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Discerning Your Call to Ministry: Is a Theology Degree Your Next Step?

Do you feel that you are being called to vocational ministry or to strengthen your skills for leadership in or outside the church? Are you feeling inspired to make a difference in your community, the world around you, or simply in your personal life? 

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About the Interactive Guide

Throughout this guide, we will provide you with the tools to guide you in the discernment process, with the hope of making things clearer and assisting you in taking the next steps to achieve your ministry goals.

Our interactive guide will help you understand why clarifying your call matters, interpret your call and assess how to utilize your gifts, and discover the next steps and different degree pathways for you.

Inside Chapel Optimized

What Will I Learn?


You might be wondering if discerning your call is the right pathway for you. With the increasingly polarized world around us, there is no better time to discern your call than now. If you  feel led to utilize your talents for the growth of your church or community - translating your abilities into servant leadership - we invite you to continue reading.

Our guide will help you:

  • Understand why clarifying your call matters
  • Interpret your call and assess how to utilize your gifts
  • Discover the next steps and different degree pathways for you

Are you facing a decision to follow your call to vocational ministry or to strengthen your skills for leadership in or outside the church? Though this decision to start a new chapter of life can be daunting, especially with the increased polarization facing our everyday world, God promises to be with you every step of the way (Deut. 31:6). In one way or another, you are called for such a time as this.

Driving Your Quest: How Can You Utilize Your Gifts for Good – and for God?

What are you passionate about? What brings you great joy and inspiration in your life? We all are born with God-given abilities, and what makes us unique are the individual gifts and talents we are given. As those called by God, we are all – in some form or another – born to spread the good news of God’s love for all. 

Maybe you’ve been blessed with patience and kindness. Maybe it’s your strength and leadership that make you an excellent teacher of God’s message. Maybe you have an eagerness to engage, lead and create peace in your community. 

These gifts can sometimes be overlooked or buried, or, maybe you’re not sure where to begin. Assessing where you stand and determining what kind of future you envision for yourself can help. View and download our chart to determine what category you may fit into.

Career Chart

How Do I Know If I Am Being Called to Serve?

What does a call to ministry look like? Just because you have a call upon your life by God does not necessarily mean that you know where God may be calling you. Such calls are often unclear. The journey of a life called by God can sometimes feel like uncharted territory, taking you on paths you did not expect. 

God’s calling can be full of surprises and will likely take you in many directions. The objective is to be prepared. It may be that you are at a place now where it is time to consider next steps for that preparation. 

Deciphering if you are being called can be challenging, but you may find our Call to Ministry Checklist to be helpful. Call to Ministry Checklist

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“The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps.”

— (Proverbs 16:9, NRSV)

As Christians, we are all called to ministry.

There are varying degrees and levels. You may serve as a lay person at your church: chairing a committee, teaching classes, singing in the choir or leading youth services. You may be an active church member, volunteering during your free time. 

Whatever your call may be – whether in full-time vocational ministry or adding another dimension to your current role in church and community – all Christians are encouraged to participate in ministry to some degree. 

Jennifer Kilpatrick

Perkins 2021 M.Div Graduate




For Jennifer, it was a “freak” snowfall that occurred in New Orleans just moments after she was notified of getting accepted into theology school that gave her the sign she was searching for.

Christian S. Watkins

Perkins 2019 M.Div. Graduate




For Christian, it was the transformative moment in his life when his family switched parishes and his pastor’s love for people and God that inspired him to follow in his footsteps.

Rosedanny Ortiz

Perkins 2021 M.Div Graduate




For Rosedanny, her call started at the very young age of five at Vacation Bible School, where she saw the pastor in the pulpit and thought, “I want to do that too, to talk to people about God.”

Some students have a clear call or feel an internal prompting to be involved in vocational ministry or community service. Others may feel confused or are searching for a more clear spiritual direction. There is not one right way to discern your call to ministry and that’s okay. 

It could take years of learning more about who you are in Christ, what kind of servant leadership role most resonates with you and what role in the church and your community that God wants you to play. The reality is, you may not have a story like the one from Isaiah, Chapter 6 (“Here  I am Lord, send me…”), but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t still seek the pathway to becoming a servant leader or try to better understand how you can be God’s hands and feet by serving the poor and marginalized.   

Why Should I Clarify My Call?

Your call to ministry matters. Discerning and living out your call in the world today, however, can take several different forms. Some people are called to become pastors, chaplains and youth ministers. Others are called to become Christian counselors or therapists, teachers and professors, missionaries and more. Many respond to their call to ministry by applying the truths of God’s word in their work and vocational passions by becoming servant leaders in their companies, in their families and through their personal lives.

Now more than ever, the need for servant leadership continues to increase due to several  factors, including the growing polarization throughout the world and in the church.

The Need for Servant Leadership Is NOW

The world is facing tremendous obstacles and is suffering. It’s up to us to heal, connect, and serve others through ministry We need people like you to bring peace and light in these times of darkness. Learn more about the polarization facing our world and the immediate need for church leaders.

Indeed you are my lamp, O Lord, the Lord lightens my darkness.

— (2 Samuel 22:29, NRSV)

Vocational ministry is much more than just teaching and preaching God’s Word every week. Just like it states, pastors are to care. If you see the need for servant leadership, and love to spread Jesus’ teachings of kindness and peace, entering vocational ministry may be a great option for you. 

Beyond delivering a sermon or recording a podcast, pastors visit and care for the sick, disciple members of the congregation, provide biblical counseling, assist those who are suffering or struggling, pray for or with those experiencing pain and more. 

There are other ways to exemplify and participate in servant leadership in and outside the church. A servant leader must start with an unselfish mindset and have a passion to do something for the greater good of the community. A servant leader uses their talents and gifts to add value to other people or institutions. 

Practicing Christian leadership skills through servant leadership can look different for everyone. Devoting your free time to running, volunteering or serving on the board of a non-profit, serving the sick and homeless, teaching youth ministry and even bringing servant leadership skills into your workplace are all great ways to practice and promote those skills.

The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

— Matthew 23:11-12, NRSV

Perhaps you don’t feel that you are being called to become ordained or to enter full-time vocational ministry, but you still want to have an active role in the church community. If so, lay leadership is a great option for you. These roles will vary depending on your denomination, but some of the options include: 

  • Serving on the board of the church’s committees
  • Reading scripture
  • Teaching in children’s church or Sunday school
  • Participating in choir
  • Acting as a liturgist
  • Ushering

Lay leadership roles can also result in working with the pastor or other church leaders to bring the church’s vision and mission to life and represent the congregation.

Clarifying Your Call to Ministry for Personal and Professional Enrichment

There are many benefits for everyone when it comes to clarifying your call. You may be interested in discerning your call because you want to become ordained and spread God’s message as a servant leader. 

Or are you interested in faith-based ministry to not only bring to your everyday life, but to apply at work, with your family, in your communities, to non-profit organizations and beyond?

Others feel a call to ministry because they want to increase their knowledge of the Christian faith, or they want to understand theological disciplines for one’s self-interest or to teach it one day. Maybe that describes you best.

Or, you may be looking to enhance different aspects of your life through either lay leadership roles, personal enrichment or the practice of ministry through advanced study. 

Whatever it is, everyone has a reason to discern their call, and they all differ from one another. 

Personal Enrichment

Discerning your call for personal fulfillment may need to start with self-reflection. You need to ask yourself, “What are my future goals? Do they align with the call from God that I am feeling in my life?”

Sometimes, people disregard their call as they have other aspirations or life-commitments. This can be especially difficult if you’ve already paved a pathway for your life. But other times, it can be a blessing in disguise. 

Imagine, you get up each morning, do your routine and head to your job. This job may feel like a dead-end, or it doesn’t bring you the happiness or fulfillment it once did. You feel like you’re repeating the same day over and over again with no end in sight. But something in the back of your mind  keeps telling you that you’re meant for more; something bigger and more meaningful. It’s your call – the longing for direction that you’ve been seeking. 

The need to be fulfilled should never be overlooked. Personal fulfillment is extremely life-giving, especially when you feel like you’ve finally found the right path for you. 

Do you have a spiritual gift? Maybe you feel called, but are unsure of your talents or untapped potential. The United Methodist Church has created a spiritual gifts inventory quiz to help those like you decipher their talents. You can take the assessment below. 

Spiritual Gifts Assessment

Student-News

Jennifer Kilpatrick decided to apply to Perkins and was accepted into the M.Div. Program, where she graduated in 2021 and now serves as a Senior Pastor at a United Methodist Church.

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Professional Enrichment

The heart of theological and religious studies are ideas, text, beliefs and actions–something that many people of all different walks of life can benefit from. Not only will studying theology deepen your knowledge of religion and create a faith-seeking understanding, but it can also be applied to your future endeavors. 

Furthering your vocation with a theology degree can take place in many different aspects. For example, upon graduation, there are many theology vocation opportunities, such as pursuing a vocation in theology, a college or seminary professor, a youth worker, a minister of religion, a counselor, a social worker, a chaplain or cleric and more. 

A degree in theology can also be beneficial for people who have already established vocations, such as those who work for hospitals and other businesses, charity organizations, non-profits, parishes, dioceses and more. Advancing knowledge in theology and applying it to your vocation can affect and improve your place of work and deepen relationships and guidance you provide to those you serve

Exploring the Ministry Degree Programs Offered at Perkins School of Theology

At Perkins School of Theology, we are a diverse community that welcomes all Christian voices. We honor your unique worth, and strive to prepare you with the theological study needed to emphasize and bring your gifts and talents to life. 

Education at Perkins is about discerning who you are and who you want to become. We welcome you to explore and discern which degree program and concentration best fits your future goals and calling, in our guide, Discovering Theology and Ministry Degree Programs: Which is the Right One For You? 

Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.

— 1 Peter 4:10, NRSV

The Rewards of Clarifying Your Call to Ministry

Discerning your call comes with challenges and confusion that most people face. But, the rewarding outcomes of becoming a servant leader and responding to your call will outweigh any of the uncertainty you might feel.

Remember, clarifying your call doesn’t happen overnight: it takes time, patience, self-reflection and soul-searching.

Your life can be an important step towards creating a more peaceful solution to help mend the polarization around us by using your gifts to bring others together during these difficult times. 

Are you ready to answer God’s call?

Changing your pathway might not always be the easiest choice, but following your call will lead you to a life filled with servant leadership and fulfillment. At Perkins School of Theology, we welcome you with open arms to learn, test, challenge, discern and utilize your calling. We will be with you every step of the way. 

At Perkins, you will play an increasingly meaningful role in a community of lively dialogue that encourages deep thought and honest reflection. It is our expectation that you will graduate not only with a clearer understanding of yourself, but also with a broader and more sympathetic understanding of the beliefs of others. 

The world needs more people of genuine conviction who can build bridges and work across divisions. Won’t you join us?

Called to Serve. Empowered to Lead. This is Perkins. 

Discerning Your Call to Ministry. Take the Next Step Towards your Theology Degree.

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