Last week I shared my biggest regret in my 25 years of ministry in a two part post which you can read here. Today I’m continuing the series and sharing my strategy for how to correct that mistake.

As I revealed, my #1 regret is that I have not done enough to call out the called.

In my next 25 years of ministry I want to focus on raising up more people to answer God’s call to preach. I’m talking about an “on the ground” foundational approach of helping someone discern God’s call, either to leave another career or to make this their career from the start.

After careful reflection, here are 7 ways that I want to get more intentional about calling out the called:

1. Pray for God to use me to raise up future ministers from within The Journey.
   Make this a matter of prayer. I pray every week for our members. But now I’m going to make a point to pray for our future ministers from within The Journey. We move toward what we pray for.
2. Preach on it more.
   I’ve never preached an entire sermon at The Journey on what it means to make vocational ministry your full-time career. I want to try to work that in, maybe in a sermon series, maybe through more special days.
3. Work it into my sermon invitations – even when not doing an entire sermon.
   I can work it into a point, an aside, or especially an invitation.

Please join me tomorrow for the conclusion of this series where I’ll share the remaining 4 ways of how I plan to get more intentional about calling out the called.

Your partner in ministry,

Nelson

P.S. – Would you like to join me in doing more to call out the called? Do you have a “Timothy” that you’re currently raising up as a future senior pastor or church planter? Then I’d like to invite you – and your “Timothy” – to join me next month in Walt Disney World for a brand new, one time event called The 25 Seminar: Uncovering the Lost Secrets of Pastoral Ministry Success. 

This will be a great jumpstart to their ministry and an opportunity for you to invest in them.

Get ready to learn EVERYTHING about being a successful pastor today – that you didn’t learn in seminary! You’ll receive the collective wisdom from over 25 pastor’s manuals, 25 years of my experience in ministry, and lessons from over 2,500 pastors who I have coached personally.

Click here to see how you can save $200.00 now + Bonuses with the Early Bird Rate – ends FRIDAY, October 2!

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© Nelson Searcy. All Rights Reserved.

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.