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Sharpening Our Tools for Ministry

A Look into the Heart and Ministry of Beth Grant

Beth Grant has earned a place of respect and honor among ministers in the Assemblies of God. With 31 years of missions experience, this wife and mother of two divides her time between Project Rescue, a global missions organization she and her husband, David, founded to minister to victims of forced prostitution, and the teaching and training of ministers and missionaries, with an emphasis on women called to ministry. Beth holds a BA in Education (Central Bible College), a MA in Cultural Anthropology (AGTS) and a PhD in Intercultural Education (BIOLA).

WIM: Beth, we're talking about "sharpening our tools for ministry," or growing in our ministry skills. Before we turn to that topic, give us a little background about your call to ministry.

Grant: I think I knew from the time I was an early teenager that God's hand was on my life, so early on I felt that sense of calling to ministry. Interestingly, I didn't feel called to any specific area of ministry, just that I was called to minister wherever He might lead. As time went on, I saw how appropriate that was because over the years I've had to be ready to minister in different ways.

I feel a passion to minister to those outside our Christian circle, to those who don't share our worldview. Over the years, that part of my burden has just grown — reaching out to people who haven't had the privilege or opportunity to walk with Christ from an early age, and to those who have known brokenness from the time they were young.

WIM: Did you feel adequately prepared to meet that call?

Grant: I don't think I ever feel adequate! At every step of the way, I think God nudges us by His Spirit and says, "Here's what I want you to do ... where I want you to go ... what I want you to say." The tendency is to look at myself and say, "Can I do this?" Of course, the answer is, "No." I know I am not adequate. I am literally desperate for God's wisdom, power, and anointing. I have to intentionally say, "Lord, I am not adequate. I will not focus on the vessel, but I will focus on the treasure, the glory of God, that is in the vessel." There is a level of power in the Spirit that only happens when God shows up. And I am desperate for that.

I always try to do all I can to prepare. We have to do that. That is our commitment to God and to those to whom we minister. But then I am confident to call on God because I've done my homework. I view it as the sacrifice of our time. It's like laying the wood for the fire and praying, "Lord, I've done what I can. This is my sacrifice." Then the Holy Spirit comes and the fire falls. God has to bring the fire to the sacrifice.

WIM: How do you keep your ministry tools sharpened?

Grant: One way is simply being around excellent men and woman of God who I could personally observe and learn from. I've watched Dr. George Wood, now the general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, chair various board meetings. By watching and learning how he handles leadership with grace and strength, I've become a better leader of leaders. I've also learned from watching my husband, who has very different gifts than I have. From him, I've learned about seizing the moment in a place of ministry. So, observing other leaders lead has been incredibly beneficial.

I can also say that I am challenged to grow when I read. And my reading is secular — not spiritual. I have Christian books I enjoy and that are very good, but I try to read in order to know what is happening in the world and to stay current on how those without faith are viewing their world. We need to learn from our critics; otherwise, there will be no dialogue.

When I can, I like to go to professional events that relate most closely to what I'm doing in ministry — Christian or secular. We can learn from secular professional educational events, whether it be in public speaking, leadership, or for me, human trafficking. Just as doctors and lawyers belong to professional organizations that keep their skills sharp, so can ministers.

WIM: What is your advice for women who want to sharpen their ministry skills?

Grant: First, find a mentor, or mentors. I am a believer in multiple mentors. We can learn from a number of people about a particular area.

Second, become a life-long learner. I believe we always need to be growing and stretching. It can be a formal education, as it was for me, but not necessarily. Everything we learn, we can use. Our speaking and our teaching need to be fresh. Our ministry needs to be fresh. Studying, growing, and learning require work and discipline. When we apply the things we learn, God makes them fresh.

WIM: You have a passion for empowering women with a call to ministry to serve God to their fullest potential. When you meet with younger women around the country, what ministry and leadership skills do they say they need, or do you see they need, the most?

Grant: Almost across the board, there is a call and a cry to be mentored. That's one of the reasons we are doing what we're doing with the Network for Women in Ministry — trying to facilitate and motivate women to become catalysts for mentoring other women in ministry. If women leaders don't bring the younger women alongside them, we'll lose some of them.

Younger women with a call to ministry also need a community to identify with. They need a support system which includes not only mentoring, but the larger community of women in ministry. I believe we need to build that community in a very intentional way.

Developing of skills, then, comes out of the community and mentoring. Because of a vacuum of leadership in many churches, women end up leading at an early age, even as teenagers. Often, this leadership is unofficial in terms of a recognized position. So the irony is that many women in ministry leadership have no formal leadership training. We have a huge need to 1) acknowledge that women are leading, and 2) provide leadership training focused on women because there are differences between men and women leaders. I don't talk about gender a lot because the call of God is the issue, not gender. But men and women do lead differently. We'd serve God and the Kingdom better if we had training in leadership and did what we do with more excellence.

WIM: Is this something we hope the Network to develop?

Grant: Yes. I also see the executive leadership of the Assemblies of God becoming more intentional about wanting to include women ministers in events which are geared to leaders. An intentional step on their part in trying to make sure that ministerial enrichment is appropriate for both men and women ministers. To me, that is encouraging.

WIM: Any further encouragement for women growing in their call to minister?

Grant: We have to be comfortable recognizing that God has made us who He wants us to be, and then be at peace with that. Otherwise, we can spend all our lives trying to be someone else. And thankfully, God hasn't called us to be someone else. He has called us to grow in wisdom, in skills, in understanding, and in faith, but by being the person He created us to be.

In all fairness, some of the greatest pressure to do otherwise comes from other women. We look at one another and judge someone else by our gifts and our strengths. Instead, we need to look with loving and discerning hearts for the unique gift of God in one another and affirm that uniqueness. The sooner we accept who we are and allow God to develop us as He desires, the sooner we can be at peace with ourselves and more effective in ministry.

 

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