Ministry First

Have you ever experienced a  "first" in your ministry life?  A time that blew you away, surprised you or shocked you?  I recently posed this question to some fellow sisters in ministry.  Let me share one of the first with you.

One sister shared about the first baptism at their new church plant and how Jesus literally rescued the new convert.  The individual being baptized was a Hispanic woman.  She wrote out her salvation story to be read by the person who led her to Christ.  The church learned that day that this new sister in Christ was about to commit suicide the very day her friend called and told her about Jesus.  What an amazing first in ministry!

My "first" in the ministry took place at our first church out of seminary.  We were the new "kids" and very naive.  When the church took the vote to call us, the members placed their votes in a small 3 x 5 metal box which looked much like my mom's recipe box.

A couple of weeks later at the end of our very first Sunday at the our new church, the chairman of the deacon body and who was also the chairman of the pulpit committee came forward.  The man was a huge cowboy-over six feet tall, 250 plus pounds, big hat and cowboy boots.  With his booming voice, he called our then family of three to the front of the church and handed me the "box."  I started shaking because I thought they were "de-calling" us.  This gentleman then announced the church was giving us an old fashion pounding.

As I said we were VERY naive.  My heart skipped a beat and I held my ten month son very tight.  Ladies, this young pastor's wife was raised in the city and had never heard of a pounding except for a fight.  My blonde brain started picturing the members passing through a line and "pounding" us.

Thankfully, my first was a blessing.  Our kitchen was well stocked with more flour, sugar, and noodles than you could image.  Oh, and the metal box contained recipes from all the sweet families in the church.

So ladies, what is one of your "first" in ministry?

By the way, the metal box is still part of my kitchen accessories and shares a reminder that there are always first in ministry life.