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We are all most likely familiar with the words of Jesus regarding our calling into service to him. Jesus told his disciples in Luke 9:23, And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

The struggle comes when the Christian response to the call of God on their life is a shrug of the shoulders at not really knowing what steps to follow in response to this call to deny himself, take up his cross, and follow. Even many churches and pastors are unsure how to counsel their congregation to follow Christ and ultimately ship potential servants off to a remote Bible college or mission ministry in hopes some sort of direction can be found.

Here at Heartland, we take seriously the command from the Lord through the Apostle Paul to train up men and women to go. Paul wrote in 2 Timothy, And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. The expectation of our Lord is that the local church would invest in men and women to prepare them for the mission field or church ministry. Jesus Christ himself claimed to not just establish his disciples but to send them in John 20:21.

Last month at the annual HBF Vision Conference, I had the opportunity to lay out what I call a path to the Field. This path is simply a set of steps that anyone who wants to know what their next steps are to serving God at the highest levels. I talked about two responsibilities: one being that of the church to prepare people to be sent; and the other of the believer to prepare themselves to be sent.

This preparation process which I referred to as a construction process sits between the commission in Matt 28:19-20 to all believers to go, and the command to all be a witness in Acts 1:8.

We all are called to go somewhere in order that we be obedient witnesses of the truth of the gospel. The link between the two is the path to get where you need to be. This is more than being established in discipleship, it is being built up as a fully prepared servant of the living God.

To summarize, the path starts with discipleship, but it also includes being a member of an Adult Bible Fellowship. Attending the training offered cyclically on Wednesday nights, completing Discipleship II and then attending Heartland Bible Institute. Throughout all these steps is an overall pathway that any believer can enter into at any time that provides a structured process to ensure readiness to serve at the highest level that God has called them.

The pathway consists of:

  • Formation – meeting with the Mission Pastor and initiating the plan
  • Focus – gaining vision
  • Foundation – establishing a detailed plan to get ready
  • Funding – ensuring the ministry is funded
  • Frame – the sending out to serve.

It is not possible to go deep into the details of the pathway, but it is available now for anyone who just wants to see how God can take them from where they are at to where they need to be. If you have an interest in knowing more, contact me at the church office and I will be glad to sit down with you and talk about your path to the field.