Raise the Question campaign helps answer call

For Rev. Dr. Ashlee Alley Crawford, it arose when she was a church intern at Winfield First United Methodist Church. 

“Have you considered that God might be calling you to ministry?” she was asked. 

For Rev. Emily Spearman Cannon, it was a series of nudges while a student at Hastings College, including being talked into entering a sermon writing contest, traditionally won by seniors, and winning as a sophomore, then presenting it on academic showcase day. 

“In the days and in the moments leading up to it, I was so, so nervous, but when I stepped into the pulpit for the first time, I had this overwhelming sense of peace, and it felt like I was home. It felt like I was doing what I was made for,” she recalled. “And it was just such a profound feeling at age 19, like, oh my gosh, this is where I'm supposed to be. All the fear of public speaking faded away, and I was able to speak loudly and with confidence, and I didn't know at the time where it came from.” 

Alley Crawford, associate director of clergy excellence for the Great Plains Conference, and Spearman Cannon, pastor at Wahoo UMC, are the creators of Raise the Question, a drive to encourage churches and pastors to discuss callings with their congregations — not just preaching but also spreading Christianity in whatever vocations they pursue. 

“The Raise the Question campaign kind of sparked from an idea that I have had for years, honestly, thinking of the power of asking somebody what God's call is for them,” said Alley Crawford, who is departing the conference at the end of October for a position with Discipleship Ministries. 

Raise the Question, a collaboration with the Desert Southwest Conference, has been in the works for a year. 

Spearman Cannon is a member of the Call Team of the conference’s Board of Ordained Ministry. 

“We've been talking about what that means to be building a Culture of Call here in the Great Plains,” she said. “As we had more conversation, especially because we have got some deacons and some laity on that team were reminded by the diversity of voices we have on the team that call isn't just about getting ordained (as a local church pastor) Call can mean many things, and so that kind of widened into this conversation about how people in the Great Plains are living out their call.” 
 

The Raise the Question page on the Great Plains Conference website includes a further explanation of the campaign, starters for a sermon series either on various Sundays or concurrent weeks, material for children’s sermons, and downloads. 

There is also a series of six, two- to three-minute videos that feature Alley Crawford; Rev. Karissa Miller, Geneva UMC; Rev. Changhyun Kim, Olathe Bonfire UMC; Rev. Cesar Duran, Crete Grace UMC; and Rev. Valecia Scribner, Wichita Woodland UMC. 

“We've also got some components that involve laity,” Spearman Cannon said. “One of the things we're recommending is that pastors who utilize the series put together a laity panel where people from all walks of life can talk about what call means to them, and how they are following God's call in their lives.” 

Non-clergy can make an impact as well, Alley Crawford said. 

“It is about vocation, but it also is about being God's person in the world, too,” she said. “That creates just a posture of being able to bring a word of peace, or an act of kindness. In other words, no one gets to be off the hook.” 

Contact David Burke, content specialist, at [email protected].