The Call: Finding Your Way on the Journey to Full-Time Ministry

by Trevor Archer, Paul Mallard

If you’ve just begun to consider whether you’ve been called to gospel ministry you may feel excited, confused or even overwhelmed. It can be tricky to know where to start!

In this valuable resource Trevor Archer and Paul Mallard draw on a wealth of ministry experience to give wise, biblical and practical advice to those considering full–time ministry. They offer twelve ‘markers’ to look for in a person called to ministry, and then suggest the next steps you could take on your journey towards full–time gospel ministry.
They affirm that there is no one–size–fits–all route into ministry and that God works uniquely in each person, while encouraging thoughtful and prayerful consideration of the diverse routes into ministry that are available.

This is a key tool for those considering full–time Christian ministry or those involved in those helping others discern ‘the call’.

62 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Jonathan Thomas]

For such a short book this is superb. Archer and Mallard have distilled centuries of teaching (Baxter, Spurgeon, etc) and decades of ministry into 60 simple, sensible and solid pages.
This is a great first read for those considering full time Christian ministry.

[Deborah-Ruth]

A short, yet extremely thorough book about what it means to be called to full-time vocational ministry, how one can discern their calling, and the characteristics a ministering person needs to possess. Throughout the book, Trevor Archer and Paul Mallard act as unassuming travel guides and companions, gently asking intensely personal questions, backing up their knowledge with adequate Scripture references, and providing a context and framework to begin thinking about how to make your calling a practical reality. Although I appreciated this book and believe it imparts sound wisdom, I have a few issues with what was shared in it. Firstly, while I appreciate that Archer and Mallard affirm vocational ministry both amongst singles and those who are married, they still clearly believe that singles have it much easier in the ministry when this is anything but the case. Singles experience unique pressures that many married people are unaware of and these pressures were not properly addressed throughout the book. Secondly, while Archer and Mallard claim that both men and women are called into ministry, they clearly are very male headship in their approach. They list all the vocations a woman can be included in and all those she cannot. I have no issue with anyone who says women cannot be pastors as there could be Scriptural evidence on this point (though that is debatable). What I take issue with is making a list of what a woman can or should do when the book is written by two men who are clearly proof-texting and not living within the current climate.