Expert: Eleanor Edwards - 8/20/2008

Question
Hey hows it going pretty good here i just have a question, i dont really have the best christian family and im chanigng taht and i wanna be a missionary someday, but for now id like to be a youth pastor im 15 i know im young and i need to mature  but im just wondering if u could help me out and kinda tell me wat i need to do to become one and stuff like that cause im kinda confused about all that mumbo jumbo but anyhow praise God and i hope  u can help

Answer
Hi Mike,
Many thanks for your question. Your enthusiasm to want to serve God as a missionary and youth pastor is great. The best and most powerful thing you can do now is spend time praying to God about this. He alone knows the plans He has for you and your life. Tell Him that you want to live your life for Him. Each morning when you wake up, dedicate your life to His service that He may take you and guide you throughout the day ahead.

You say you don't have the best Christian family. What does that mean and what is it that you are doing that you think will change this? My mum and dad are both Christians but they didn't make me a Christian. You must have your own, personal relationship with Jesus. I love my own children dearly and pray for them and my non-believing husband on a daily basis but as much as I ask God to send the Holy Spirit to touch their hearts, I can't do this for them.

When the Holy Spirit speaks to each of them, they must take action and make a decision for themselves. They must believe in Jesus, accept that He is the Son of God, that He died for their sins but was brought back to life after three days. They must give their lives to Him and for His purposes. Only they as individuals can do that, I can't do it for them.

The same is true for you and your family. Yes, you can live your life in such a way as to reflect Jesus' love to them and you can share with them the truth about Jesus Christ but you can't make them a Christian. The Holy Spirit must speak to them and they must make a commitment for themselves.

I hope this helps some Mike. I've included my e-mail address below. If you have further questions or would just like to keep in touch, please do so. If you prefer, you can also contact me via this site.

In His love,
Eleanor
eleanor@eleanoredwards.co.uk

Romans 12:1-2
So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.