A Child’s Call
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
I have wonderful parents who have always supported and guided me. They encouraged my siblings and I to go after our dreams and challenged our thought processes to help us become critical thinkers. My parents taught us to be independent, strong willed, loyal, honest, and hard working. I grew up as both a pastor’s kid (PK) and a missionary kid (MK). My parents were children’s pastors and always involved my siblings and I in ministry. When I was in preschool, my parents became AGWM missionaries. We moved to Belgium in 1996 and remained there until 2000.
Growing up in a Christian household I was introduced to Christ at an early age. I believe that I was five years old when I gave my heart to Jesus and truly understood what it meant. I got saved in a kids church service. I was then baptized in water at about seven years old. I have lived my entire life for Jesus, albeit with some very distinct highs and lows.
When I was about nine years old as a MK in missionary training camp I received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit during a children’s service. I started speaking in other tongues and I vividly remember experiencing something that I have never forgotten about that changed my life forever. While I was praying with my eyes closed I distinctly remember seeing children’s faces from around the world pass through my mind like a slideshow with a voice telling me that I was called to reach these children and share the love of Christ with them.
As the years passed and my family moved back to Florida where my parent’s were pastors until I graduated from High School I became firmly against the thought of going into ministry. I knew how difficult it was by watching all the things my parents went through as ministers. I applauded others for going into ministry and was annoyed when in my senior year of high school my classmates voted me as most likely to become a pastor.
Well, God has a sense of humor and in the summer of 2013 while home from college, God reaffirmed his calling on my life, but at that time, as a children’s pastor instead of going into missions directly. I was confused. After after much prayer asking God to confirm this calling, God went beyond just showing me signs (which He continuously did) as by that fall I was hired as a children’s pastor at a local church. Since then, I have been in full-time ministry as a children’s pastor for nine years and have grown in my knowledge, wisdom, and skillsets.
As I approached my tenth year of full-time ministry as a children’s pastor, God started to stir my heart with the long familiar call he placed on my heart as a child - to reach His children. After much prayer I know with certainty that God has called me into the Asia Pacific Region to reach the children in Japan where 0.4% of the population are Christians.
If nine year old me could see the journey I have been on, she would be shocked. It may have taken time, but it has always been in God’s perfect timing. God has a call for every person on this earth. He has a plan for them. Sometimes He reveals it to us right away and we quickly find ourselves going down the path He has laid out for us. Often times though, we need to wait. We need to have patience because God is still working on us. Still laying the groundwork for where He is going to lead us. Those paths are worth the wait. They are beyond our wildest dreams. They might seem daunting, but God can use any of us imperfect humans to do His perfect will. We just need to wait patiently on the Lord and listen when he tells us to “Go”. Just as he called a young Heather as a child, I pray that you listen, wait, and trust in the Lord’s divine will for your lives.
“ Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”
