Our Gifts for His Glory: How to Find Your Calling From God

We often wonder, how do we find our calling from God? At TEAM, we believe God provides a place for all giftings in missions — and Steven Parsons is an amazing example of a worker closely following God’s call upon his life. 

Accountants and Athletes.  

Musicians and Marketing specialists.  

None of these vocations are traditionally considered for missions.  

But for Steven Parsons, TEAM Regional Director and Business Manager serving in Japan, there is no box for what a missionary can or can’t be. 

Steven and his wife Sandra first arrived in Japan from Australia 30 years ago and they came fully prepared to be church planters. After all, church planting was what TEAM did.  

Steven shares, “I was in the taxation office in Australia and loved administration. But when I came here, I thought that administration was a second-class role and was just something that I had to put aside to be there to share the gospel to the millions that haven’t heard. I thought that it would be a cop-out for me to do admin work, although the office was here and there were people doing admin.” 

It’s important to recognize that, if God’s given you gifts and passions, you shouldn’t be ignoring them.

In Japan, TEAM has an office that is staffed by workers who handle taxes, finances, housing, visa paperwork and other administrative tasks for the TEAM workers. In the past, TEAM workers were sometimes asked to work in the office on a rotational basis. However, as Steven continued in Japan, things slowly shifted. 

“God started working in my heart to show me that He’d given me these gifts in administration,” Steven recalls.  “And although I love teaching the Bible, which is what I was doing, administration was the area that God had made me for. I was called into the office to help there, and I realized that that was really what God wanted me here for.”

Over the years, the work in the office shifted from roles that people were asked to fill because there was a need to being roles that were filled by those who were gifted and passionate in those areas. 

Steven comments, “It’s important to recognize that, if God’s given you gifts and passions, you shouldn’t be ignoring them. As I’ve gone into leadership roles, I’ve made it a priority to ask, “what can we do to ensure your gifts and passions are used to the full within the context of what you’re here for?” 

This mindset of exploring how people’s gifts and passions fit into ministry and the work that the Lord has called them to do has done wonders for the ministry. Steven expounds, “The people who are in the office now, they love it and they are gifted in that area so no question is too big for them.” 

Besides having workers in the office now who genuinely enjoy their work and are qualified to help others, this new mindset has also opened doors for engaging in new ways in the local communities in connection to the local church.

Whether you are an admin worker, a golfer, or a hospitality coordinator, there is a place for you in the work of sharing the Gospel around the world.

“If you’re able to use your gifts and passions, you can get into community courses and into local groups,” Steven shared. “Someone joined a karate course [because] they loved karate. And here’s a whole group of people that know nothing about Jesus and there’s a lot of spiritual things that can be connected to karate. Some people may not want to go in there, but she did and it was relationship building.” 

Another worker joined a group of men who played golf. He went regularly every Monday and built relationships. Steven shares that “…he had amazing opportunities to talk about God and help them because he was there where they were.” 

In many cultures, building relationships is a foundational step for global workers to take to be able to share about Jesus. And being in these neutral spaces, like a golf course, can be the perfect open door for these relationships, and these conversations about Jesus, to happen. 

“With all our new people coming over,” Steven shares, “we’re trying to help them to understand their God-given giftings and feel free in using them, because that could be one of the most effective outreach activities that they can do, just doing what they love doing and having the Holy Spirit in them and letting the Holy Spirit work.” He adds, “It’s more of living life in line with the gospel and people notice. Japanese people notice.” 

So whether you are an admin worker, a golfer, or a hospitality coordinator, there is a place for you in the work of sharing the Gospel around the world. The Great Commission is a calling for all believers, not just pastors and church planters.  

Our God has gifted each of us uniquely, and we have opportunities to use those giftings to share His love with others. How are you using your gifts to share the Gospel today?