OK, Jesus-loving newbies fresh out of school. Remember all that passion you had when you started? You might wonder if you lost your edge but in truth, reality has set in. Don’t worry that you will never regain your fervor. The gospel is true and Jesus is faithful. Your struggle is seeing how it all works in real life, not in theory. It’s all worth it.
School Debt
The vast majority of people who graduate from college, no matter what their major, are in significant debt. If mom and dad paid for your schooling in full, rise up and call them blessed, but for most families that is not possible. You are an adult. We all know it is wrong to take ownership of something you don’t pay for and it is no less true of a college education it is to take goods from your local grocery store without paying for them. Honor the Lord by handing your school debt in a responsible manner. School debt should not keep you from ministry. You can whine and think that you earn less than people with a secular education, but in truth, the struggles of the newly graduated are universal. Thank God for your education, trust Him with you debt, and do what you were trained to do.
Educate Yourself About Loan Terms
Many young people are paying crippling amounts which can negotiated to a more reasonable payment by contacting the loan provider. If you can’t make ends meet there are many ways to tie your payment to your income. This ensures you will be able to responsibly meet your payments as well as build a good credit score. If you have no idea how to talk to your loan provider, ask someone older than you for advice. (Yes, you can inbox me.)
Learn Your Second-Job Options
I am an ordained accountant. For the majority of people in ministry, there will be a time when you are bi-vocational. We worked secular jobs, studied, and ministered in our local church during our 20’s and were not in full time ministry until the age of 30. It is a great learning experience and helps you appreciate the people who have secular careers and support the church and ministry. If you are a missionary associate, you will have to work while you are on deputation. If you are not earning enough at your ministry job to pay all your bills you will have to take a second position to supplement your income. This makes you like most Christians in the world.
There are a host of simple ways to get a skilled job. You have a college education. You can be a substitute teacher in the public school. You can teach at a private school be it secular or Christian. You can find work through a temp agency, nanny through an agency or get a certificate in some area of interest through your local technical high school or community college. No skill is wasted and it is not a lifetime commitment to a profession to take a job in a secular area for a time. Paul was a tent maker and it did not make him less an apostle. There is no shame in being a barista or waitress, if you are a barista or a waitress to the glory of God. In truth, you get to mingle with the masses and that is a healthy thing to do.
Trust God and Don’t Lose Your Vision
The difference between Bible college and post Bible college is the latter requires more faith. You now have to trust God for things in the present that were once just topics of discussion. God is faithful. Trust Him and you will find that He is indeed faithful. Tithe, when it makes no financial sense, and you will discover that proving the Lord of Hosts is never a losing proposition. You are not promised smooth sailing. You are promised that Jesus will be with you on the stormy waters.
Don’t lose your vision. God has not removed His call from you just because the pieces do not fall into place right away. You spent four years preparing for ministry. If you give up on ministry because things don’t fall into place, you need to get a grip, grow up, re-gear and go on in grace. The Lord is worth serving and there is nothing greater to which we can give our lives than to lovingly share the gospel. Even if you had to assume school debts that kept you in payments till you die, the Pearl of Great Price would still be of greater value. Life joyfully in that truth.
Things You Did Not Learn in Bible College 