Pentecost & the Call

AG News, the official news agency of the Assemblies of God (AG), asked a panel of ministry leaders to discuss the role of the Holy Spirit in calling people into ministry and empowering them for service. Participants are:

Melissa Alfaro is the national chair of the Network of Women Ministers. She and her husband, Jay, serve as senior pastors of El Tabernaculo in Houston. She serves as the executive presbyter representing ordained female ministers for the Assemblies of God.

Austin Westlake is the national youth director for the Assemblies of God.

Maricela Hernández is the secretary-treasurer of the Texas Gulf Hispanic District of the Assemblies of God and the founding director of Flames of Fire Bible School in Penitas, Texas. She serves as the West Spanish language area executive presbyter for the AG.

John Zick is the national director of Ministerial Advancement (Called) for the Assemblies of God.

AG News: How can Christians discern if God is calling them into ministry?

Austin Westlake: A couple of the obvious methods would be through prayer and reading your Bible, because God will not call us to do something that contradicts His written Word. I also think it’s really important to have trusted godly leaders speak into your life. Have them listen to what you think the Lord is speaking to help you decipher and discern. Just as it’s important to know how to receive confirmation from God, it’s important to know where to not get confirmation. You don’t go to social media. You don’t go to friends who are not as mature in the Lord as you. You don’t have those conversations with people who do not share any of the values that you have or who aren’t able to discern what He’s saying.

John Zick: I’ve found that the Holy Spirit speaks uniquely to individuals. How He does it for one person might look different for another. Occasionally it is that Damascus Road experience, that intentional and that clear, but more often than not it’s the still small voice that is tugging at the heart. I know for me, if it’s something that I can’t shake over a few days or a week or a month. That’s the Holy Spirit speaking to me, trying to get my attention.

Maricela Hernández: What makes you cry? If the Lord is asking you to do something, it should take you to your knees to pray and cry over that group of people. For me, it’s the proof of my tears. What makes me cry? Wherever God places us, the proof is do I feel a burden for the people? That has been my experience.

AG News: How can parents support children and teens who may be experiencing a call to ministry?

Westlake: They can provide opportunities for them to experience the presence of God. They can provide opportunities for them to serve the house of God, the Church. Help their students develop a generous heart. As students are feeling this call to ministry, parents should start having them give to ministries and missionaries, because their heart will grow in these areas. I also think they can have spiritual conversations with their kids. We should be a safe place for a child to talk about the call of God on their life.

Melissa Alfaro: Speaking as a pastor and a parent of a 6-year-old and a 3-year-old, we disciple them. We also talk about ministry and help them understand what we’re doing. We normalize ministry for the next generation. How do we do that? By talking with them about it. By praying with them about it, letting them know that yes, God could call even you. God could stir you up. You don’t have to wait until you’re a grown person to feel that call. He could be preparing you as a kid, as a teen.

Zick: Have open dialogue with your child. Have conversations. Don’t be afraid to ask questions: What does this look like for you? What do you think it means when you say you’re called to ministry? That’s not only beneficial for the parent, but it really helps children process those things as well. Encourage them in the plan of God. Validate the gifts and passions you see in their life. Take it step by step. Encourage them.

AG News: What next steps would you recommend for the person who feels called by God to ministry?

Hernández: One of the next steps is Bible training. Most of the districts and networks now have DSOMs (district schools of ministry). In our district, we have a program for teenagers. It’s an internship program where they are trained, but they’re also receiving Bible instruction in structured courses in areas such as the synoptic Gospels and Pentecostal history. We prepare them for ministry in the local church and many pursue ministry credentials.

Zick: Immediately share it with somebody — a leader, parent, or friend. That first step is to get it out. Get plugged into your local church. Serve, serve, serve. That’s usually where God will begin to open doors. Whether you’re 15 or 50, you can serve in your local church. I’ve found that to be a launching pad where God begins to open doors. Get connected to your district council/network. Learn the process for obtaining ministry credentials. Start taking those classes.

Alfaro: Pray about it. Talk to people who are in that field, in that space. If you want to be a missionary, talk to one. Ask, “How do I prepare to be a missionary?” Then, start serving. Get plugged in locally in your church. It could be while you’re serving in a local church that God begins to speak to you and show you where He’s calling you. You’ll discover your passion, your niche.

AG News: What resources are available for those who have experienced a ministry call?

Zick: A number of free resources are available at Called.AG.org, including video series and articles. We have the Healthy Pastors Series. It’s a five-part series with 20 different videos. We have a job board on the website where churches have posted open ministry positions around the country. Licensed ministers can go there and view those. We have parent resources including a six-part parent video series on how to steward the call in the home. We have our kids book, youth book, and adult book, which are great tools for someone at any age level who believes they’re experiencing a call to ministry.

Alfaro: The Network for Women Ministers offers Pathfinder, a leadership development resource for women pursuing a call to ministry or women in ministry. It’s available at NWM.AG.org. Pathfinder offers two tracks: discovery and development. Discovery enables women sensing a call to ministry to discover the path God has called them to. The development track offers numerous modules to assist women ministers in further spiritual growth and ministry development. Both tracks offer numerous videos and other helps from ministry experts. The most effective pastors and leaders are those who never stop learning and growing. This is a great resource to assist them.

AG News: What are some specific ways that the Holy Spirit assists those in ministry?

Zick: The Holy Spirit empowers us. We see this in the life of the disciples. The moment that Jesus goes on the Cross, they’re scattered. They’re scared. They’re hiding. Then they have that encounter with the Holy Spirit. They go from scared, scattered, and hiding to being martyred for the gospel and the only thing that we can account it to is that Upper Room experience. That was the only change — the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

Hernández: The Holy Spirit gives us compassion. When Jesus saw the crowds, He had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless. The Holy Spirit helps us to look beyond the obvious. Our human nature has the tendency to judge and criticize, but God extends His grace and forgives us. I believe it is only through the infilling of the Holy Spirit that we can see through the eyes of Jesus.

Alfaro: The Holy Spirit is my Comforter and Encourager. In ministry and in leadership and even in our faith walk, there are highs and lows. In moments where doubt or discouragement want to sit in — that’s where the Holy Spirit lifts our spirits, encourages us, reminds us of what God says.

Westlake: The Holy Spirit speaks in a way the listener can understand and respond. As ministers of the gospel, we can go into a setting with how ever many students or young people, all of them have a different background, story, and testimony, and all of them respond in a different way. But the Holy Spirit speaks exactly what they need to hear as individuals in the way they need to hear it. He’s very good at speaking the language that each of us can understand and respond to.

AG News: What are some of the biggest misconceptions regarding the role of the Holy Spirit?

Zick: One misconception is that He’s confined to certain areas or a time block within our day or within our week. He wants to walk with us. He wants to give us discernment. He’s a lot more relational than we would maybe think or perceive. In my experience, He truly wants to walk with you day in and day out.

Alfaro: Some people really emphasize the gifts of the Spirit, but fruit is just as important. We can be speaking the right message, but if our character is not there, then we have no credibility with the audience we’re ministering to. It’s not just what you do, it’s how you do it — the character, the follow-through, the integrity, your attitude, the fruit of the Spirit. How I
do what I do honors God and also helps build the body of Christ.

AG News: What can believers do to be more receptive to the Holy Spirit?

Hernández: I think we need to be quiet and silence all the noises. I’m very talkative. I find myself wanting to say many things to God when I pray. But just remaining calm and quiet before His presence is enough to feel that I’ve said it all. In my morning devotionals, listening to the Word of God gives me the opportunity to feel the personal touch of the Holy Spirit to my heart. I learn from others, but what is He speaking to me? For that I need to just stay calm, quiet, and listen.

Zick: I think having the mentality that we’re walking with the Holy Spirit — it’s an ongoing relationship. The Holy Spirit doesn’t just want to be a part of some of your life, for just the spiritual moments, but He wants to walk with us day in and day out. There’s this ongoing conversation. He wants to help us. He wants to guide us. He wants to give us wisdom and discernment.

Alfaro: The Holy Spirit will not force us to do anything. I think of conversations I’ve had with people who want to be baptized in the Spirit. They stand there with their mouths closed, waiting. I encourage them to open their mouths and begin to worship. You have to give the Holy Spirit something to work with. If you’re just sitting there waiting for Him to force your mouth open and make your tongue move a certain way, it’s not going to happen. We have to open our mouths and worship. If we remember when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, they were actively seeking God and praying. It was a prayer meeting. They were engaged and ready to receive. That should be our response in seeking the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

This article appears in the 2025 issue of Pentecostals magazine.

Top Photo: (Left to Right) Maricela Hernández and Austin Westlake

Bottom Photo: (Left to Right) John Zick and Melissa Alfaro

AG News