How do you know if you are called by God to the ministry? Some people experience a deep assurance, a firm inner conviction that God has spoken to them, calling them to the work of ministry. For most ministers, however, the sense of call is more ambiguous, more tentative. Many ministers and priests begin with only a vague notion that maybe they are called to ministry. They take the first steps in preparing for ministry, seeking God’s will and testing their sense of call all the way, finding their calling confirmed only as they navigate the river of exploration.

While there is no single pattern for call into the ministry, there are some touchstones, some common themes, in the calls of many ministers and priests:

The Inner Call. Most people who are called to the ministry say they felt an inward summons to ministry, a sense that God was speaking personally to them and guiding them toward the ministry. This can be as strong as an overwhelming religious experience or as subtle as an intuition.

The Call of Gifts and Aptitudes. As is true with any job, ministry requires certain skills and abilities, and one sign of a call to ministry is that one possesses the gifts and aptitudes for doing the work of ministry. Again, no one formula works for everyone, but most ministers, for example, enjoy working with people, have compassion for human suffering, cultivate the life of the mind, and have good communication skills.

The Call of Other People. Sometimes we get a picture of a call to ministry as a lonely, isolating experience — “just God and me” — but most of the time, this is not an accurate description of what happens. God often speaks and acts through people, and most of the time other Christians are deeply involved in both stimulating and confirming a sense of call. Many ministers and priests report that one helpful confirmation of their call to ministry was that other people recognized in them the potential for ministry. Perhaps someone will say, "Have you ever thought about becoming a minister? It seems to me that you would be a good one."