09 >> "What about getting a job for a few years before I go into ministry?

This is certainly not a question with a yes/no answer. Sometimes a few years in the work world is exactly what you need to mature, gain experience, and pay off debt. It can also make support raising easier if you use the time to get rooted in a good church. The cautions are as follows:

Do not take a job to satisfy the expectations of others. If the Lord is leading you to work elsewhere for a couple years, that is certainly one thing, but if you're doing it to minimize the friction caused by going into ministry (or not using your major), or you are just postponing the challenge of support development, well…don't.

Look at what Jesus says in Luke 9:59-62: He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

While tempting to take the time to explain the passage, it hardly requires it: the admonition is pretty straightforward.

Also consider that in light of the challenges presented by support raising, as well as disappointing others, that it's much easier to go into ministry first and later switch to a secular job, rather than the other way around. Life has a way of reeling you in, and it becomes increasingly difficult to think of leaving a steady paycheck to go raise financial support. Loss of even the slightest motivation and momentum you now possess can be decisive in whether you ever enter the ministry.

If your heart is telling you to do ministry now, do it now.

 

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