Ministry Mindset with Harley Ratcliff

Ministry is the spiritual work or service of any Christian. To minister to someone is to attend and serve; to perform service in any office, sacred or secular.

We are all in the ministry! 

Join Crystal as she chats with her daughter, Harley Ratcliff! Harley will share a bit of encouragement for young, single ladies in this episode, along with a challenge to "empty your basket" as you serve the LORD. 

REMINDER - We'll pick up our study of II Thessalonians next week!

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• Pullin' Weeds, Plantin' Seeds
• There's a Fly in my Tea!
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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:02

Hi there, welcome to Wisdom for Wednesday, your midweek pause for truth, encouragement, and practical faith. I'm your host, Crystal Ratcliffe, author, speaker, and fellow traveler on this journey of growing in God's Word. Each week we'll dive into scripture together and have the opportunity to be encouraged in the truth that never changes. If you're able, grab your Bible, a cup of coffee, and let's seek God's wisdom together. Hi there and welcome back for this ministry mindset series. I am excited because I have my daughter today. We did a Zoom call interview, and I'm excited about that. I want to share that with you. I did want to mention a couple of things here at the beginning because I think we didn't do a good job of explaining a couple of things. She's going to mention Brother Scott Nail. He is a man that, a pastor that came out of our church. He grew up here in El Dorado, Kansas, and he pastored in Florida for a time, and he is now in Arizona. And then she's also going to mention Silver State, and she is talking about Silver State Baptist Youth Camp, which is a ministry of First Baptist Church in Inglewood, Colorado. And that is where she worked as the Wrangler for a couple or three summers and really enjoyed that because she loves horses. So when you hear those things, I just wanted you to understand what we were talking about because we didn't do a good job of stopping in the middle of the interview. So without further ado, here we go. I'm very happy to have my special guest with me, my daughter, Harley Radcliffe. Welcome.

SPEAKER_01 1:41

Hello, thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_02 1:44

Harley's a little nervous. This is outside her comfort zone, but she agreed to do it. And so I'm glad that she's here. Harley, why don't you start out by telling the listeners a little about yourself?

SPEAKER_01 1:59

Well, my name is Harley. I am a single young lady. I live in Florida. I teach at a Christian school. I teach fifth grade there. And then I also coach volleyball and basketball for the ladies.

SPEAKER_02 2:15

So that's pretty much it. Okay, and how long have you been doing that? How long have you been in Florida?

SPEAKER_01 2:24

Almost two years.

SPEAKER_02 2:26

Okay. So would you be willing to share with us a bit of your testimony about how the Lord worked in your heart since you graduated Bible college and how you found yourself in Tampa?

SPEAKER_01 2:40

Sure. So senior year, went to Heartland Baptist Bible College and got to my senior year and no boyfriend, no prospects even. And um, as a single young lady going to Bible college, you kind of just assume I'm gonna be here, and by the time I leave, I'll be engaged and I'll get to get married and we'll go serve the Lord together. Um, but that's not how it always works out. That's right. So anyway, it was kind of a little unsettling, like, oh no, my plans are not working out. Being a single young lady um graduating, it it can feel like there aren't many options for going directly into ministry, um, as a single person.

SPEAKER_02 3:42

Can I interrupt you for a second? Because you it's not like you went to Bible college to get married, to find a spouse.

SPEAKER_01 3:51

Yeah, it's just it's just kind of what you assume is going to happen, even if it's not I'm going there to do this. It it's just you just assume it's gonna work out. I mean, they have all these young men who want to serve the Lord. But anyway, so it kind of felt like there wasn't many options of what to do after graduation, and I kind of went the whole year, got lots of emails about teaching or about being a secretary, which to be honest, neither one really interest me interested me at that point. Um and I remember getting, I guess it would have been like graduation week when you guys came, because I remember you telling me you should probably at least reach out and at least see what one of these positions is about. And so I had reached out about a position in Florida and had talked to the principal about teaching there, and um that specific church had a connection to Scott Nail. Um, and so he happened to be there, so I talked to him about that school, and um during our conversation just didn't have peace about going there, and then I was back to square one. No plans. So I went to work at Silver State for the summer, that's what I knew. I was going out there um to serve, and so that bought me a few more months to try to figure out what I was doing, and um so we're winding down the summer, I still don't have a plan, and I started thinking, you know, I number one, really don't want to move home. It sounds horrible, but I didn't I didn't want to move back home. I think part of that was to me with the goal of going into ministry, moving back home kind of felt almost like I had failed in that, you know, and so I didn't want to move back home.

SPEAKER_02 6:20

Okay, so let's just make it clear had nothing to do with your dad and I that you didn't want to come home.

SPEAKER_01 6:26

No, no, not at all. Um anyway, started thinking, thinking about it and saying, you know what? Well, while I'm waiting on the Lord, why don't I make my own plans? So after Silver State, I had to move back home because I did not have any money and no plans, and then I was planning to move out to Colorado. That was that was my plan was to move out there, do something with horses, and then whenever God spoke to me, I would go into ministry, which to be honest, I don't think I would have if he didn't move out there. I was at home for a few months and then I get a text message from Dina Nail, and she said, Hey, we have some friends in Florida we were just chatting with. She said, They need some Christian school teachers for their school. She said, Do you mind if I share your information? I was like, sure, that's fine. Um, and so she reached out to them and then ended up their principal called me, and pretty much the rest is history, how I got to Tampa. Um, I would say after I visited, I did feel confirmation that I was supposed to go there, but even still being a single person and moving somewhere that far away by myself was quite daunting. And so I wouldn't say I was unsure, but I would say I was uneasy still, even up to when we moved about, yeah. But um, no, I'm glad the Lord worked it out and um I'm glad he gave me that piece about that's what I was supposed to do, because I definitely needed it when I got here.

SPEAKER_02 8:43

Um while you were waiting too, you had gotten the job at the bank, and then you got the full-time job at the bank, and things were looking really good here. So I thought it took a lot to be able to say, okay, everything's going really well here in my career, but that's not what I'm supposed to be doing. That was pretty giving up, you gave up a pretty comfortable position, is what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_01 9:12

Yeah. I would say it it was comfortable, but I remember even talking to you about when I was home, first got home, applying for jobs. I'm like, I don't want to work at the bank. But you had fun. It was it was it was awesome working with all the ladies there. It was fun.

SPEAKER_02 9:37

So I still think being a bank teller would be kind of fun, but maybe I'm crazy. It had it had its moments. So, with all that being said, what encouragement would you give to other young ladies who are like you waiting to meet that special someone?

SPEAKER_01 9:56

Um I'm kind of gonna turn the question around and say, don't view it as waiting. When I got here last year, I remember having a conversation with one of my fellow teachers who is also single, and one of the seniors ladies, and she was asking us about basically how we felt um about being single and if we would like to get married one day and have kids and stuff like that. And my coworker made the comment that she she was fine if that happened, and the senior said, So you're just kind of waiting, and she said, No, I'm not waiting for it. She said, I'm living my life, I'm doing what God has told me to do. And if it happens, great. If it doesn't, that's fine too, but I'm not waiting for it. So I would just say don't view it as waiting. Because I think for a while, even for me, I was seeing it that way, like I'm waiting for this to happen so my real life can start, you know. But um, that's not always how it works out, and that may not be God's plan. And so sitting around waiting for it, I think you're going to miss out on some of the opportunities. And so I would just encourage other young ladies to just serve, be active, and do as much as you can, even as a single person. And you know what, if and when God brings that person along, that's awesome, great, pursue that, but don't view it as waiting, otherwise you're gonna get stuck.

SPEAKER_02 11:51

Yeah, I think that's good advice. That's some really good advice because um I know that you can you as a single person, I think sometimes we view that as oh, we're waiting for this, when really as a single person you have opportunity and maybe more time and more freedom to serve in ways that maybe a married person does not. So let's talk about that a little bit. You've obviously been at that church now for almost two years. Um what are your favorite things about your church?

SPEAKER_01 12:28

Honestly, one of my favorite things about our church is uh that we are always doing something, um, whether it's outreach or school related or a special church service, we're always doing something. And I think it's a great opportunity to be able to serve with your church. Um, even as we talk more, I'll explain more about that. But there's something that comes from fellowshipping while you're serving that is very beneficial. And even though we are busy, um it it is ministry, and ministry is busy. That's the reality of it. And yeah, that's one of my favorite things is that we are there's always something to do, always something to help out with. And um, we are yes, we are always coming up with new ideas of things to do.

SPEAKER_02 13:34

So I know I love that. I I follow her church on social media on Instagram, and so I'll be like, hey, why were you doing this? What was this about? Because they do seem to be very active in the community, which is good. It's good to see that. So, what are some ways that you are involved in the ministries of your local church?

SPEAKER_01 13:57

Regularly, I am involved in the music, I'm in the choir, and then do some special music when the opportunity arises, and then I'm involved in the nursery. So those are the two that I do regularly serve in the nursery, usually once a month, just one service, and then other than that, it's just whatever we are doing at the time. Yeah. It's special services or things like that. There's always something I can help out with in that way.

SPEAKER_02 14:33

Okay. So you help in the nursery. What age do you help with?

SPEAKER_01 14:37

It it de it depends. Sometimes I get there and they're like, oh, we need you in toddlers, or you're going to be in infants today. Um, there are there's only two nurseries. So it's either infants or the toddlers.

SPEAKER_02 14:55

I just I find that interesting because I don't I don't know if you remember, but when you were a teenager and we were helping in the nursery one night and it was very difficult. I remember you being like, uh I don't think I'm having kids. And I said, Harley, it's better when it's your own children. So that's awesome that you're helping in the nursery. I love that.

SPEAKER_01 15:22

I hope it's better when it's my own child.

SPEAKER_02 15:26

It is because you train your own children and you can discipline your own children when necessary. So how has being involved and being a part of a church family been an encouragement to you? And are there any specific examples you would want to share?

SPEAKER_01 15:44

I would say for this specific move, that being involved with this church that is so busy serving has been very helpful because, like I mentioned earlier, um, during that service, you get the opportunity to fellowship. And one of those specific examples would be um last year, almost right after I moved here during I got here in July, and in September we had a hurricane come through, and our church decided to do kind of an outreach opportunity where we made dinner plates for those around the church that have been affected, and it was just fun to get to know people from the church. I'm two months in, and I'm standing there next to these church members making plates, serving food, and we were out there for two hours and just getting to stand there and fellowship with them and learn more about them was a blessing, and it definitely helped with the transition moving to a new church and moving to a new area because I started to form those connections in my church and with those people that helped make that move easier for me.

SPEAKER_02 17:11

Good. So tell me more about ministries and activities in your church for young adults.

SPEAKER_01 17:20

One of the interesting things about our church is all of our Sunday school classes for the adults are organized by age and not life phases. So we don't have a college class, we have a young adults class, and it's age 18 to I think 30 issues. Okay. So we don't just have all the single people in one class. In our class, we have several young married couples, and that's fun and it's interesting, and it's helpful because you have these people who are your age who you want to get to know who can also help you as you start to go through things they have been through, like getting married and having children, and so you form those connections with your age group that's very helpful. So our young adults class, we have we have activities go on outings and stuff, not super often, because like I said, we are busy. Yeah, and so we go on outings, but another thing we also do is we host what we call summer recharge, and so it's just three days of um preaching in the morning, preaching in the evening, and then in the afternoon we go um do activities together, and so it gets us some special time together to get close and to reach out to one another. And especially last year during my first time, it was very beneficial, not only the preaching, but the people that I got to meet. We also do in addition to activities and then summer recharge is during the summer, we just after service just go in the gym and play volleyball together, which is just another opportunity for us to fellowship.

SPEAKER_02 19:28

Okay, so the recharge though, is that for just single young adults or who comes to that?

SPEAKER_01 19:35

It's for the teenagers and then all the young adults. So those are those are the groups that it's geared towards. And then because it's such a big event, we have a lot of our other people in the church that will help serve dinner and food and things like that. Um, but it's for the teens and then the young adults, and so the teens will they have the same thing, the preaching in the morning and in the evening, and then they go and do their own activities that would be more geared towards the teenagers, and then we uh young adults stay together and do our own thing.

SPEAKER_02 20:20

So, how about ladies' ministries at your church?

SPEAKER_01 20:24

Ladies' meetings, we've had uh I think a few one or two since I've been here with as busy as our church is, we don't do a lot that specifically uh for the ladies, but that does not mean that we do not get to fellowship and and hang out together. Like I said, we're with how busy we are. I mean, we're always using the kitchen to make food or meals and stuff, and so we just have a bunch of ladies just serving together in the kitchen, fellowshipping. And so uh we do find the time to talk and have those specific times where we're fellowshipping as ladies, um, but not as much the ladies' meetings.

SPEAKER_02 21:17

Okay, okay. So tell me more about the outreach efforts because you mentioned the hurricane, but I know one thing I I can't wait to come someday is um the live nativity scene, or I don't know if that's what you call it. I always say the wrong thing, Nativity Live or Living Nativity. Living Nativity. So tell me more about that because I saw your list of volunteers one time or something. I don't know how I saw that, and it was like a lot of people.

SPEAKER_01 21:52

Yes. So it I think the first thing is our church puts a very Very high priority on outreach. We have soul winning every single Tuesday. And we do it year-round. We take a break in December and May just to take a break because those are busy times of the year around here. But other than that, we always have outreach. And then we like to take advantage of any opportunities we have to get the community in the door, I guess. So the big one is the living nativity, which as um I've heard has just grown since they started it, from just a drive-thru to just a big open marketplace where people could walk around to now it's a guided tour through Bethlehem.

SPEAKER_02 22:54

But you have played. What were your parts the last couple years? The salt salesman.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

Last year I was a salt salesperson. This year I was I was back and forth. I was a basket weaver and a garment, garment weaver. So it's it's quite a production. It takes about a hundred of us to get it done. And they start they start building it in October, I think. October or early November. They build Bethlam, and it's wood buildings, and they put hay all over the parking lot. We got minables running around. And it's just it's awesome. And we've had every year we've had um a great response. I mean, this year we only had we only had two and a half nights because we got rained out on night. And we still had I think 700 some odd people come through. Um, and then I know last year we had somewhere in the teens. That number get saved, and I think this year was 11 or 12 get saved. Um that's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 24:18

Praise the Lord.

SPEAKER_01 24:19

It's a big production, but in our eyes, it's definitely worth it to see people come in and um to see the results come from that.

SPEAKER_02 24:28

So yeah. So the the problem I have with getting there is that it's like the weekend, usually after Thanksgiving or something. So it's almost like I would have to not go anywhere for Thanksgiving and then get to go to Florida for a late trip, I guess. But someday I'm gonna come.

SPEAKER_00 24:47

Yeah, you should. It's very cool and it's it's very fun to be a part of.

SPEAKER_02 24:52

Yes. So this is part of my ministry mindset series. So when you hear the words ministry mindset, what does that mean to you? And how could we all do a better job to see our involvement in our local church or even in our daily walk as an opportunity for ministry?

SPEAKER_01 25:15

Well, I think one of the big things that um impacted me on the on the thought of ministry was when I was working at Silver State. And this even dad still says it to me sometimes, was when that one summer I was working there, Brother Danny, our our whole thing was empty your basket. And just talked about giving everything you have, um, even when you're tired, even when you want to be done, even when you're um upset about something, to just give all you have to the Lord in your service so that you can reap those benefits. I remember that clicking for me one day just randomly at camp, and it's been a constant thought for me ever since was ministry is service. You see it in the Bible, the word ministered, it means to serve, serving people. And it doesn't matter if you're tired or worn out. Um, we need to find those opportunities to serve people because people are our ministry. We need to do what we can to see them outreach, to see um souls saved, and even in our local church edify one another. And so just finding those opportunities to serve, serve with people, serve people in your local church is what I think ministry means to me.

SPEAKER_02 26:55

That's good. I like that. Empty your basket. That's good advice. It is. Empty your basket because it's easy. It's easy to start feeling overwhelmed with the things of life, just your everyday responsibilities. And I think it goes back for me. I always try to remind myself that the things we're doing with our church, the things we're doing for the Lord, those, those are the most important things because they have eternity in mind, whether it's encouraging someone or seeing them saved, that's that's what we should be about. And so I like that. Empty your basket. That's good, Harley. Thank you so much for being with us today.

SPEAKER_01 27:45

Yes, thank you for having me. I enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_02 27:49

Okay, thank you for tuning in for this episode of the Ministry Mindset series. I hope you enjoyed hearing a little bit of a different perspective from a young single lady. And I loved her advice about don't wait, you're not waiting. Go ahead and jump in and serve and grow in your relationship with him. And then also wonderful advice to empty your basket and serve because that's what we're here for. So we will see you back next week. We'll be back in our study of Second Thessalonians.