A Vocation Leads to a Calling
Corey Nieman / Director of Caring Network
I was called into ministry in my early twenties. God had me go down front to the altar at my church and revealed to me His calling. At the time I had no idea what I was to do or what I was to become. I generally knew I was to be involved in ministry, but not necessarily as a pastor. Because I was already pursuing my master’s in communication, I thought it best to finish that out. In the meantime, I had gotten married and became a father. My wife was a teacher at the time, and we prayed as to how to proceed with me discovering my vocation and calling and Jill being a tenured teacher. My desire was to realize my vocation and her dream was to be a stay-at-home mom.
Yet God had other plans for us. For 12 years I raised our three children full-time and worked at Eastern Hills part-time in various capacities. That whole time I wrestled with God about wanting to be in full-time ministry. God revealed in retrospect that my family was my full-time ministry area and is to remain so. I had been haunted by the idea that my dad working 2nd shift for 50+ hour workweeks (for the overtime) was what God intended dads to do. Being the breadwinner means way more than providing money, it also means emotional and spiritual stability.
Once God revealed to me through Ephesians that even work can be an idol if we rely upon it to define us and be our saving grace, I let go of that desire to allow work to define me. My wrestling with God ended and once the kids were all school age, I just simply asked God what do you have next for me? The reason I had studied communication in college was my dad talked me out of being a counselor. To his credit, secular counselors often have no hope and burn out. Instead, God led me to become a biblical counselor, and then a recovery coach, and now recovery is the cornerstone of the Caring Network.
Being the director and helping support DivorceCare/GriefShare, Addiction/Recovery, and Marriage Ministry is the culmination of that vocation I once sought so desperately. Interestingly that vocation has recently turned into a calling as I am three classes into getting licensed as a pastor in the Wesleyan denomination. I have no idea why God called me to become a pastor after-all, but I am excited to find out. This past year I performed my first wedding for dear friends. I did not even know if that was legal, but my fellow pastors had my back. Now my son wants me to marry him soon. It is beyond my comprehension how this has happened and will continue to play out, but I know enough to leave the outcomes to God and just follow Him step by step. What is God calling you to take a step into? If you have heard His voice, I encourage you to be bold enough to do so.