all of the below was written by
Rev. Gareth Kok
(CRC Pastor)
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CALLED TO BE A MINISTER "MADE TO BE A MINISTER"
Sometimes I am asked what made me decide to be a minister. I am not sure how I have answered this question. I'm sure I did not always give the same answer. My answer depended upon various things, but there really is only one answer. That is the answer given by the Apostle Paul when he wrote "I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace . . ." Ephesians 3:7. I would say that God by grace called me to be a minister and made me a minister.
I grew up in a Christian home where the Bible and Bible stories were read daily with reverence. My parents did not talk so very much about religion, but they created a warm, spiritual atmosphere. God was in their thinking and in all their planning.
They were faithful, active members of the church. We always attended both Sunday services even though they were conducted in the Dutch language. My parents had a great respect for the ministers of the Gospel and thought very highly of them. However, I do not remember them ever indicating that they wished that I might become a minister.
That was simply expecting too much for an ordinary farm family. I am sure that I had no thoughts of becoming a minister; it was not in my mind.
However, my grandmother who lived with us for many years said that I had mentioned to her that I would like to become a missionary, but I am not aware of that.
My parents were deeply interested in Christian schools; in fact, one of the reasons that the Christian Reformed Church was established in Randolph, Wisconsin, was that my father and a few other men were dissatisfied with the local Reformed Church because the church was opposed to starting a Christian school.
The CRC was established with the intention of providing Christian education for the children. I was one of the first children to enroll in the Christian school. I loved school and did well, but I still had no intention of preparing for the ministry; in fact, when I finished the sixth grade, I began to work on the farm.
But for some reason I kept up my schooling on a part-time basis until I became the first one to graduate from the Randolph Christian School. On July 4, 1918, I received my diploma. I had no intention of ever going beyond that. The Lord had different plans, but I did not know that.
After graduating, I began to work for an uncle on the farm. His farm was located at least two miles from our home and I had to walk to work every morning. This took me past our church.
One morning when I walked past the parsonage, the minister,/Rev. William Bajema, sat on the porch. He told me to stop by that night on the way back from work because he wished to talk with me. All day I wondered about what I had done to require a special talk by the minister. Surely something must be wrong.
That evening the pastor asked, "You like to study, do you not?" He knew that I was reading every book I could lay my hands on both in the English and the Dutch language. So I agreed that I did.
Then he asked if I would not like to go to Calvin, which at that time included high school. I said "Surely, but nobody ever goes there from here." He did not ask me if I would like to be a minister. If he had, I would have said "Oh, no!" That was not in my thinking at all. However, we decided that if t was okay with my parents, I would go to Calvin that
fall and was to travel with relatives of the pastor. My parents agreed and that very night plans were made for me to leave home at 15 to continue my formal education, but nothing was said about the ministry.
Shortly after I had enrolled at Calvin, one of my classmates asked me if I was planning to be a minister and I assured him I was not; I was merely interested in getting a little more education.
After spending two years at Calvin, I went to Grundy College in Grundy Center, Iowa. There I finished my third year of college, still uncertain of my future. I had, however, taken all courses required for the ministry.
Then I returned to Calvin for my last year of college and graduated as a pre—seminary student. My plan was to enroll at the University of Michigan to take up literature and philosophy; however, one of my Calvin professors urged me to first attend Calvin Seminary and then go to the university.
For some reason, this sounded good to me, even though I had no intention of becoming a minister; however, I soon saw myself approaching the ministry and sought ways to avoid it.
During the second year of Seminary we were permitted to preach and I decided to do my part, but felt very inadequate and fearful. I did not dare to face the congregation or take my eyes off of my manuscript. I was scared. I became convinced that I could not preach.
I prayed that God would show me a way out.
Then one Sunday night I was to preach for the First CRC of Cutlerville. I determined that unless God delivered me from my fears this would be my last attempt. When I stepped up to the pulpit I threw my sermon on the floor and prayed that if God wanted me to be a minister He should help me preach.
The Lord heard my prayer and that night I was able to preach without difficulty. I looked people in the eyes and delivered the message without using my notes. I believe that was the night the Lord showed me that He wanted me to be a preacher and gave me the gift.
From that day on, I was able to preach without fear and without using my notes. I still, however, wished to avoid the ministry., I considered missions and made applications first with our own denomination where I found no openings and then with the China Inland Mission which accepted me to work in Mongolia or China; however, I felt my own denomination had first claim on me and so I decided to wait until I was eligible for a call.
We had been taught that when a congregation came with a legitimate call, we had to consider it as a call from the Lord. The call came from the CRC of Hills, Minnesota, in Southwest Minnesota. I became convinced that it was the Lord's call and I accepted it with the confidence that the Lord had called me to be a minister and I have never lost that conviction., God made me a minister and I never regretted it, even though there were times when I wished He had called me to something else.
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END GARETH KOK
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