By Chris Shoemaker
Bluefield College and the Virginia Baptist Mission Board are determined to develop today's young Christians into tomorrow's ministry leaders.
That's why the college and the emerging leaders team of the VBMB recently joined forces to host a two-day retreat designed to guide high school students seeking to follow God's call to the ministry.
The retreat, entitled “Called to Ministry … What Now?” and held at Colonial Avenue Baptist Church in Roanoke, involved dozens of students from Virginia Baptist churches. The youth took part in workshops, breakout sessions, group discussions, fellowship, a ministry fair and worship-all aimed at helping them discern their call to ministry.
“It was very exciting to see God working in the lives of these high school students,” said Bluefield College's Bryant Moxley, who led a workshop session on servant leadership. “It was even more exciting to explore with them their dreams, questions and understanding of Christian ministry.”
The retreat, a part of the VBMB's “Kingdom Advance” vision, addressed questions and issues related to all forms of ministry, including music, missions, youth, pastoral, higher education, social, drama and recreation. It provided the students with resources to pursue their calling and allowed them the opportunity to share their own “call stories.”
“The ‘Called to Ministry' conference was a great experience for the students who attended from our church,” said Melissa Scott, youth minister at Colonial Avenue Baptist Church. “They were able to think about their calling in new ways. It was especially helpful for them to hear from other teenagers who were feeling called to ministry.”
Like others, Scott said her youth gained valuable guidance from current ministry leaders, who were there “to share their experiences.” The students, Scott said, were given “inspiration” and “new ideas,” as well as “practical advice about what they need to do now to prepare for living out their calling.”
“I came to explore possibilities for serving God and to find an area where God can use me,” said one workshop participant. “I found a lot of information to help me in my continuing search for God's will.”
In addition to Moxley, Bluefield College ministry leaders included Brandi DeBusk, Morgan Cassaday, Elizabeth Gomez, Nikki Hall, Maura Jones, Sarah McCloud, Charles Reese, Rebecca Reese, Tracey Stout and John Thompson.
Leaders from Virginia Baptist churches included Scott, Mark Andrist, Crystal Blair, Jenny Call, John Call, Keith Farmer, Ed Fisher, David Fitzgerald, Donna Hopkins-Britt, Rudy Jones, Kevin Meadows, John Rectenwald, Trevor Ruble, Jeff Scott, Greg Smith and Sue Smith.
VBMB leaders included Ken Dibble and Leslie Straw.
Workshop and discussion sessions during the two-day retreat included “Called to Ministry,” “Personal Spirituality and Ministry,” “Nurturing Your Soul on the Journey,” “Faith in Action,” “Connecting to the Community” and “What Now?”
“It was good to be around other teens who want to follow God's call for their life,” said another student participant. “I had a feeling that God was calling me to missions, so I wanted to learn more about it. It was really helpful to me because it gave a lot of options for me to look into.”
Special to the Herald
Chris Shoemaker is communications director at Bluefield College.