Category: exploring “calling”: Should I go?

Meet an Agency: Christar

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Reading Time: 6 minutes

We’re lovin’ this new, ongoing series–a little meet-and-greet with organizations to help you go there, serve Him, and love them even better. (For more thoughts about why you might join an agency–and a handful of reasons you might not–make sure to check out He Said/She Said/You Say? “Should I go overseas with an organization?”, both the pros and the cons.)

Today, we’re grabbing a cup o’ joe with Christar. Pull up a chair.

Tell us what your agency specializes in. What are you passionate about? 

We’re propelled by a zeal to establish churches among the least-reached. We’re talking people who don’t have access to a church where the gospel is preached in their language and culture and proximity. Christar’s going for Christ-honoring transformation in least-reached communities throughout the world where He’s not yet known or worshiped. read more

Meet an Agency: WorldVenture

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Reading Time: 4 minutes

We’re geared up to bring you a new, ongoing series as a little meet-and-greet with organizations that can help you go there, serve Him, and love them even better. (For more thoughts about why you might join an agency–and a handful of reasons you might not–make sure to check out He Said/She Said/You Say? “Should I go overseas with an organization?”, both the pros and the cons.)

Today, say you’ve pulled up a chair for a cup of coffee with a representative from WorldVenture. 

Tell us briefly what your agency specializes in. What are you passionate about?

At WorldVenture, our vision is to see multitudes of disciples compelled by the love of God and willing to risk all so that people are transformed by God, impacting their families, communities, and world. read more

#BestoftheBestFriday: Why not to say “God called me”; Exposing Your Kids to Danger; Surprised by North Korea & China

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

Could “God called me” be destructive?

What effect does language have when we’re considering “calling”–something that’s definitely become a buzzword beckoning forth a generation that longs for purpose and certainty. As a global worker in Tanzania, Amy Medina relays wise sentiments you might not have thought of as you consider the nebulous concept–and possibly damaging language–of the phrase “God called me.” 

My Story: “If only I could hear His voice”

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Reading Time: 4 minutes

By Denise Rhoades

Eleven years ago was a long period of searching for truth about God to feed my own soul. I’d lost my grandpa. My (now former) fiancé had called off our wedding four months before we were to be married. In short, I was in a state of life- altering confusion.

One night alone in my room kneeling by my bed, when I was at a point of final desperation, I cried out to God, tears waterfalling down my cheeks. read more

Different Strokes? Marital Differences as You Look Overseas, Part II

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Reading Time: 3 minutes
Missed Part I? Grab it here.

“Should My Spouse Go Through Language Training if Not Headed into Formal Ministry?”

Someone asked my husband and I recently if they should both be enrolled in language school. Our answer? Unquestionably. Both spouses will be interacting with the culture–and both need to be mobile within that culture. Conversely, whoever doesn’t have language or cultural training will be handicapped at whatever level caps their interaction–not just for everyday life, but for ministry capacity. Imagine a person coming to your passport country without speaking your language. They’re reduced to functioning even less than the hearing impaired (who have sign language); they’re on the outside looking in, utterly isolated from anyone by their inability to communicate.

Different Strokes? Marital Differences as You Look Overseas, Part I

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Reading Time: 5 minutes

One of the biggest stresses on my engagement wasn’t really the normal stuff–the wedding planning or whatnot. It was a phrase I’d rerun over in my head a hundred times: I don’t feel called overseas. Evangelism is not my gift. My husband-to-be surpassed the one I’d been looking for so many times over. And it really did seem God was leading us to marriage.

But was he?

Was I…selling out? I’d been headed in an overseas direction for years. What was I missing?

My Story: Surrender–and the Dreams We Give Up

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Reading Time: 4 minutes
By Denise Rhoades

I had turned 40 in the spring of that year–and was still single. As in, never married. I had miraculously become a follower of Christ five years earlier (less than 10% of people do at that age. So yes, it’s a miracle!). I had briefly lived as a global worker in West Africa and was about to finish a Master’s in Missions. I felt only one gaping, jagged hole in this jigsaw puzzle of my life: a dream I’d held for nearly as long as I’d been alive. I wondered where I’d lost pieces along the way: for a husband. A family.

Path to a White Flag

On Labor Day weekend that year, my church was hosting a singles retreat in Branson. I had decided to not go; a friend cancelled on me last minute. But then there was my pastor’s wife. It’ll be fun!

FREE PRINTABLE INFOGRAPHIC: 5 WAYS TO PRAY FOR GOD’S WILL AS YOU CONSIDER GOING OVERSEAS

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Reading Time: 3 minutes

It was a big “aha!” for me when I realized God wanted me to do his will even more than I did.

I used to think I needed to be alert for the smallest sign, the slightest indication of what He wanted. Wasn’t that being surrendered? I thought. But for me, I was a bit afraid of missing the signs. I ended up traipsing around on spiritual eggshells, deciphering some Christian version of the tea leaves.