My first Ministry Practicum Experience
As a second year School of Ministry student, I am currently doing my Practicum at a local church here in Calgary! Although most students have successful experiences right off the bat, I was not one of them. Unfortunately, the first church I picked ended up not being a good fit. I spent about a month with them, but throughout that time I could not help but feel discouraged and frustrated. I felt like I picked the wrong church. But at the same time, it also made me feel guilty for thinking that—I wanted to stand by my choice and make it work to the best that I could. I remained as positive as I could in my time with them, tried to take in as much as I could, but a big part of me believed that I could have been doing more and I was not getting the space to do that. So with the approval of my professor and a lot of prayer, I decided to end my time with them, and contacted one of the churches that I was considering before. Miraculously (I feel), they willingly agreed to take me on with such short notice. They literally said yes on the same day I phoned them, and got started within a week! Now, I can confidently say that what I am learning is fruitfully feeding my soul and encourages me every day to pursue what God has called me to do. The church I am with now has given me room AND more, to really foster the gifts and capabilities God has blessed me with and I feel tremendously blessed knowing that what started out with so much discouragement and frustration has turned into something exciting and enriching for me.
Sometimes, when we expect or desire something to happen and it turns out to be the complete opposite of what we hoped it would be, we can often find ourselves in a pit of discouragement. But from what I’ve seen in through my practicum experience is that God always plans for something better. Almost always more than what we were initially hoping for! So although it is so much easier to give in and give up, we need to constantly remind ourselves that there is One that is greater that is fighting for us and with us, and that’s Jesus!