“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-13, NASB)

Paul shows us that church leaders are called to equip the saints for ministry (Ephesians 4:11-13).

This passage of Scripture shows us that all believers (saints) are called to minister, not just a few leaders.^[i]

It clarifies that leaders are not to do all the work but to equip believers for the work, for ministry in the body.

This calling includes children and students.

Last week I asked you to pray for Vicki and me. During times of questioning, I find it comforting to go back to my roots in ministry. So, on Wednesday, I drove to Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. I spent a while reminiscing over the time spent there as I walked through some of the hallways of the school. I am blessed to have received much of my training there.

From there, I drove to Wedgwood Baptist Church and reminisced about what the Lord did there over the course of 12 years that turned my life upside down. I even visited room 110C, the room in which L.I.T. was birthed. I am forever grateful for the joy and trials I went through as the Lord provided the vision of L.I.T. It frustrated some folks, but others welcomed the idea with open arms.

I started seminary thinking I would be a pastor. However, three months later, the Lord called me to be a children’s pastor in Cleburne, Texas. We visited the church, and the pastor visited us the next day.

Pastor Lynn completely caught me off guard that evening when he asked, “Clint, will you pray about being our children’s minister?” I thought to myself, “Yeah, right!” That was not what he was thinking—he apparently had heard from the Lord before I did. Three months later, I became their children's pastor.

The first time I baptized a little girl in my church, I had no idea what I was doing. I knew what to say, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” But I had never been taught how to take the next step. This little girl’s name was Carry, and she was nine years old.