Northside Church celebrated Student Sunday last weekend. The youth led worship, including two students who co-preached the sermon. They embodied Paul’s advice to his protégé in 1 Timothy 4:12: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”

Last Sunday called to mind church members who encouraged my initial call to the ordained ministry. I recall with gratitude those long-suffering saints who endured my first, feeble attempts at speaking and preaching.

• I taught my first Bible study as a 5^th grader to a roomful of adults at Columbia Drive UMC in Decatur. I covered the entire book of James in 9 minutes.
• I preached my first sermon at Little River UMC in Woodstock, which lasted 12 minutes with two minutes of “uhs” and “youknows.” I figured the increase in content from 9 to 12 minutes represented a 33.3% improvement.  
• My senior pastor, Bill Edwards, allowed me to preach on Sunday nights at Kennesaw UMC while I served as the youth pastor during seminary. The Christian Growth Sunday School class bragged on my homiletical expertise, a venial sin of dishonesty cancelled by their loving support.  
• The bishop appointed me after seminary to a two-point circuit outside Newnan. Mount Carmel and Emory Chapel UMCs took great pride in raising their “boy preachers.” I spent five years slowly learning my craft.
• The list continues to present day. I give thanks for those who supported me along the way.

Maybe one of the students who led worship last Sunday will recall the saints at Northside Church who supported them in their first steps towards ordained ministry.