My purpose in life has been relatively clear to me since I was in high school. It was clarified as I studied scripture for classes in my Christian school or just on my own time.
After I graduated, I started teaching others the Bible while leading the youth ministry at my church. I had a strong feeling this would be an important part of my life in the future.
Around this time, my career in broadcasting began. I took an internship after attending broadcast school, was hired by a news station, enjoyed it, and began to wonder if my career would be spent in the newsroom.
God answered this question when He introduced me to Christian radio by providing a job at Moody Broadcasting. I didn’t grow up listening to Christian stations and never saw a connection between my interest in Bible teaching and my work on the air. At that point, I still expected to fulfill my purpose – to glorify God – in broadcast journalism.
Things changed significantly after a few years at Moody. God showed me how He could use my professional training in world evangelism. Embracing this vision, I was commissioned by my church to serve as a missionary in Alaska. Our radio network there ministered primarily to bush listeners throughout the state.
This is where I met my wife. She and I were serving together. Our lives were pointed in the same direction. We had the same commitments, including a commitment to Christ’s church. This is why we left our radio ministry and moved closer to our own church (60 miles away), choosing to remain active there while exploring new missions opportunities.
We were in this time of transition when our first daughter was born. This gave me a chance to reflect. I began drafting (for the first time) a personal mission statement. I needed a summary sentence that described the path to my purpose.
Somewhere, in one of my many journals from the era, I have my first batch of attempts. The exercise was difficult. A statement like this must be brief, but detailed enough to address key priorities.
The text of my mission today remains a draft. It will always be subject to minor (probably not major) alterations. Here is the 2024 edition.
“My mission is to devote myself to Jesus daily, loving and teaching my family, with a willingness to serve, and a commitment to knowing and preaching the Bible.”
This version hasn’t changed in a long time. I still believe it contains the primary mandates of my assignment on earth. If I remain focused on these things, I will continue forward progress toward my purpose of glorifying God, which means reflecting His communicable attributes in the world.
What does this have to do with my career? Everything. I’ve been serving in a local church radio ministry on Guam since 2015. This mission statement, in large part, led me here. The church is God’s chosen institution for carrying out His work in the world. Being involved in this work has been the greatest privilege of my life. To have any success, I must remain on mission.