Our “Call to Ministry”

A number of months ago, my Pastor asked me to write down why I believe God is calling me into full-time Christian service at this time.

I started writing it down and it was getting pretty long. I was about to cut most of it, but then I thought, “What if others want to know all the details?” So I wrote three versions: a short version, a medium version, and a long version.

 The Short Version:

I grew up in a home hostile to Christianity and disgusted with evangelism. So when God saved me on Yom Kippur Day, 1993, it was an immediate and drastic life-changer. From the very beginning, God gave me a desire to share Christ with others – anybody – everybody. I couldn’t “not” share Christ. Like Paul in Athens, my spirit was constantly “provoked within [me]” () by the idolatry around me. For the nearly 17 years since then, sharing Christ with the lost is on my mind and heart constantly, and I have believed from the beginning that God would use me someday in full-time evangelistic ministry. I couldn’t imagine anything else. But I’ve waited, making use of the time by sharing Christ wherever and whenever I can, and teaching and encouraging others as well. The Holy Spirit has grown and intensified this desire over the past three years in particular. After attending a missions trip with Open Air Campaigners, I knew from nearly the beginning that God Hiself lead me to a ministry compatible with my spiritual gifts, passions, Theology, personality, convictions, and heart.

 The Medium Version:

I grew up in a home hostile to Christianity and disgusted with evangelism. We were liberal Jews, much more in tune with our “traditions” and culture than Theology. I learned about Jonah and Noah and Abraham in Hebrew School, but none of my teachers  believed that those men were actual historical figures. I grew up to believe in Science and believe in myself, and I was very aggressive against born-again Christians. At the age of 19, I became friends with a born-again Christian. I was a Junior in College and he was a Freshman. And he had the nerve to witness to me! I was so angry, but in order to set my friend straight and show him how ridiculous his beliefs were, I read the book of Matthew to point out all the ridiculous parts I was sure must be in there. Instead I was fascinated with Jesus. So I read more. I read John, and halfway through was convicted of my sin and I submitted my life to Christ. This was approximately one week after I was first witnessed to. It was also on Yom Kippur Day, the Jewish Day of Atonement, 1993. Some people are converted over time, like Nicodemus. Some are brought up always hearing the truths of God, like Timothy. Not me. I went from Christian persecutor to zealous Christian believer nearly overnight. My conversion was an immediate and drastic life-changer. From the very beginning, God gave me a desire to share Christ with others – anybody – everybody. I couldn’t “not” share Christ. Like Paul in Athens, my spirit was constantly “provoked within [me]” () by the idolatry around me. I got involved in student ministry at college. I was discipled. I went to church. I listened to sermons on cassette constantly. And I shared Christ with whoever would listen, and even sometimes with those who wouldn’t.

It’ s been nearly 17 years since God changed my life, and the Holy Spirit has grown my zeal for the lost more and more. I have believed that God would use me in full-time evangelistic ministry since my college days, but the question was, how?

Also, I realized I didn’t fit the “typical” missionary candidate. I don’t believe I have the giftedness to be a Pastor, nor to be a church planter overseas. My passions and spiritual gifts are in evangelism, both one-on-one, and to large groups. I also passionately have a burden to reach those in false religions and cults. I get excited when the Jehovah’s Witnesses come to my door. How often do the fish come to the boat? I also am convinced that though not all Christians have the spiritual gift of being an evangelist, God calls all of us to share the gospel of Christ, and there are few things that excite me more than being able to encourage Christians that with God, they can reach the lost too. I love to write and come up with evangelistic materials. And I’m a big believer in the absolute necessity of the local Church. So where does someone like THAT fit in??? So I waited, and prayed. “Here am I, send me! But where?”

I believe God answered that prayer earlier this summer when I attended a missions trip with Open Air Campaigners. I knew from nearly the beginning that God lead me to a ministry compatible with my spiritual gifts, passions, Theology, personality, convictions, and heart. They work alongside local churches and stress the prominence of the local church in their bylaws, and evidenced by the staff members. They use all means of creativity to reach the lost, whether the Atheists and Cultists at the Universities, or the lowly and the wealthy in downtown Boston, or the forgotten children in the projects of Boston. They spend a lot of time training others, as one of their core values is that those who God has gifted as evangelists have a responsibility to encourage and teach others. They work with local churches. They have freedom to write their own materials, or use whatever they feel comfortable with. They use creativity and boldness to reach the lost, and I knew that the answer to my prayer “Here am I, send me! But where?” was answered with “do the work of an evangelist in season and out of season with Open Air Campaigners.” God lead me to a ministry compatible with my spiritual gifts, passions, Theology, personality, convictions, and heart. I cannot not answer with a “yes.”

 The Long Version:

I can’t remember a time as a Christian that I didn’t have a hunger to share Christ with others. When I realized I was a sinner in need of forgiveness and that Jesus Christ is the only One who can grant that forgiveness, I couldn’t bear the fact that others didn’t know about their need and that amazing offer. As a young Christian I shared Christ with whoever I could. I shared Christ with those who lived in my dorm, who ate at my dining hall, and those who worked with me at the mall. I chose my college classes based on which ones would likely give the most opportunity to evangelize in class. I hated that anyone would die without having had the opportunity to receive or reject Christ. I couldn’t imagine doing anything other than serving the Lord full-time in evangelistic ministry.

As a new convert, I became heavily involved with Campus Crusade for Christ, a parachurch ministry at the University of New Hampshire. After being a Christian for less than one year, I began submitting evangelistic articles to the student newspaper, and they were published. In fact, they caused such a controversy over “separation of church and state” versus “freedom of speech” that the editor of the paper told me, “Mark, I don’t believe in what you write, but we’re getting a ton of letters every time we print one of your articles, so will you write one every week?” So I did. And as a new Christian, I thought that was normal. I became very-well known on campus. I was hated by some, and loved by others. And it didn’t take time for me to become conceited and proud and arrogant.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but I thought I was “all that” and “of course God would use me” in ministry. After all, I could write. I could speak publicly. I could contend with cults at UNH.

So in my own strength, after I graduated from UNH, I jumped head-first into ministry because, well, “Of course God would want me in ministry.” I signed up as a volunteer staff-member with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, a Christian parachurch organization I was involved with at UNH. And God humbled me big-time! I was 22, I had no idea how to create and follow a meal-plan so I could grocery shop effectively. I didn’t know how to budget my time so I could regularly make it to the laundromat. I was making barely enough to cover my bills. It was all I could do to work full-time and then head onto Campus at night to lead a Bible Study, meet with students, or teach. It was the worst year of my life. At the end of the year I left InterVarsity knowing that I wouldn’t be coming back the next year. I felt like a failure, and I knew I had run in my own strength. Lesson: God doesn’t need “skills” or “abilities.” God doesn’t need anything. And my “strength” isn’t very strong at all. God taught me I needed to think a lot less of myself. And even though I still believed God wanted me to work full-time in ministry, I became terrified to do so in my own strength again.

I continued working a secular job, and a few years later married Shelby. We began having children right away, and life became very busy. I also was promoted at work a number of times and my salary increased. All the while I had a burning desire to minister the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I did that as I could with my co-workers and clients. God also generously provided opportunities for me to speak at churches and teach and train and write articles. So even though I wasn’t a full-time missionary, God allowed me to be a “missionary” at Walmart, and Hannafords, and my workplace, etc.

Numerous godly people have encouraged me to minister full time over the years, often citing the talents and enthusiasm God has given me. But that only made me not want to do it yet, since I was very concerned I was going in my own strength again.

Something changed about four years ago. The ministry I enjoyed most was “Way of the Master” and I have read/listened to/watched and even taught nearly everything they have. Four years ago I attended one of their “Evangelism Boot Camps,” this one in New York City. And God touched my heart about the dire need that the lost have. So many are running on the wide road to destruction. So few are on the narrow road to everlasting life. It was then that evangelism became a daily lifestyle for me. Instead of just participating in outreaches from time to time, or talking with friends about Jesus here and there, I began a lifestyle of deliberately starting conversations with strangers with the purpose of turning it to the gospel. I began handing out gospel tracts. My Pastor invited me to teach an evangelism class at church. And the Holy Spirit grew my zeal for being an ambassador for Christ even more.

About two years ago I wrote down in a letter what I believed God put on my heart for ministry. At that time I wrote that I’d like to get alongside local churches to help them build evangelism teams. I’d like to go out in public, where the non-Christians are, and bring the gospel to them. I’d like to go to Universities and places where I could discuss Evolution, and the existence of God, and lovingly reach out to cults and false religions. Is there an organization like that? I didn’t know of any. So I kept at doing what I was doing. And I kept asking God where He would have me serve, or if He would. I was willing, I just needed direction.

It’ s been nearly 17 years since God changed my life, and my zeal for the lost has grown and grown. I have believed that God would use me in full-time evangelistic ministry since my college days, but the question was, how?

Also, I realized I didn’t fit the “typical” missionary candidate. I don’t believe I have the giftedness to be a Pastor, nor to be a church planter overseas. My passions and spiritual gifts are in evangelism, both one-on-one, and to large groups. I also passionately have a burden to reach those in false religions and cults. I get excited when the Jehovah’s Witnesses come to my door. How often do the fish come to the boat? I also am convinced that though not all Christians have the spiritual gift of being an evangelist, God calls all of us to share the gospel of Christ, and there are few things that excite me more than being able to encourage Christians that with God, they can reach the lost too. I love to write and come up with evangelistic materials. And I’m a big believer in the absolute necessity of the local Church. So where does someone like THAT fit in??? So I waited, and prayed. “Here am I, send me! But where?”

About 8 years ago, I was working in downtown Boston and ran into some people speaking to crowds while painting on a paint board. Fascinated, I watched. And it didn’t take long to realize they were sharing a religious message. I remember praying, “God, this is GREAT! I hope they’re not Mormons.” After the message, I spoke with one of them. His name was Aaron Wentz and I put his contact information into my phone. And I was relieved to learn he wasn’t a cultist, but an Evangelical Christian, and he was even using the same tracts I use!

Every time I was out in the streets of Boston, I would hope to see those creative street preachers who use a paint board to gather a crowd. Often I’d silently pray for them when I saw them on the streets.

After I moved to New Hampshire, I learned they offered a training week to teach Christians how to use the paint-board method. The problem was that the week always conflicted with a family birthday, or a recital, or some other unmovable commitment. But this year, summer of 2010, the training week was perfectly scheduled so there were no conflicts, and so I attended thinking I was going there just to learn the painting techniques. I was wrong. God sent me there as an answer to my prayer of 17 years, “Here am I, send me. But where?”

I knew from nearly the beginning of my week with Open Air Campaigners that God lead me to a ministry compatible with my spiritual gifts, passions, Theology, personality, convictions, and heart. They work alongside local churches and stress the prominence of the local church in their bylaws, and this is evidenced by the staff, many of whom are Elders in their churches, and lead church Bible studies and missions trips. They use all means of creativity to reach the lost, whether the Atheists and Cultists at the Universities, or the lowly and the wealthy in downtown Boston, or the forgotten children in the projects of Boston. They spend a lot of time training others, as one of their core values is that those who God has gifted as evangelists have a responsibility to encourage and teach others. They work with local churches. They have freedom to write their own materials, or use whatever they feel comfortable with. They use creativity and boldness to reach the lost, and I knew that the answer to my prayer “Here am I, send me! But where?” was answered with “do the work of an evangelist in season and out of season with Open Air Campaigners.”

From a human point of view, this is one of the craziest changes in career one could do, especially since my family is comfortable where we are. But I’ve noticed that God seems to particularly enjoy doing strange things in my life. How strange that God would save me at the best point of my life (humanly speaking.) How strange that God would have me write a weekly evangelistic column in my school newspaper when I wasn’t even a Christian one year. Shelby and I were friends for about three years before we started dating, and many of our friends thought we were crazy for going from dating to married in under six months, but that’s the way God chose to work it in our lives. My parents certainly thought it was crazy for Shelby and me to buy a home in a bad neighborhood in Brockton, MA, a neighborhood that had a shooting shortly before we moved in, but we believed that was what we were supposed to do and in hindsight it was exactly what God wanted. How strange for a couple with no fertility issues to spend $30K adopting an orphan from China. How strange that I would leave a lucrative professional job for one where I raise my own support and pay for my own health insurance. How strange indeed.

After I got home from the OAC training, I was cleaning up files on my computer and I ran across the letter I had written about the vision God gave me for ministry. I had written this nearly two years ago. I was shocked to read it. I had described so accurately exactly what a staff evangelist does with Open Air Campaigners. I do not believe this is any accident.

At just the right time, God lead me to a ministry compatible with my spiritual gifts, passions, Theology, personality, convictions, and heart. Why do I believe God is calling me and my family to ministry with Open Air Campaigners at this time? Because I am compelled by the Holy Spirit that I can not do anything else. After my failure with InterVarsity, I was terrified to go into full-time ministry. But I’m not afraid anymore about full-time ministry. My fear is gone not because of an inappropriate trust in self, but because I trust that in God’s strength and filled with His Spirit, He is calling a broken vessel to His service. How can I not obey?