Meeting Needs

I’ve spent most of my seminary career telling anyone and everyone that once I graduate I want to specialize in high school youth ministry. It’s something I’ve loved doing since I was in high school. I have a decent track record in the field between being a mentor when I was in high school, multiple summers as a camp counselor, volunteer work in various churches, and then actually doing it in Charlotte on internship. However, since near the midpoint in my second year in seminary I’ve been toying with another kind of ministry: young adult ministry.

Now, I didn’t know much about young adult ministry going into seminary. Sure, I had been involved with campus ministries in college and I know that I am a young adult (young adults are generally categorized as those of us who are twenty-something) but didn’t know anything about young adult ministry. The main reason for this was because there aren’t really a lot of Lutheran churches out there doing young adult ministry. And yet, there’s no denying that there are not very many young adults involved with church. Those two realizations combined point to a great need for young adult ministries in the church.

On internship my project for the year was to start a young adult ministry. I did my best considering there were really no resources out there and I only had a year to pull this off. And you know, I loved the experience. I loved it as much as I loved working with the high schoolers. And I had just started. I didn’t even get to do as much I would have liked to with the ministry (small groups, an alternative worship service aimed at young adults).

As I start looking at my first call and thinking about articulating my passions to the synod I wonder what type of ministry that I am truly called to. Is it going high school youth ministry? Is it young adult ministry? Is it both? The more and more I learn about young adult ministry through helping start an alternative worship service in Stillwater and contemplate the lack of action in many churches and note the reality that there isn’t that much out there as far as resources go for young adult ministry, there is no denying that there is a great need for young adult ministry. The need is so palpable I can’t get away from it. And it keeps on coming back to me this year. It seems like as I work on the practical projects for my classes I’m drawn more and more to young adult ministry simply because there is a need.

This is the big question for me now: Is the call to the need or is recognizing the need a call in itself? Confusing? Alright, so, I’m the type of person who sees a need and likes to meet it. It’s just my nature. While I worked at the hospital as a chaplain I saw a great need for caring, compassionate and competent nursing staff and I couldn’t help but wonder how I would do in the medical field. But, that isn’t my call. However, at the same time, I can’t help but wonder if sometimes our ability to recognize a great need is a call in itself. Isn’t recognizing that a friend is in need of someone to listen to them a call to actually go and listen? I wonder if the fact that I see that there is such a great need for this type of ministry is God gently nudging me in that direction. I’m not quite sure yet. But I think this is all something we have to discern in our lives. You may love working with the church and see the need for good pastors but not be called to be a pastor. You may see the need for wonderful teachers in urban settings but not be called to be a teacher. Or maybe you are? I guess when it all comes down to it, all we can do in these situations is continue to discern the call and pray… A LOT.