Discernment involves a life-long personal questioning, “Where is God calling me? Where might I best serve God?”
All ministry takes place in a community context, through relationships with others with whom we share God’s life. Discerning a call to such ministry must always involve the community of faith adding affirmation to a private call.
The Church, through the process of discernment, identifies baptized members who are already undertaking ministry in such an exciting and inspiring way that other members of the community are motivated to accept responsibility for their own ministry.
The process of discerning ministry in the Diocese of New Jersey focuses on how a person might best answer the Spirit’s call for the sake of the common good. In this process more attention must be paid to what benefits the Body of Christ than to the aspirations of the individual. Discernment involves both listening to a private call and also evaluating and defining the leadership needs of God’s people.