Calling

Calling

Acts 13:2

Someone once described to me the two most miserable men in the world. The first is the man who is attempting to serve God in an area he is not called to. The second is the man whom God is calling but has yet to surrender. In my experience, there is some truth to this. One should be sure of a calling and leading from God before endeavoring to serve the Lord or else he likely will end up fruitless and frustrated. On the other hand, just ask Jonah about the consequences of ignoring and delaying God’s clear calling.
In 2017 I was the pastor of a growing and vibrant church. Things had been going well for several years in both my personal life and ministry. My wife and children were happy and enjoyed many close friendships. We had grown deep roots during our ten years in the central Florida town of Webster.
We were active in our Florida State Association and attended just about every meeting you could imagine. Not an event went by without someone mentioning the necessity for new churches in our state. We were all committing the need to prayer and vowed to do all we could to support the effort. My first thought was that I would lead our church to give, support, pray for, and help any works that might soon get started. That, I thought, would be my role in supporting the ever-increasing need.
As time went by, it became more and more discouraging to find that no one was being called to start any new churches in Florida. Meeting after meeting, the need was mentioned but no one was feeling called. I often found myself going to the altar to plead that God might call men to plant churches in Florida. I began reading books about church planting. I also started speaking with other ministry leaders who were passionate about seeing something done.
Meanwhile, a pastor friend of mine had been teaching a class on church planting at Emmaus Baptist College. He called and asked me if I would help him with a field trip; they were going to survey the city of Sarasota, FL. I had already settled in my heart that I would help any church planting effort, so I agreed to go. My first thought was that a student may feel God’s calling and surrender to begin a work there.
Nothing remarkable happened during that survey trip. No one was saved and the people were not overtly receptive to our efforts. Yet, as I was driving home, I knew very clearly that God had answered my prayers to call a new church planter to Sarasota, FL. That man was me.
Looking back, I realized that God had been preparing my heart to receive His calling. He had been patiently teaching and preparing me for the work He had called me to do. I did not fully understand how all the details would work out, but I knew there was no turning back. I also knew that God would supply every need.
That first trip was in January of 2018. In February, I gave notice to the church I was pastoring that God had called me to this new work. As much as it hurt our hearts to leave a place and people we desperately loved, God made His will clear. The churches of the American Baptist Association rapidly rallied around us.

By June of that same year, my family and I were able to move onto the field. In July, we started our first Bible study in the back room of a local Christian bookstore. On September 30th we held our first Sunday morning service in an elementary school cafeteria. We had supporters from across the State of Florida helping us those first few months.
God confirmed His calling in a variety of ways. Some signs were small, and others were unmistakable. Like in Acts 13, God used His people to confirm His calling. My church, my family, and sister churches all sensed God’s leadership in this direction. Many pastors remarked how they had been praying for years for someone to go to this particular region of Florida.
God brought people alongside us to encourage us and help us. Also, He prepared us a place to live and directed us to the area of the city He wanted us to focus on. He cleared the way for us to use a school building with a Christian-minded principal. He brought people into the new church we never would have predicted.
Just this past year God opened another incredible door for us by providing a building. We merged with a struggling Baptist congregation and have seen steady growth since that time, despite COVID-19. After starting in 2018 with my family of 7 we have grown to an average of 58 on Sunday mornings. There were plenty of days that we struggled and felt discouraged. However, God always had a way of reminding us that we were in the exact place He wanted us to be at the time. His ways and His timing are perfect.
In Matthew 9:38, Jesus instructs His disciples to “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” In the next few verses, He sends forth those very same men whom He told to pray. I strongly feel we must be about the business of praying for God to call missionaries. However, don’t be surprised if your prayers reveal a calling on your life that you never expected.

Missionary Brett Bell

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