alife: Alliance Life

I’m one of those people who like to know the whole process before starting. If I’m going somewhere new, I print directions and maps off the Internet so I can see each step of the journey. I like to research my options before making a decision. Usually, this preparation helps me be more effective, but I am learning that God doesn’t always work that way. I think He is interested in teaching us along the journey.

First Steps

Through several missions trips with my high school youth group, the Lord began to draw me to missions. One night during Bible study, God impressed on my heart that He wanted me to serve Him as a missionary. I was excited! I did not grow up in a C&MA church and knew little about overseas missions, but I soon began researching colleges with missions education.

After I had considered several options, God brought me to Toccoa Falls College (Toccoa Falls, Ga.) to major in cross-cultural studies. While I was there, the Lord continued to develop my call. I began learning about The Alliance and started attending First Alliance Church.

During my senior year, I searched for a missions organization, and the Lord kept bringing me back to the C&MA. True to my nature, I thoroughly researched the process and requirements to become a career missionary with The Alliance. When I become accredited as a missionary candidate, I celebrated with my friends in the dorm! Even though the future was unknown, I had made the first step. Now I just had to find a home service opportunity.

Stretched to a Deeper Life

Home service is designed to provide missionary candidates with ministry experience in a local church. Generally, this lasts for two years and candidates work toward ordination or consecration (for women). The senior pastor at First Alliance Church participated in my accreditation interview and contacted me to discuss the possibility of completing home service there.

After approval by the church board, I began my home service as director of small-group ministries. I believe this immediate opportunity was one way in which the Lord confirmed that He led me to serve with The Alliance. Last October I finished the consecration process, and I continue to serve at the church. However, the past few years of ministry have been both amazing and challenging.

Many missionary candidates struggle with serving wholeheartedly in ministry in the United States while yearning to be overseas. It is easy to focus on the future and not on the present. I quickly began seeking the Lord’s help so I would be completely committed to serving Him in Toccoa and not continually wanting to be further along in the process. This is easier said than done! But He has answered my prayers and given me a heart for this ministry.

I never imagined all that He would teach me during this time. One of the most important things I have learned is how to work with a team. We have six pastoral staff members. Each of us has a different personality and work style, but when we cooperate, the Lord does amazing things. Learning each person’s strengths and weaknesses has helped us to accomplish things as a church. The Lord is teaching me how to trust Him with the decisions of the other people on my team and how I can support their decisions even if I do not agree with them.

God also has taught me the importance of relationships. As a young single woman, I quickly discovered that I held little “authority” in situations. I had to build relationships with people in order to make an impact. When others trust me, they are willing to work with me more closely and see my point of view. This has been humbling and has taught me the importance of integrity. My ministry will be only as deep as my relationship with God.

At Peace

My home service has not been all fun and joy. I have questioned the Lord’s leading in my life. I have been hurt and have had to continually surrender these times to Jesus in order to continue in ministry. However, I see the lessons He is teaching me, and I know that they are shaping me into the woman He wants me to be. My character is developing, and this is the foundation for my future ministry.

Even though I have been surprised along the way, I see that God is guiding me. He has not let me become “lost in the process.” He has allowed me to see lives changed through the small groups at my church, and I would not trade my experience for anything.

Last fall, I also began working on my master’s degree—an unforeseen detour in my timeline. Yet I am learning to trust the Lord for His timing. It can seem like the road to becoming a career missionary keeps getting longer, but God just hasn’t revealed the whole picture to me yet.

I know His plans are better than mine, just as I read in Isaiah 55:8–9. As I follow Him in obedience, one step at a time, He makes me the person He wants me to be and leads me a little farther down the road.

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