Journey Into Ministry

My Journey into Ministry

My name is Stacie Hutchens, and here is my journey into ministry. I am a forty-year-old mother of two, a daughter almost fourteen and a son nearly twelve. My husband and I met at work and have been married for seventeen years. However, we have been together for nineteen years. We live in southern West Virginia, where we enjoy spending time outdoors in this beautiful world God has created. We also spend a great deal of time volunteering with sports teams our children are a part of and working in our local church. I am also an elementary school teacher serving children before, during, and after school.

My Early Years

I grew up in a Christian home that centered around ministry. My grandfather planted a church, and there, my Christian roots and foundation began. Within the walls of his church, my grandparents pastored me, my father and uncle ministered to me, my mother and aunts taught me. The family led every branch of the ministry within this church. We lived in a small southern town that fostered the idea of strong family ties. Those ties intertwined in faith and ministry. I knew my whole life that ministry would be where I found my calling and place with the Lord. However, it took me a little bit of time to truly understand just what God was calling me too.

Struggles and Back to My Faith

As a teenager, I found myself pulling away from what I thought were strict parental rules. Also, I pulled away from God’s direction and guidance in my life. I sometimes gave in to peer pressure and went out into the world to “figure it out for myself.” I found that I could not run from what God had placed upon my life.

In my early twenties, I found my way back to my faith. I rediscovered the foundation and roots established years prior, and God, who never left my side. I returned to the church I grew up in ready for wherever God leads on my journey into ministry.

My Journey into Ministry

After having children, God stirred a desire within me to work with the children’s classes at our church. Therefore, I began helping my mother in the nursery. From there, God grew me into a children’s teacher, a girl’s club leader, and VBS director.

While God stirred in me and moved me to step into places of growth, He also did the same within my husband. God began using my husband to minister to children through the boy’s club, the youth, and the children but also adults. As he stepped into ministering, my grandfather became sick, which led to us stepping into leading our church more than we previously had. We found ourselves drawn into pastoring in some facet, and yet we were unsure how God would do this within and through us.

My Journey to Ministry Schooling at CLI

Fast-forward a few years, and currently, we are children’s pastors within our church working toward pastoring in a fuller facet. We are branching into family pastorship and potentially associate pastoring soon. We are open and ready for wherever God leads.

Looking for ministry school classes to learn more about God, His Word, and ministry, I found the Christian Leaders Institute. I desire to come to know God on deeper levels every day and to allow Him to know me deeply and in all areas of my life. I want to do all that I can to help others come to know Him and to help His kingdom grow.

Learn about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.