He gave me the confidence that I was becoming the leader that He had wired me to be. I was messed up. I was grateful. I was at peace. I was heartbroken that during the transition the previous 18 months, I hadn’t asked Him who I was, I had just listened to other people. I became more confident and secure with who God had called me to be than I had ever been, and because of that, I was ready for the next step.
Over the next 6 months, It was easy to turn down numerous opportunities to be a campus pastor, an associate pastor, or a senior pastor, because I knew what God had called me to be professionally. The crazy part was 18 months before I started searching I couldn’t get anyone to talk to me about a youth ministry job and now all of a sudden I was talking to churches from all over the country that were interested in having a conversation with me about leading their youth ministry. This experience has given me the opportunity to learn that to be successful you need to know what God has called you to do. I believe that in every new season and maybe even on a regular basis it is important to take some time to spend with God and let Him tell you who you are and what He has called you to do in the next season. When you know who God has called you to be, you will less likely listen to people who may be well intentioned but encouraging you incorrectly, or be affected by your current circumstance. It is hard work to submit to God your plans for the sake of His, but no matter what He tells you, it will be the best place for you to live.