“Here I am, send me,” repeated Rev. Fitzgerald Brown
during the ‘Scripture Reading’ portion of Mt. Pisgah
Baptist Church’s service on July 14. The passage,
Isaiah 6:1-13, was only the first segment of an eventful
Calling Out the Called service.

It was with this in mind that Bro. Ashley Coker, the
long-term youth pastor, took the podium. He
announced that he felt a new calling from God to
preach or teach. Just like Jesus called Matthew to
leave behind his old job of tax collecting for a new life
of discipleship, Bro. Ashley would need to leave his
current ministry position to remain faithful to the
Lord.

“Do you love Jesus? That’s our message,” remarked
Bro. Ashley. He then flung his hands wide and
proclaimed, “Here I am. Send me!”

Before the sermon began, Bro. Fitz made one final
announcement. God was also calling one of their own
to step into the role of youth minister as Bro. Ashley
stepped out of it.

At last, Bro. Fitz began his sermon titled “Blueprint for
the Called” from Acts 13:1-12.

“The local church is ground zero,” he taught. “The
local church is the Called Out Ones. It is the sending
point for new pastors and leaders.”

He encouraged the church to fulfill their role by
training disciples into leaders so they could be sent
out into the world.

He also taught they have a kind of accountability over
those they do send out. For that reason,. Retaining
connection is vital.

“We’ve lost this connectivity in the modern church. We
should not lose connection with one another,” the
pastor said.

Proclaiming God’s word is also a key part of both
disciple-making and discerning a call to ministry,
according to Bro. Fitz. Since the Holy Spirit does the
calling, people must first hear God’s word.

“Is God calling you out to ministry?” he concluded. “If
God is calling you, don’t resist the call.”

One man responded to the ministerial invitation call.
While he had previously voiced a desire to evangelize to
the church, he said that God used the service to clarify a
calling to reach young adults.

Calling out the Called is a three-year emphasis that
invites Christians to respond to a call to ministry. The
FBA’s biggest needs are pastors, worship leaders, and
next-generation leaders.

Mt. Pisgah is the third church to hold a Calling Out the
Called service. Each service has resulted in people
declaring that God is calling them into ministry.
Prayer partners play an important role in asking God to
prepare hearts for Calling out the Called.

This article originally appeared in the Aug/Sept./Oct. 2024 printed edition of the Word & Way, the Friendship Baptist Association’s newsletter. The newsletters also includes a report on this summer at Friendship Camp and Advancing in Ministry. Go read it by clicking here.