Ministering Family

Ministering Family

My name is Graham Burger and my ministering family is active in pastoring. I live in New Zealand. We are free to worship here but there are a strong secular push and plenty of anti-Christian and anti-church sentiment at all levels of society – education, media etc.

My sister led me to the Lord when I was 8 years old but, although I was attuned to God and God fearing, I did not fully commit my life to Him until an adult. My wife and I were invited to church before we were married by someone who sold us a correspondence study course and we accepted Christ on our first visit.

My ministry dream is to be more Christlike, walk closer to Christ and to know his specific will for my life in all areas. I also want to have the faith and trust to be obedient. I have enjoyed the content of this class which I found stimulating and challenging. It fits in my personal desire to be more effective in connecting with and mentoring those in my sphere. I am also looking for ways to grow my sphere of connectedness.

The role I most identify with is a pastor. My sister tells me that, when I was 8 and said the sinner’s prayer, I said soon after that I wanted to be a minister. Years later as an adult, my wife and I decided that if this is worth Christ dying for then it is worth us living for. We began with home church leadership and doing marriage and pre-marriage courses in South Africa and later in New Zealand and are now full-time pastors on staff as a ministering family.

The Bible has transformed my life in the sense that it is the foundation for how I live my life – from my marriage to raising my kids, to the type of employee/boss/employer and neighbor I am. It dictates every area of my life. My two daughters are pastors along with their husbands and my kids all know the Gospel.

My local church in South Africa encouraged me to lead a home cell and to do marriage courses and counseling. My church in New Zealand did the same and also ordained my wife and I (and two daughters later on). My ministry family is on staff in differing capacities. I am a chartered accountant and involved in finance as we have several campuses, a junior and high school and three childcare centers for pre-schoolers.

My family and ministering family have supported my ministry calling. My wife is a pastor and has been fully supportive of my calling. My sisters and mom have always supported our church involvement although in our early years there was some comment on our not being available for some family gatherings or some lifestyle choices we made.

A scholarship will allow me to study as I would not be able to afford all the courses. Studying a quality academic program will also equip me for some of the roles I play as a pastor and elder, especially in mentoring and counseling. My constant prayer as a pastor and elder is for wisdom and obedience as I speak into lives and have strategic input into church management and decisions.

Learn about local “ecuministry” ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.