Christian Vocation
Christian Vocation and its Ministries of Call with Youth and Young Adults affirms the need for all baptized Christians in general, Presbyterians in particular, to identify and claim their call to discipleship as reflected in each decision and life choice. This Web site, along with a variety of ministry activities, seeks to provide tools and resources for young people as well as those in ministry with them to assist the Holy Spirit in God's movement through this journey.
Growing in discernment for college students
God calls each of us. Discernment is the practice of listening and hearing these calls. It is not just about making good choices but about growing in relationship with God. Join with other college students during a small part of your spring break in one of two locations for a time of deepening this relationship.
- March 8-9 at Cedarkirk Camp and Conference Center in Lithia, Florida. Register now
- March 12-13 at Cenacle Retreat and Conference Center in Chicago, Illinois. Register now
Only $50 for food, lodging, and program.
Through the Waters
Navigating the baptismal call of discipleship with youth and young adults
Using short reflections followed by questions for discernment, youth and young adults are invited to participate in thinking through the many ways God may be calling them. Subscribe to the feed for notifications about new postings and add your own comment to participate in the conversation as we journey through the waters together.
Christian Vocation in the congregation
While occupation may only be a portion of our call as disciples, resources are provided here for the purpose of cultivating a culture of call in congregations by claiming our theological perspective of the priesthood of all believers.
Use these resources for worship planning or adjust them for use in a study or a particular class. Additional resources such as a bulletin insert, skit and a reader’s theatre script are also available in the “resources” navigation to the left.
Listening for call at camp
A five-session lesson plan, “Listening for God’s Call” was created primarily for the summer camp setting, an amazing place for young people to think about how God may be calling them into living out their faith.
Cultivate a culture of call in your congregation
- Pray for particular workers during the pastoral prayer or prayers of the people, giving thanks and asking for their work to be blessed.
- Create a series titled “What I Do and Why it Matters” in which church members present a 10 to 15 minute talk about their work, how they came to be doing it, what it has to do with the life of the world and why it matters for them as a person of faith. Be sure to include the young people of the church in this experience. In fact, this could be done in worship using a two to three minute format where the focus is not occupation but how God has called me in my lifetime.
- Hold Vocation Movie Night once a quarter and show a movie with the theme of vocation at the church on in homes of members of the congregation. Create a list of conversation-starter questions that could be printed or posted on the website.
- Convene a reading group of leaders to do theological reflection about vocation. Try reading one of the books on the Suggested Reading on Christian Vocation page to get started.
- Write a paragraph articulating your congregation’s belief about the connection between the way one makes a living and the making of a life as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Use this as a study opportunity with the Session, print it in the newsletter, add it to the website, or talk about it in one of the church’s educational components.
Christian Vocation: Called By Our Baptism video
Ministry is the vocation of all believers. Life is a journey of discerning and living out our calling which begins with baptism. See the video.