“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.” John 4:35 ESV
God calls each of us to serve Him in both our daily activities and our vocation. I remember the day God called me to start Fathers in the Field. He laid the burden of the fatherless on my heart and gave me the inspiration on how to effectively help them. It was life changing. It’s one of the reasons I get so excited when I see God lay the same burden on other men like Doug Fourtner.
Doug and his wife Hannah were praying about where God wanted them to serve in ministry. Previously Doug had served in several churches and was feeling the Lord calling him to something different. He recalls, “I had been praying for the past couple years for the direction God would have me go to serve in vocational ministry again. Even before seeing the ad on Facebook for a Regional Field Missionary in Montana I had been sensing that something was going to change in my life. Seeing the ad was like flipping on a light in a dark room. This was the ministry opportunity God had been leading me to. So, Hannah and I prayed long and hard and I was so excited to apply knowing this is where God wanted me to go.”
As a ministry we talk about the inward and exterior parts of God’s calling people into ministry. The inward call of the believer can best be described as a deep passion and desire to serve the Lord in a specific capacity. In our case it’s men who have seen the broken and desperate lives of boys abandoned by their earthly father and their heart is desperate to help. They have looked and seen “the fields are white with the harvest.” Their heart yearns to help these boys and they cannot imagine a better way to spend their life.
The external calling of the believer can best be described as the confirmation by other people who know the persons strength’s and weakness’s best and can confidently confirm the calling. We ask the potential Field Missionary to ask his bride, Pastor and others if they see God calling them to this position.
Doug’s calling was first laid on his heart, and then confirmed by his wife and his Pastor. When Doug asked those who know him best what they thought they too were excited about this great opportunity for him to serve our Heavenly Father. Over and over again Doug’s calling to be the Montana Regional Field Missionary was confirmed. We then asked Doug to relocate from Colorado to Montana and he gladly packed the family and went. No hesitation, just a Godly man answering the call.
What a blessing for Fathers in the Field to have Doug and Hannah serving Montana and helping to rescue the fatherless boys there!
We need more men like Doug.
Have you heard God calling you to serve as a Regional Field Missionary?
Maybe you know a man that God is calling and you can help affirm that calling!
Click the link below to get started.
https://www.fathersinthefield.com/jointheteam/
Standing in the Gap,
John Smithbaker
Founding Servant
P: 1-844-472-4241
E: info@fathersinthefield.com
