For several years, the State Board of Missions (SBOM) has helped sponsor Super Summer Alabama, a leadership and discipleship camp for Alabama students who have completed grades 8-12.

It’s not your typical summer camp. By its nature, the camp attracts students drawn more to topics like theology, spiritual disciplines, missiology and apologetics, and the students come expecting to see God move and work in their lives.

Over the past few years, my state missionary colleague Scooter Kellum and I have made an interesting observation. Each year, we offer a time of discussion on the “call to ministry” and year after year more than 10% of the students have attended this session.

We realize that the call to ministry can seem like the most complex decision to wade through, especially for students. We want to help.

On Saturday, August 17, the SBOM is hosting the Called Conference at Glynwood Baptist Church in Prattville, beginning at 9 a.m. and concluding at 3 p.m. The conference is open to young men and women who are in high school or college and are trying to discern whether or not they’re being called into vocational ministry.

We understand that all Christians are called to be active in ministry, but some are called to devote their careers to serving in ministry. We will look at many aspects of what it means to surrender to the call.

The conference will feature three large group sessions as well as breakouts related to pastoral/church planting, children’s/preschool, students, missions, discipleship/education, worship, spiritual growth and leading those who are called.

If we help students today lay a firm foundation of a ministry call, then we have helped equip generations to come. Students are bombarded with so many choices and decisions during high school and college years. These choices affect the rest of their lives.

Many well-intentioned students see admirable examples of ministry leaders and think to themselves, “I’d like to do that!” It’s our goal to provide students with practical information and resources during these formative years to make the most God-honoring decision about whether or not they’re called to vocational ministry.

If you know of a high school or college student who may be considering or wrestling with a call to vocational ministry, please let them know of this opportunity.

For more information about the Called Conference or to register, please visit alsbom.org/called or contact State Missionary Larry Hyche, 1-800-264-1225, ext. 268;  (334) 613-2268; or [email protected].