Wonder Moment: Exposed To God’s Calling

In the winter of 2001, I took a dozen students to Exposure weekend with Wonder Voyage. On staff at a local church at the time, the retreat was my way of getting the kids away from their busy lives to experience God in the great outdoors.

The retreat was held at Grapevine Lake and the surrounding Corps of Engineers State Park. During the course of that weekend I heard stories of life-change that simply floored me. I had no expectation of having a God-encounter myself. I was there for the teens.

That is until Shawn Small offered to chat with me over a cup of coffee.

Sitting on a stone table, Shawn asked me, “If you could do anything you wanted to do in ministry, what would that be?”

I thought I knew, so I said I’d like to be on school campuses working with coaches and athletes.

Pushing a bit more, he leaned in and asked, “Michael, if that’s true, do you trust God to deploy you in ministry in what you’re best at?”

I had no answer.

I am a man of faith. I’ve dedicated my life to ministry. But my title and position at that time didn’t completely align with the calling I knew God had placed on my heart.

After that little push, my wife and I started to pray more fervently about where God wanted us. Within two years I was on staff with Fellowship of Christian Athletes where I have served the last 15 1/2 years.

Since that day I have been on my own voyage of wonder with God. Just like that weekend, I feel like God is working on me just as much as he is working on the students I serve.