Is God Calling You to Serve? AXIS Can Be Your Next Step

“What excites me is the opportunity that I’ve been given to serve; I love those people, and I love my God, and whatever I can do to further his kingdom—that’s what I want to do.”— Troy Dickens

As a young teenager, Troy Dickens felt a sense of calling to some type of ministry. He’d been in church since childhood, and he’d professed his faith in Christ several years earlier. As he grew older, though, he encountered other opportunities for education and jobs that led him down a different path. As his life and career unfolded, he remained steadfast in his faith and lived it out as a dedicated layperson and leader in his church— not actively pursuing a call to vocational ministry for many years. “Those doors just didn’t open,” Troy recalled.

In 2020, however, a door opened for Troy.

“As a deacon and feeling a call to ministry, I knew I needed more training and education but was not ready at this point in my life to enter a four-year college,” he explained. “I’d reached a point where I was at kind of a crossroads, when I really needed to figure out how I could learn more, how could I study, and how I could be more beneficial to my church. I was praying about it, and literally the next morning my pastor sent me an email about the programs AXIS offers. It was a gift from God.”

In March 2022, Troy will complete the Pastoral Leadership Certificate through the AXIS Ministry Academy and Training Network, which is designed to meet the needs of today’s church leaders. “The coursework has given me valuable, practical knowledge that I’ve been able to use on a daily basis—in ministry and in my Christian walk,” he said.

AXIS provides high quality, accessible, and affordable practical ministry education for church leaders. Students may choose to take individual courses in any area or to pursue a certificate in one of four ministry areas: Children’s Ministry, Youth Ministry, Family Ministry, and Pastoral Leadership.

“To provide church leadership today requires creativity and intentionality; and first and foremost, it requires a dedication to our own personal and professional growth and development,” explained Kathy Kruschwitz, Program Director for AXIS. “As a church leader you have been called by God and given spiritual gifts and talents, and what is required of us is to dedicate ourselves to the development of those gifts and talents to the best of our ability.” The AXIS academy and network provides a path for anyone seeking to pursue these kinds of personal and professional goals in their ministry. Rachel Wolfe had been working as a youth leader at her church, Rhoadesville Baptist Church, and she wanted to get more training and to connect with other youth leaders. “I chose to complete the youth ministry certification so that I could have some formal training in what I was already doing,” she explained. “The coursework helped give me focus on what my lessons and activities should include, and they helped me add meaning to what I was doing with the youth.” Rachel now serves on staff as one of the youth leaders at Alum Spring Baptist Church in Culpeper, VA.

“As a deacon, I started to see the awesome burden—the responsibility to God for our congregation that our pastor was under,” remembered Jim Burns. “I believe the Holy Spirit put some of that same sense of responsibility in my heart to help my pastor more than I had in the past. Within about two weeks of the time I felt that prodding from the Holy Spirit, I attended a training event at a Mid-Tidewater Baptist Association meeting and was intrigued when Brian Williams, BGAV Field Strategist, mentioned that BGAV had a network for training and equipping people to do ministry.” Jim enrolled in a course, and he described his experience as an “awakening.”

AXIS has helped develop Jim Burns’ skills and passions as a lay leader in his church.

“You cannot help someone until you know there is a need for help. Now I not only can see needs, but I have a few more skills to help in more areas—some of which I’d always thought of as the ‘pastor’s job.’” One of his favorite aspects of AXIS is the class size and structure. “It’s like having my own private teacher,” he explained. “They were able to meet me at my knowledge level and go forward at a pace that I could handle.” Jim currently serves as a deacon and also is the Sunday School director at Poroporone Baptist Church in Shackelfords, VA.

“This program is one of the ways I see God’s word being fulfilled within BGAV,” said Jim, who concluded his comments by quoting Ephesians 4:11-13:

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Brenda Armistead started taking courses in fall 2017. She had directed Vacation Bible School at her church and was helping lead youth there, so she wanted more training. By fall 2018, she had completed her Youth Ministry certificate. She found the coursework enjoyable and helpful, so in2020 she enrolled in more. By that summer, she also completed both the Children’s

Ministry and Family Ministry certificates. Later that year, Brenda accepted the call to serve on staff at another church— she now serves in a paid position as the part-time youth leader at Newington Baptist Church in Gloucester, VA.

Brenda Armistead leads her youth group in worship.

“My experience has been rewarding,” she explained. “Since I started this new position last year, I have led two people to Christ. I think I’ve grown to be a stronger person and also stronger in my faith.”

Brenda found the class resources particularly helpful. “The books we read are a great resource for me to look back on,” she commented. “Taking these courses has helped me so much in planning events, doing lesson plans and budgets, and knowing how to look for good volunteers.” She added, “I would encourage anyone to take these courses—not just for the certification, but for the relationships you build with your instructors and classmates. I hope to take even more courses in the future to further my education.”

Kim Eskridge, AXIS faculty member, teaches a group of children during Sunday worship at her church. Kim Eskridge, Pastor for Children and Women at First Baptist Church of Alexandria, VA, is an AXIS faculty member. “I am still learning, but I believe that those who are more experienced in ministry should mentor and encourage those starting out in ministry. I am glad to be able to pass along some of what I’ve learned through years of experience, in the hope that God will use it to help other churches,” she commented.

“I believe that God has worked through BGAV to provide this resource,” Kim said, “and if we are called into ministry, whether full-time, part-time, or as a volunteer, we need to be adequately equipped to serve. The AXIS program provides equipping resources and encouragement for those whom God has called to serve and lead.” “I really enjoy hearing about what is going on in other churches,” she continued. “Even though I am the instructor, I always learn something new.”

Kim Eskridge, AXIS faculty member, teaches a group of children during Sunday worship at her church.

Going beyond the classroom, AXIS provides an established network for its students—keeping them connected to each other and to their instructors, who are experts in their fields of ministry. Those connections form more than friendships; students, ministers, and others are able to share ideas and resources and support each other through challenges on an ongoing basis.

“You are not alone in this, even though sometimes it might feel like you are,” explained Kathy Kruschwitz. “AXIS was designed and developed to support you—whoever and wherever you are.”

“AXIS is a dream,” she surmised. “It provides high-quality, accessible, and affordable training—practical training—the kind of training that you don’t get in seminary and you don’t get in college. AXIS is for anyone who feels they’ve been gifted by God…anyone who has that little nudge within themselves that says, ‘You know, I could really do this; I could provide leadership at my church.’”

Troy Dickens certainly agrees. “AXIS is a quality experience that is very affordable and will give you skills and knowledge that will last a lifetime. For me, it has been a truly life-changing experience.”

“Because of AXIS, doors that I thought were closed for good are opening.”

Learn more about AXIS Ministry Academy and Resource Network and sign up for upcoming courses at AXIStraining.org.