Every step was His plan
Paula Cummings’ journey into ministry started when a resolute “No!” gave way to a “Maybe” and a growing sense of calling. In the first of our new series exploring the lives of Elim’s MITs, she shares how her training began
I’m a pastor’s kid, but the one thing I said I would never do is be a minister. As a child, I’d travelled across the US with my itinerant minister parents, and though we had some amazing adventures, I also knew that ministry life was not a choice for the faint-hearted!
As an adult, I chose a life which was about as far from ministry as you can imagine – working in media. After graduating from uni, I landed the ‘job of my dreams’ working for ITV’s This Morning and from there the next couple of decades were spent in various celebrity PR and communications roles.
But sometime in the 2000s, this idea of ministry, of serving God in a more focused way, started to bubble in my heart. I’ve always served in different roles in church but this felt different, like the beginning of a calling.
In 2020, I finally voiced it out loud to my mum one night. Even though I couldn’t really articulate it, she was still supportive of the idea. I’m so glad I shared it because just a few months later she died suddenly from a heart attack and everything in my life came into sharp focus.
In the middle of grief, I knew I needed to focus on something positive. One day, I started researching Bible colleges and discovered the Ministry Foundation certificate at Regents. It seemed perfect and not long after, I enrolled on the course. At that point, I had no idea where the journey was leading but as I got stuck into learning that sense of calling began to grow, to the point it could be ignored no more! Lots of people were asking if I was going to apply to become an MIT (Minister-in-Training) but I still wasn’t ready to admit it, so I kept stubbornly saying, “No, I am not!” I still smile when I think about that.
One day driving to church, I had a worship playlist on in the car and the old song “Change my heart, O Lord” came on. As I hummed along, I suddenly found myself praying, “Lord, if this is really what you want then I’m willing for you to change my heart.” That’s a dangerous prayer to pray! A few weeks later I was on the phone with our senior church leader at CLC in Widnes/St Helens and heard myself saying, “At some point, can I talk to you about MIT?”
As soon as I said it, it was as though something just settled in my heart. This was IT! I knew this was something I couldn’t put down and I needed to pursue it. And so, after a lengthy application process and a two-day interview with the Ministry Selection Board, here I am today, in my second year of MIT.
Looking back, I can’t believe how far God has brought me in such a short space of time. Just a few years ago I said this was something I would never do, yet here I am, resolute, knowing that God has me right where he wants me. I’m looking forward to sharing more about the process and what it’s like to be a MIT over the next few months but for now, if you’re feeling a similar tug on your heart, don’t push it down but lean into it. You might not have followed a traditional path toward ministry and that’s OK! If God has called you, he will bring it to pass.
For more information about Elim Ministry please visit: elim.org.uk/ministry
This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.