By Colin Welch —
In 2018, I started to feel the Lord place vocational ministry on my heart. I didn’t really know what that meant. I thought it was either I go to seminary and become a pastor or, with my background in music, become a worship pastor at a local church. I started taking steps to pursue all those things, and it was just one closed door after the other.
I was like, “God, this doesn’t make any sense. Why is this not working?” One day, I was frustrated and talking to one of my friends who had just been accepted at Cru. She said, “Well, have you ever considered missions?”
I looked at her and said, “That is the stupidest idea you’ve ever had. I do not want to do that.” We argued for two hours straight until I said, “Fine. If it will get you off my back, I will pray about it.”
I prayed for two months. Before, I was trying to tell God what I thought His plans looked like, and I learned the hard way that He doesn’t like that. Through that time of prayer, after that conversation with my friend, it was this moment of breaking down and reshaping this mindset of listening and surrender.
God started to open the doors, and next thing I know, I’m on a call with Mike Davis.
A couple of years ago, I felt the Lord place Paris on my heart. But I didn’t really understand what it meant at the time, not thinking I’d ever go on the mission field. Mike said, “You know, the team in Paris is like a month-old right now. We need to figure some things out first and then we’ll decide from there if that works.”
I’m thinking, “Okay, God, are you shutting the doors to this as well?“
“I want to challenge you to take a step of faith,” Mike said, “If God wants you to go, He’ll make it clear. And if He doesn’t, He will make that clear as well.”
I talked to a bunch of different teams all around Europe, and when I talked to the team in Budapest, there was this instant connection and real sense of peace.
In 2019, I went to Budapest. It’s nicknamed the Paris of the East. I was there for more than two years. As my time there came to an end, I prayed, “Okay, God, what does the next step look like? Should I go long-term?”
I prayed for seven months and didn’t hear anything. Then one day, I woke up with this heavy weight on my shoulders, like a duffel bag full of rocks. I’m going through my devotions that morning, and I had this moment where there’s this clear conviction of, “Today, God’s going to do something. I don’t know what it is, but I need to be ready.”
I was praying and ten minutes later, I got a message from a friend who I hadn’t spoken to in eight months—and who I’d never spoken to about Paris. All he said was, “What would ReachGlobal think about you transferring to Paris?”
I was shaking.
In the autumn of 2021, I went to Paris for a vision trip, and God just checked one box after the other. Answered prayer, answered prayer, answered prayer. Yet, I had no peace. I couldn’t figure that out. I was like, “God, this doesn’t make sense. You are the God of peace. Why would you call me somewhere and make me feel so unrestful and anxious about being here?”
I went to see the Eiffel Tower, then to a cafe to do my devotions in Mark 6, where Jesus sent out His disciples to go share the good news. I remember reading and meditating on that Scripture and the Lord revealing to me, “Hey, Colin, I sent my disciples out with nothing. Because I am everything. I need you to be willing to give up everything. I need you to be willing to give up your family and your future family and your finances. I need you to be in full surrender.”
I remember sitting in this cafe thinking, “God, I don’t know how to do that.” I sat there just crying. The Lord, one finger after the other, opened my clenched fist trying to hold onto control.
The biggest theme of my journey at this point is surrender. Surrender of what things are supposed to look like, surrender to listen and hear, surrender to step out in faith and just show up. I don’t know how to lead a ministry of 40 different musicians that don’t know Jesus, and I’m the only Christian in that space yet. I’m not in control. And God is the one that’s going to provide all of this. — EFCA
