Dylan Sohie spent the last year as an intern with our church. He and his wife, Christy, made sacrifices so that he could serve us. They’re both to be commended.
The pastors are encouraged by the grace they’ve seen in Dylan’s life and are committed to helping him steward his gifts in the future. They believe he may be called to pastoral ministry in the future and hope it’s with us.
We asked Dylan to give a testimony about his internship this past Sunday. Here’s what he shared:
Last September I began an 11-month pastoral internship here at Sovereign Grace in order to work alongside the pastoral team, explore my gifting, competency, and fitness for ministry.
There were no promises and no boxes to be checked off. Going into the internship, if I am honest, I was a little nervous. Not because I wasn’t excited, but simply because this wasn’t my first time, believe it or not, being employed by Eric Turbedsky.
About 7 years ago I had about a 2 week stint “helping”--notice the air quotes--Eric fix up his rental house in Orange.
Let’s just say he doesn’t live there anymore.
I dug a few holes, pulled roots, moved dirt, and one thing I haven’t been asked to do by anybody since: I “painted”.
My painting skills earned me the nickname “baby hands.”
In fact, I am so bad at painting that one time, as Eric was trying to teach me, he stopped, looked me in the eye, and said “Dylan, I used to own a painting company. I know the learning curve. I don’t think painting is your thing.”
So, going into the internship, I was nervous that at the end of 11 months of working with the pastors I would hear Eric say: “Dylan, I have been a pastor for many years. I know the learning curve. This is not your thing.”
But now, at the end of the internship, I have learned some things about the pursuit of pastoral ministry that have made it all worth it no matter where I turn up:
Pastoral ministry is God’s thing. God calls and God equips for pastoral ministry. I can rest without a promise to be a pastor because the God we serve has promised peace with Him and the eternal joy of knowing His Son and this is enough.
Pastors aren’t special, but their calling is. Being a pastor involves doing a lot of things that other people don’t want to do and then being critiqued for the way you do it. It involves denying yourself and humbly accepting criticism. Pastor’s are ordinary Christians who are called to point people to an extraordinary savior.
Jesus is our true pastor. Jesus is the one who brings us to God. He is our example of sacrifice, but beyond that He himself is our peace with God. Pastoral ministry can’t happen without acknowledging that those you pastor must first be pastored by Him.
To sum it up: the internship was a success. Not because it promised anything, but because it taught me more about the value of the promises of God. In closing, I just wanted to say thank you to my wife Christy, for being my best friend, helper, support, and for sacrificing her time with me so that we could explore my calling. I want to say thank you to the pastoral team for not only being good “bosses” but for being good friends and brothers to me as I learned. I want to thank you, Church, for investing in me and in training and equipping for leadership. And last of all, I want to praise God for His goodness and grace to sinful men like me, and, most of all, His glory.
We’re committed to training the next generation of church leaders in Orange County. If you’d like to learn more about opportunities with our church, head here and fill out the form.
