Below, is my personal philosophy paper that I wrote for my program orientation class. Feel free to leave comments and ask questions. They are greatly appreciated!
My
Personal Philosophy of Ministry
Amanda
Hollen
PMIN
3013
Instructor:
Jewel Williams
October
8, 2012
There
are many things that lead a person to develop their personal
philosophy of ministry. Every person brings a different story to the
table when it comes to how they discovered God and how their theology
was created. Over time, my personal testimony has evolved,
along-with my belief about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Within
this paper I will not only discuss the matters listed above, but I
will also share details about my calling, gifts and disposition;
Concluding that all these things have led to my personal philosophy
of ministry.
The
first time I heard about God was when I was eight years old. A girl
that I went to school with invited my sisters and I to journey to
church camp with her. It was at this camp that I first felt God
reveal Himself to me. After this camp, my family and I starting
attending church and I was taught the basics of faith. I believe it
was in youth group that I began to truly understand the truths of God
and His word and really start to develop a philosophy for myself. My
youth pastor taught us to dig deeper and to own our faith by taking
up our cross daily to serve God. Through my youth group, I took
advantage of the opportunities to go on mission trips. I traveled
all over the country serving others by repairing their houses,
teaching at Vacation Bible School, providing meals for them, and many
more things. On these trips, I learned the importance of servant
hood and extending compassion to those in need.
As my
personal testimony evolved, so did my belief about God, Jesus, and
the Holy Spirit. I gained a stronger grasp on what their presence in
my life and the world meant and more fully understood how they work
separately and together. God is all-powerful, all-loving, and
all-being. This means that God is the ultimate of everything. “God
is always there or he does not tend to go out of existence... God is
the source of being, or existence, for all things” (Kreeft, 2003,
p.33). God exists absolutely; His presence is everywhere and He is
not restrained by time or space. God knows all things, He sees all
things, and nothing is more powerful than Him. “To say that God is
omniscient or omnipotent means that there can be no real barriers to
God's knowing or acting. Apart from Himself, God has created
everything there is to be known and sustains it in being” (Kreeft,
2003, p.33). There is no-one more capable of love than God; He is the
Ultimate Lover because He is the creator of love. The Bible has
countless examples of God's love and the greatest expression of love
he offered was sacrificing His only son. “God demonstrates his own
love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”
(Romans 5:8).
Jesus is
the Holy son of God, He was conceived by a virgin, born in a manger,
grew up and goes to Galilee to begin preaching. Here in Galilee is
where Jesus calls His disciples, saying to them, “Come, follow me,
and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Jesus travels
all throughout Galilee, Jerusalem, Judea, and other places preaching
and teaching the Word of God. While He taught, He also performed
miracles; healing every disease and sickness among the people He met.
“In the demonstrations of miraculous power, (Jesus') deity was
open only to the eyes of faith... Those miracles that were performed
openly were recognized as such only by those who had the will to
follow His teachings” (Greathouse & Dunning, 1989, p.33). Due
to Jesus, being God's son, He also held the ability to power and this
is how He performed countless miracles which brought thousands to
faith in God. To save the sins of mankind, Jesus gave Himself as
sacrifice and allowed the sins of man to fall on His shoulders. He
was beaten and then crucified on the cross, but His ministry did not
stop there. Three days later, He rose from the dead because He had
defeated death! All of this being as a symbol that through Jesus, we
can crucify our sins, die to our old selves, bury them, and live
again in the newness of Christ.
This
Jesus God offered up as the Sacrifice for the sins of the world; He
was buried and descended into Hades; He was raised up from the dead
and was seen of chosen witnesses; He was exalted to the Father's
right hand where He received from the Father the promised Holy
Spirit, whom He poured out upon the Church; He now reigns as Lord and
Christ in heaven and intercedes for us there as High Priest; He
shall come again in glory to consummate our salvation and bring the
victory of God's kingdom over the last enemy, death (Greathouse &
Dunning, 1989, p.37).
Due to
Jesus' sacrifice, the world can have hope that they will be with God
in heaven one day and have life again.
From the
Holy Spirit flows the ability to communicate with God. The Holy
Spirit provides translation and guidance. By the Holy Spirit,
mankind can be maintained in life each moment and pushing people to
realize their full potential in Christ. “It is the Spirit who
awakens us from our spiritual sleep and upon our response gives us
the new birth to eternal life... Ever flicker of spiritual interest,
every longing for holiness, every move toward God must be attributed
to the activity of the Spirit” (Greathouse & Dunning, 1989,
p.46). The Holy Spirit reveals God in mankind and pulls people into
a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him.
While I
was in middle school, Satan had my soul entrapped. My mind was
overrun by negative and evil thoughts, so much so, I became depressed
and suicidal. Only by the power of the Lord, was I able to be pulled
out of this sin and call me into a relationship with Him. At that
point I began to feel a sense of peace, but I did not really begin to
understand my calling as a child of God until my sophomore year at
youth camp. The Lord had been tugging at my heart all week and then
at the end of the week, the pastor asked for those people who were
feeling called to surrender their lives to vocational ministry, to
stand and a mentor would come speak with them. The Holy Spirit
prodded me and told me that this is what the Lord was calling me to
do, so I stood on the faith that He knew what He was doing.
After
that moment when I took a stand for my calling from God, there was a
snowball affect and my ministry really took off. The leader of a
mission organization whom had visited my church while I was in middle
school, contacted me and said that he would like for me to be on
their spring break mission team. On that mission team, is where the
Lord developed a passion for overseas missions in my heart and He
whispered sweetly to my soul that He wanted me to lay down my life
for serving people who desperately need to know Him, no matter where
they were located, He called me to go.
I have
developed many goals which lead to my living overseas, sharing the
truth and love of God with those who need to know Him. The biggest
goal I need to achieve is getting my degree in Christian Ministries.
This has proved the most difficult and hardest to achieve, but I am
only a semester away from graduation and need to keep in mind that
this is what the Lord has in store for me. After I graduate, I have
many prospective countries and missionaries that I can contact to get
the ball rolling on moving overseas. The only hardship will be
trying to raise the money to get there and support myself. Due to
the fall in the economy, people are more reluctant to give money.
But I must be creative in my fund-raising and provide ways for people
not only to give, but to gain when they give. Overall, I must put my
faith in God and trust that He will take care of me in what He has
called me to do.
A
disposition is an arrangement of things that leads to a particular
way of doing things. Disposition can be applied to education and
ministry. I
believe dispositions help people model the way that they will react
to what education and ministry throws at them, what will push them to
keep going and to finish strong. The goals within my ministry are
about serving others and applying the Christian Ministries mission:
head, heart, and mind to my ministry. I believe that what I learn in
school and the attitude I have toward what they I will ultimately
effect what I get out of the goals that my education and ministry.
In
conclusion, through my personal philosophy of ministry, I understand
that God wants the whole world to know His name and He has called me
to help do that. He will take me to the ends of the earth and back
as His servant, and will use me to bring glory to Him. I must hold
true His promise in Isaiah 41:9;42:12:
“I
took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I
called you. I said 'You are my servant'; I have chosen you and have
not rejected you... Let them give glory to the Lord and proclaim His
praise in the islands”.
References
Greathouse,
W. M., & Dunning, H. R. (1989). An
introduction to Wesleyan theology (Rev.
and enl. ed.). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City.
Kreeft,
P., & Tacelli, R. K. (2003). Pocket
handbook of Christian apologetics.
Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.
The Holy Bible.
(1989). Glasgow [Scotland: Collins Publishers.
