Generation Z has grown up very differently than other generations, but this age group recently learned how God’s calling hasn’t changed.
Samford University in Birmingham hosted the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions Called conference, a Saturday full of worship and teaching to discern and learn about God’s call for high school and college students.
The three general sessions were taught by Scott Pace, provost and professor of preaching and pastoral ministry at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. He spoke about aspects of God’s calling and focused on Paul’s advice for Timothy.
Wrestling
Starting out sharing how God calls all Christians to serve, Pace then mentioned applications of what Paul had done and learned through his ministry, focusing on how the ministry-minded students in attendance will have to keep the faith, stay in the fight and run to the finish.
“In ministry you are going to face a lot of things and situations that you just don’t know how to navigate forward,” Pace said during the On Aug. 3 event. “God’s going to give you the wisdom as you navigate that faith to trust Him.
“It’s important to wrestle with the call to ministry,” he noted, listing two reasons.
The first is that it “mirrors what ministry is going to involve.”
The second is because one could easily make that choice as an emotional response or due to pressure from family or church leadership, and when times get tough, one may question if it was the right thing to do. Later, it could be easy to “tap out” and give up.
However, Pace emphasized the result of ministry is a “sacred promise for you” and that “we will receive the crown of righteousness.”
Breakout sessions
The other aspect of the conference was breakout sessions.
One session was “Next Gen Ministry Panel.” Moderated by Josh Meadows, student ministry strategist for SBOM, the panel was made up of Jennifer Burks, minister of families at CrossPoint Baptist Church in Trussville; Denis Tanner, associate pastor of next steps and students at Shades Crest Baptist Church in Hoover; and Ben Baber, college minister at Shades Mountain Baptist Church in Vestavia Hills.
After the panel introduced themselves and gave a brief history of their past and current ministry roles, the rest of the time was spent allowing the Gen Z participants to speak out. They asked thoughtful questions about subjects like common ministry challenges and what to do to help local college students get involved in your church.
The panel also shared some key takeaways.
— Make sure you keep time with the Lord a priority, and don’t wait until getting to the church’s office to pray and have quiet times. Pray throughout the day.
— Work hard. Family is important, but this ministry is also important. Have joy in work and ministry as well as with family.
— Follow the leadership of the pastor, even when you don’t understand where he’s going. Respect that God called him and if visions don’t align, moving to another church might be what needs to happen.
— When other leaders and members have great ideas for the direction of the ministry you are in charge of, keep in mind that those events need to be in line with the pastor’s vision and the vision of the church. In other words, don’t plan an activity simply to have an activity.
— Model authentic ministry. For example, if you want students to evangelize, do it independently and then let them join in.
One of the new conference sessions this year was “Dealing With Anxiety and Depression.” In it, Mike and Charity Williams with Six2 Ministries defined what anxiety and depression are and shared their own experiences in learning how to cope with these feelings.
They noted how important mental health is, that community and developing skills in this area are vital and how developing a plan for self-care and moving outside yourself will help not only your own mental health, but also those being ministered to.
Workshops
Other workshops were:
— “Back to the Bible: Discipling Without Curriculum” with Scott Griffin, which was about helping students use Scripture instead of curriculum for discipling others.
— “International Missions” with Mike Lazenby was about what goes on in global missions and how to discern God’s call for that area of ministry.
— “Out of the Box Ministry: Parachurch Organizations” with Tim and Pamela Bolding discussed ways to minister outside and alongside the local church.
— “One Mission: Summer Mission Debrief” with Chris Mills reviewed summer missions experiences shared by student missionaries.
— “Women in Ministry” with Jennifer Foster considered a “unique challenge,” a discussion about the current and future of women’s ministry leadership.
— “Worship Leadership” with Mason Aldridge examined the music and worship arts ministry.
— “Career as Ministry: Having a Gospel Mindset” with Kyle Thompson considered how to see careers or jobs as ministry for those who aren’t called to full-time vocational ministry.
Worship during the general sessions was led by the Theikos Exchange, a worship band whose members are located all over Alabama. The name reflects the moment when someone accepts Christ as Savior — a divine (“theikos”) exchange.
Participants also received Pace’s book “Answering God’s Call: Finding, Following and Fulfilling God’s Will for Your Life” and were able to interact with representatives from various colleges and ministry support organizations.
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