Call to Ministry (by Laura Tarro)

One Woman's Story

By Laura Tarro

The Call to Ministry

Most pastors I know have a story to tell about their call to ministry. For some, it was a gradual dawning of the ways God had called and equipped them to serve. For some, it was a logical next step and a process of identifying what was clearly already there. But for some, like me, it was a long path of convincing. I didn’t really have a framework that included a call to pastoral ministry as an option—in fact, I was taught quite the opposite.

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

Women don’t get that call. My path was winding. In many ways, my call to ministry first came with my call to follow Jesus. The moment I yielded my life to God I knew I would spend my life serving God: in whatever capacity God asked me to serve. I loved the Bible (I still do) and I really loved talking about God.

In college I studied art and philosophy. Learning each of these felt like a way of worshiping God. I also began serving as a Young Life leader and I fell in love with the challenge of teaching the story of Jesus to high school students who were unfamiliar with it. I also learned that I find humans endlessly fascinating.

After college I went on staff with Young Life. I recruited and trained leaders, fundraised, wrote Bible studies, trained leaders how to teach the Bible, and how to care for teenagers. After that, I went to seminary (the first time). Jeff and I got married. I took a job as a youth director at a church.

Working at a church was hard. When I left I told God I would never work for a church again, but I would volunteer—and that’s what I did. At our next church, I helped launch a young adult ministry. I led Bible studies.

Then we moved to St. Charles. I started freelancing as a proofreader for Christian academic books. For thirteen years, I got paid to read books written for pastors and seminary students. I headed our local board for Young Life. I led small groups at our church. And then around Easter in 2014, God asked me to be willing to work for a church again. Then that fall, God told me he was preparing me for pastoral ministry.

Let me pause here: I heard God say “pastoral ministry.” My first reaction was to try to broaden the definition of what that meant, it could mean almost anything in full-time ministry, right? But over time it became increasingly clear that God was specifically calling me to pastor. It would take me years to state out loud that God called me to be a pastor. And the response I got from most people who knew me well was (after it had time to sink in): Of course, of course you are.

In March of 2015 I was sitting at home, minding my own business, folding laundry on the couch, when God said to me: I want you to start a church. I started laughing. I thought it was ridiculous and I must be mistaking God’s voice for something else. But then I remembered what happened to people in the Bible who ignored God’s call. I told God I was willing, but I would need some convincing. I needed time. I needed development.

I needed training. At the time, I was still editing books. The next week a book arrived on my porch for me to edit. The title? Kingdom First: Starting Churches that Shape Movements. It was essentially a training manual for church planters. I remember taking the manuscript out of the box in my office and laughing at God’s sense of humor. “Subtle,” I told God, “nice move.”

It would still be another five years before this call found traction. It would take time for me to find a community that would support and confirm my calling to pastor and to plant a church. But now, that’s exactly what I’m doing. God doesn’t call of us to pastor, but God calls all of us to follow. And that following always involves risk-taking faith.

SMcK: And we, and I especially, are glad Laura graced us with her presence at Northern seminary. Kris and I love her church at the Donut shop.