When we think of full-time Christian service or ministry, we tend to think of a person working overseas somewhere or perhaps serving locally as a pastor or church leader. We probably don’t think of digging trenches, re-fitting apartments, felling trees and fixing leaky taps. But that’s my full-time Christian ministry.
As the Property and Construction Manager for BST I spend most of my days looking after the college campus, repairing and renovating the main buildings and living areas and managing all our Health and Safety issues (not to mention constantly chasing up students with a penchant for forgetting their campus duties!)
It’s constantly busy and can be physically demanding, and it doesn’t end with the nine-to-five – living on campus has provided me and my wife Liz with great opportunities for hospitality. We love people and we love food (I’ll be honest, especially bacon!) and we believe that good fellowship can be enjoyed and built through sharing meals and doing life together. Through this job we’ve been able to share our home and family life with students, staff, friends, neighbors, visiting scholars and lecturers and all manner of people.
But before this job, I never would have dreamed that using my carpentry and management skills in an everyday job in suburban Brisbane could be seen as Christian service or ministry. In fact, I didn’t even know that type of position existed. I had always wanted to serve God in a full-time position, but had never felt led in any particular direction. When I was approached about working at BST it really opened up a whole new idea of ‘service’.
I think we can have this idea that it’s only real ministry or Christian service if people are raising their own support and being sent off by their churches to ‘the mission field’ – but where is that? We often act like it’s this mysterious, far-off place that only super-spiritual people who have spent years at Bible college get sent off to. But Jesus told ALL of us to go to the WHOLE world to make disciples for Him, so the ‘mission field’ is really any place where there are people!
Ever since I left the commercial construction industry I’ve had people asking me why on earth I would leave a high-paying job to come and work at a Bible college. For me it’s simple: I have skills, God can use them. I chose – and still choose, every day – to step out in faith and trust that God will be my provider and will use me in ways I could never have imagined. God created us to worship, serve and be in relationship with him. The fact that I get to do all of these in my job in some way, shape, or form, satisfies an inbuilt longing that I believe all of us have.
But what skills do I have that God could use? I’d say probably more than you know. But where is there an organisation that could use my skills for His service? I’d say probably closer than you think.
So stop searching for the mysterious mission field and realise that God wants to use you right here and right now, if only you’ll let Him.
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