Ten
On Monday I realized I had reached my ten year mark of preaching. I realized this while posting the above photo on Instagram appreciating my pastor who has been a great mentor to me all these years. To be honest, the journey so far has been nothing like I imagined it, but I’m so glad that I’m still standing.
The Call
I was fifteen when I became aware that God had called me to serve Him. I became born again at age fourteen at a crusade and only found understanding of my actions when my family found a church to fellowship in a year later. Well, my story is not of heaven opening up and hearing an audible voice calling me like Saul. It wasn’t a vision either, though there were a number dreams hinting at it and a curious passion for God and serving him. Every time someone stood before me ministering in the Word my heart burnt with a desire to do the same, but I never understood what it was.There were others too, saying what God had revealed to them, including my pastor. But ‘my moment’ was when God spoke to me (not in an audible voice, but to my spirit, if that makes sense) in a packed hall during a service. An altar call was being made for people who were called by God to serve in ministry. Something clicked in me. God said “That’s you, go forward’. I knew then what it was, that desire I’d had. Though I knew in my hearts of hearts, I tried to deny it. God pressed on. When I yielded, I told him I was too young to serve him now, maybe later. At that exact moment, the pastor said this phrase while pointing at his watch “Time is running out”. It linked to my ongoing conversation with God in the scariest way, because I had stopped focusing on what the preacher had been saying till this exact moment. I knew it was God proving I wasn’t crazy and that it was really him. I don’t remember how I got to the front, because I was right at the back, but there I was, saying ‘yes’ to God.
First sermon
I preached my first sermon on a Monday morning to a small group of women during a prayer and fasting service. I still have the sermon notes in my office somewhere. I remember we read from Matthew 14. Preparing that sermon was a lovely experience, hearing God and responding to Him; I was enthralled. It was not long after that that I preached at a ‘Good Friday Conference’. I was so nervous. I remember jumping on my sister’s small trampoline and praying before leaving the house. I taught my socks off that day in my white suit, teaching a sermon titled ‘Push’. After that I preached more regularly. |
| A badly cropped photo from that Good Friday Conference |
School’s Ministry
I felt a strong urge to share the gospel with my school mates. I did it through one-on-one conversations and during assemblies. I lead in the Student Fellowship movement from grade ten till matric. I also formed a group called “TwoTwenty8 Generation” (based on Joel 2:28) with other teens at my church and went to other schools ministering through drama. One time we even went to minister at the local prison. It seemed crazy, a bunch of teens doing drama and preaching to a bunch of adults who had seen and done it all. But God used us greatly. One inmate came to the church after being released. It was only me and those same teens worshiping and praying when he walked in. He told us about how our outreach had impacted him and asked for our help to return home in another province. We had no money of course, but I gave him my Bible and asked others to assist him.College
During my last year in high school I had to decide whether I would stick to my ‘yes’ and totally abandon all my other hopes in pursuit of what God wanted for me. All the teachers who asked what I would be studying thought I was wasting my ability (I don’t know where they got the idea that Theology was easy.) My parents, both Christians, thought I was brain-washed since I was so adamant in being full time in ministry therefore seeing no need to study something else. They took me out of a conference once to go for counselling at another woman preacher who had a flourishing career in the police while also being a pastor. It was that bad. When we got back to church, I went right back up the pulpit and preached my little broken heart out. It was a trying time for me.My mom soon accepted that there was no changing my mind and paid for my tuition. But my dad took longer to accept it. He didn’t call me for the longest time for those first few months away from home. If you know how close I am to my dad, then you’ll understand how much this hurt.
Of course, I totally understand their concern, here was their daughter stepping out of the security of the boat to walk on water and all they could do was just watch. They imagined I would be a pauper at the mercy of the church…I pray God keeps them to see the peak of His faithfulness to my life.
I finished my degree in record time, though I did my last year from home. (My college years are a story for another day, there were out of this world). I then served my year of probation and was ordained as a pastor. My ordination bought a new sense of life to my relationship with my parents and my ‘career choice’. I’ll never forget coming home that day and dad telling me how proud he was of me.
From my little years in full-time ministry I’ve learnt that ministry is beyond just well-prepared sermons; so much goes into making a church a church. So much time, so much effort, and so many tears. As Joshua, I have been blessed to have my own Moses (who goes by Daniel) to learn from. I’m still learning a lot, but I’m more of a well-rounded leader than I was ten years ago.
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| My Ordination |
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