Summer is Calling

Summer is hamburgers, swimming pools, VBS cookies, baseball, vacations AND people being called by God to vocational ministry. When I was in college and seminary it was always exciting to hear people’s “call stories” and how so many could trace back their calling to summer camp or a mission trip. Twenty years later I still hear those kind of call stories.
Most of those calling stories involve teenagers. The churches that I have been a part of typically have a commissioning prayer for the teens before they go on a mission trip or list all their names on a prayer list so we can be praying for them while they are at camp or on mission. I have always picked three or four of those teenagers who I sensed God might be calling to vocational ministry and prayed that their camp or mission experience would begin that journey. I do that because I know people were praying for the same thing for me when I went away as a teenager.
Not everyone God is calling is going to be on planes, trains and automobiles this summer. In addition to praying for teenagers I want to encourage you to pray for two or three adults this summer. I believe that the revival/renewal that so many churches need to experience is going to be sparked by adults leaving careers, interrupting families and surprising their church friends by responding to a vocational calling.
Summer is calling. Let’s start praying today that we will all hear a lot of calling stories on Labor Day weekend!