Every servant of God goes through a desert. Moses spent 40 years there, Paul spent three, and Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness before his public ministry began.

In this episode, Pastor Joshua Kelly of Helotes Independent Baptist Church talks about leaving a decade-long career in law enforcement to go into full-time ministry, and about the two-year desert season that followed. He speaks openly about money trouble, the loneliness of the move, and nearly quitting. He also shares what God taught him in that time and how it prepared him to pastor.

This conversation is for missionaries, ministry students, and anyone in a hard season right now.

In this episode:

Going from police detective to assistant pastor

Why every servant of God goes through a desert

Moses, Elijah, Jesus and Paul in the wilderness

Choosing to get better instead of bitter

Why godly friendships matter before you need them

“Accept the hit”: getting your heart ready for hard ministry

“Elijah’s a man who was alone with God before he stood before kings.”

Resources mentioned:

A Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards

The Well-Worn Path podcast (Helotes Independent Baptist Church), available on Spotify and other podcast apps

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#Missions #Ministry #DesertSeason #ChristianPodcast #FaithfulGod

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Quotes

“I’ve never regretted serving God. I’ve sometimes, like everyone else, wondered what God’s doing — but I’ve never regretted serving the Lord.”

“Elijah’s a man who was alone with God before he stood before kings.”

“God says you’ll get alone with me first. And it’s not always comfortable, but you learn a lot of good things from it.”

“He’ll put you at the very edge — but he will not push you over it.”

“Don’t go through it enduring. Go through it looking to learn.”

“You can either get bitter or better.”

“When you go into the ministry, you should just accept that it’s going to be hard. Once you accept something, it’s so much easier to endure it.”

“It’s good to have godly influences that will hold you up when you can’t hold yourself up.”

“I don’t know your situation, but I’ve been through a desert — and let me tell you about a faithful God.”

“I don’t know that I can help you, but I know a God who can.”