We are continuing to celebrate our soon-to-be-Reverends, who are being ordained this week. We are sharing two stories a day in the lead-up to the Ordination of Deacons service on Sunday. This morning’s story comes from Michael Hillier.
How was Michael called?
I was 7 years old when I first confessed my faith at our Pentecostal church after watching a performance of ‘Heaven’s Gates and Hell’s Flames’. I was terrified of eternal damnation, but I then developed a personal relationship with a loving God.
However, as I grew older, my faith became about getting what I wanted from God, rather than seeking His will for my life. I felt my prayers were not being answered, friends were challenging my faith, and the ‘sins of this world’ appealed to me. Others seemed to be thriving without God, whilst my faith seemed to be holding me back, and I began to doubt whether God even existed.
One night, when I was 25, I was mentally stripping away my faith. I was ready to give up praying, reading the Bible and going to church. But when I considered Jesus on the cross, I somehow knew that He had suffered and died for me. I decided then that I would hold onto Jesus and rebuild my faith with Him as the foundation.
I began to review Christianity and study the Bible for myself. Before then, my faith had not truly been my own. My love for Jesus grew and I no longer thought about what I could get from God, but what I could do for God. My life became driven by gratitude rather than the pressures of this world. I was born again and the Holy Spirit was transforming me from the inside out, aligning my will with the Father’s.
After getting married, my wife and I began attending a Church of England church where the fruits of the Spirit were apparent within the congregation. I was working at Tesco, and had a growing family, when I felt called to be used by God to help others encounter the Saviour of the world, be invited into His Kingdom family, and grow as His disciples.
I stepped out in faith and sought a new career path. I became a student worker at another church, which was the ideal role for me to serve in and discern my calling further before studying in Oxford for my ministry formation.
As a Curate, I am looking forward to inviting others to make Jesus their foundation. If you are sensing a call from God, my advice would be to prayerfully step towards it in faith!
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20