Your next pastor is probably already sitting in your sanctuary.
She is 47, teaches a Bible study on Wednesdays, has raised her children, and has been quietly wondering for two years whether the nudge she keeps feeling is a calling or just restlessness. Or he is 22, home from college, helping with youth ministry, and unsure whether he is meant to finish his business degree. Or she is 58, a retired teacher whose pastor has watched her care for the congregation in ways no paid staff member could replicate.
The question is not whether the called are in your congregation. The question is whether your church knows how to see them before they drift away.
What the Church Has Forgotten to Watch For
For most of church history, calling was recognized communally before it was confirmed institutionally. The congregation saw something. The elders saw something. Someone older pulled the young person aside and said, in effect: We have been watching you, and we think God might be up to something.
That communal noticing has gone quiet. Most churches now wait for the person to self-identify. That is a terrible way to find leaders. Many of the people most genuinely called will never walk into a staff member’s office because the most genuinely called usually doubt themselves the longest.
A Framework for Seeing Calling
Seeing calling well is attentive, not mystical. Three dimensions are worth watching for. When a person shows all three, your church needs to lean in.
The first is calling itself, the interior pull toward ministry. The person keeps showing up where ministry is happening. They read theology in their spare time. They ask questions at one level deeper than their peers.
The second is character, the fruit of the Spirit made visible over years. How does this person handle disappointment? How do they treat people who cannot benefit them? Are they teachable? Do they keep their word?
The third is capacity, the gifts and abilities that suggest a fit for pastoral ministry. Teaching that lands. An instinct for leadership. A pastoral presence that draws people in pain. The APEST framework from Ephesians 4 is a useful lens: The called among you will usually show clear expression in at least one of the apostolic, prophetic, evangelistic, shepherding, or teaching gifts.
Why Most Churches Miss Them
Churches miss the called for three common reasons. First, no one is specifically watching. It is no one’s job. Second, the search is too narrow. Churches often look only for the young, recently graduated version of a pastor, missing the second-career woman whose fit is obvious to everyone but the church itself. Third, churches sometimes see the called and never say anything. The young leader waits for affirmation that never comes.
The Conversation Itself
The conversation does not need to be dramatic. It usually begins like this: We have been watching you. We see some things we want to name. Would you be open to exploring whether God might be calling you into ministry?
That sentence, spoken with honesty and affection by a trusted leader, has launched more pastors than most seminaries will ever recruit.
What Happens After the Noticing
Noticing is the first step, not the whole job. Once you have identified potential leaders, the next questions become practical. How do you apprentice them? How do you connect them to a seminary partner who can do the academic half of their formation? How do you walk with them through discernment without overpromising or under-resourcing?
These are the questions Momentum Network cohort churches are working through together.
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Dr. Tracee J. Swank guides Kingdom-minded leaders, churches, and entrepreneurs to clarify their purpose, reimagine mission, and multiply hope—so they can lead entrepreneurial movements that transform communities and advance the Great Commission.