Stories of missionary calling rarely begin with a clear map. Obeying God is almost never linear. Detours, doubts and divine providence interrupt that path. But that鈥檚 exactly how it should be.

When I talk with students and about discerning God鈥檚 call, I don鈥檛 always share my own story 鈥 because I didn鈥檛 take an ordinary path into ministry. Donna and I were college students when we felt drawn to church planting and missions. I had a degree in biology and chemistry and plans for medical school, so we thought we had the future mapped out. But God had other plans.

The Disrupted Path

I鈥檓 not sure I鈥檝e written about this before, but I tried to enlist in the Army in college. They were offering me a scholarship opportunity for college and medical school, and (if I remember the terms correctly) I enlisted as a recruit. I then went to MEPS 鈥 Military Entry Processing Station 鈥 which, I can tell you, is quite the experience. That鈥檚 where they determine if you can be a soldier.

It was at MEPS that the physical revealed scar tissue in the back of my left eye that disqualified me from service. That unexpected diagnosis locked the door we had planned on opening. And, it was jarring. I was a part-time youth pastor, planning to go to medical school and becoming a medical missionary.

Then that door was suddenly closed.

But, the Lord had already been working on me to be open to being a pastor.

While I brushed it off at first, the Spirit kept pressing. A call from years earlier at a Christian music festival came rushing back. I was single at the time, but church planting was the theme and I was considering church planting as an expression of God鈥檚 mission.

And soon we joined that mission ourselves.

We sold most of what we owned and moved to the inner city of Buffalo, New York so that we could plant a church among the urban poor. We were 21. Our families were concerned, and our denomination turned us down for funding. In retrospect, I wouldn鈥檛 necessarily recommend this pathway, but it鈥檚 the one we took 鈥 and God used it. Work as a contractor 鈥 renovating houses, insulating attics, hanging drywall 鈥 helped keep the lights on as we shared Jesus with our neighbors.

We didn鈥檛 have much, but we had clarity that the mission was worth the sacrifice, and that God had us where he wanted us.

When I talk to young adults discerning their future, I often tell them: You don鈥檛 have to have the next 10 years mapped out; just be obedient to the next right thing. Our calling doesn鈥檛 unfold in a straight line.

It looks like saying 鈥淵es鈥 鈥 one step at a time.

The Importance of Preparation

If I could go back and talk to my younger self, I鈥檇 say this: take more time to prepare. I wasn鈥檛 ready for the challenges of cross-cultural ministry in the inner city. Seminary wasn鈥檛 on my radar when we started, but I quickly realized I needed theological depth and pastoral training.

So I started driving four hours each weekend from Buffalo to Pittsburgh to attend seminary classes 鈥 sleeping on the floor of an office building in a sleeping bag. Today, online programs and regional cohorts (like we鈥檙e doing at ) make preparation more accessible than ever.

That鈥檚 a good thing, because calling and preparation go hand in hand. Passion without formation burns out quickly. Paul told Timothy, 鈥淏e diligent to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who doesn鈥檛 need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth鈥 ().

Preparation is a form of stewardship.

Building Support Systems

When Donna and I moved to Buffalo, we had a heart for mission but not much of a support network. We learned the hard way that mission is not a solo project. It鈥檚 the body of Christ on the move.

One of the great obstacles to mission sending today isn鈥檛 lack of opportunity but resistance. It can be resistance from those pushing against God鈥檚 calling, or from well-meaning parents and grandparents who don鈥檛 want to see their loved ones go. I understand that tension 鈥 I have daughters myself. But we have to remember that these are not our children to keep; they belong to the Lord who sends them.

Pastors and leaders, we have an opportunity to help students and young adults discern God鈥檚 call. They need mentors, prayer teams and sending churches. We need to develop a culture of sending, for them and their loved ones. They need a community that celebrates calling and provides pathways toward preparation.

Churches once had Sunday schools, mission societies and weeknight gatherings where global mission was central. As things have shifted and simplified, must intentionally reintegrate mission into their discipleship ecosystems: preaching, prayer, small groups and leadership development.

Every church 鈥 no matter its size 鈥 needs a clear pathway for identifying, mentoring and sending those whom God calls. That might include mission awareness classes, partnerships with agencies or simple commissioning moments in worship.

When your church celebrates obedience publicly, it normalizes sending. It says to the congregation, 鈥淭his is what we do 鈥 we send our best.鈥

The Fruit of Obedience

If someone had told me at 21 that I鈥檇 one day serve as a dean of a seminary, a missiologist and a , I would have laughed. That wasn鈥檛 the plan. The only plan was obedience 鈥 the next faithful step. Yet obedience has a way of opening doors you could never unlock yourself.

The Lord often entrusts greater responsibility to those who prove faithful with small beginnings. Church planters become trainers. Missionaries become mentors. Pastors become mobilizers. That鈥檚 how God multiplies his work.

That was the focus of . Because the challenge before us now is generational. The 鈥済reat century of missions鈥 may be behind us, but the next great century can begin if we will again say 鈥淵es鈥 to God鈥檚 call.

and other writings by Ed Stetzer can be found on .