Dear Rock Creek Fellowship,
I am writing you today to request that you would consider taking me under the care of your session for the purpose of providing me with spiritual guidance, confirmation, and prayer as I begin to pursue a perceived calling in my life to gospel ministry in the church or in some church-related setting. The desire to pursue this calling through seminary studies has been a persistent one in my life ever since my eighteenth year when I first discussed my sense of calling with my former church leaders in southern Florida. Since that time, I have made most if not all of my major decisions in life with a view toward preparing myself for this work. Over the years I have encountered various levels of doubt and confusion concerning this calling, but presently my desire in this area is stronger than ever. I have come to realize that this desire to preach or teach the gospel in some church-related setting is the foremost vocational desire in my life and I can think of no other alternative that has so forcefully pressed itself upon my heart.
I completed my undergraduate degree at Covenant College over three years ago, and I have not yet been able to enter seminary. I would say that this has been most primarily due to two main factors: financial need and spiritual unpreparedness. I have never wanted to go to seminary "just to go," and so I could never justify the financial expense, especially in light of my current indebtedness from college, if I did not feel wholeheartedly prepared to pursue seminary studies and spiritually confirmed in my decision to do so. I have rather spent the past several years gaining a variety of vocational experiences and learning to handle deeper levels of responsibility. I have been tested in many ways, and I have become more acquainted with my own sense of spiritual giftedness in certain areas.