Ueckert exhorts students to ‘discern God’s calling’ for faithful ministry service

In a Feb. 24 chapel message at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kevin Ueckert, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Georgetown, Texas, encouraged students to make the most of the opportunities uniquely available to them during seminary as they prepare for their respective ministries.

Preaching from 1 Timothy 1:18-20, Ueckert emphasized the need and value of receiving “life-giving words” from “the family of God” to confirm students’ calling from the Lord and to affirm the ways in which God is working in each of their lives.

“It is the most incredible opportunity that you have at this stage of your life, students, to discover what it means to be called of God to serve the Lord in ministry,” Ueckert said. “I hope you will do everything you can in this opportunity to discern God’s calling so that you might faithfully serve Him in ministry.”

Prior to the message, Southwestern Seminary President Adam W. Greenway welcomed Ueckert and extended a word of gratitude for his role as seminary trustee and former chairman of the board.

“He was chairman of the board of trustees at one of the most difficult and excruciating times in the history of this institution. He named the search committee that, in the providence of God, was led to me and I to them,” Greenway said.

“Kevin Ueckert is a man of integrity, a man of godliness,” Greenway continued, “and though his tenure as a trustee will come to an end this June, Southwestern Seminary owes an incalculable debt of gratitude, because Kevin Ueckert served on this board of trustees and served well and faithfully.”

In his sermon, Ueckert acknowledged the many challenges students will inevitably face in their ministries and warned against what can contribute to a gradual drifting away from the Lord. However, Ueckert added, there is value in remaining “in the fight” and being transformed by God for His purposes and glory.

Ueckert specifically encouraged students to recognize how God is using each of them and how they are surrounded by faculty members and others at Southwestern Seminary who are eager to speak into their lives words of encouragement, affirmation, and guidance.

God is “giving you opportunity as a student to have experiences with people who are older and wiser,” Ueckert said, “who can speak into your life and begin to help you see where God is calling you, where His grace is at work so you might respond to His work in you. God is doing something in your life right now as a student so you might know His call on your life.”

With this encouragement, Ueckert also challenged the faculty, as well as other ministry leaders, to make the most of the opportunity of having seminary students in their lives, and to affirm each student’s calling and how God is working in them.

In conclusion, Ueckert urged students to allow the input of leadership and professors, so that they may be encouraged and receive confirmation of their calling. Their time in seminary, he said, can provide that clarity and certainty.

“My experiences here have been some of the most difficult and rewarding experiences of my life,” Ueckert said. “What I continue to see in this place is that God’s hand is here, and He wants you to be prepared for a life of faithfulness. 

“God’s plan for you is to experience His call on your life, confirmed and strengthened by the church around you, for His glory. Do not miss the window of opportunity that God has granted you in this place.”