Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C., the third speaker at this year’s InnovateChurch conference, urged attendees to regularly return to the time when God called them to ministry. “When was the last time you were overwhelmed by the simple fact that God called you?” he asked. Batterson noted that he keeps a photo of a pasture field on his office wall because it is the site that he became aware of God’s call on his life to ministry.

In the spirit of “Refuel,” the theme of the conference, Batterson stated, “Nothing refuels me more than the simple fact that I was called by God.” He called to mind how people in the Old Testament were constantly building altars to recall the evidence of God being at work in the lives and lamented the fact that in modern times, “We’ve lost the art of altar-making.”

Batterson urged this return to the foundations of God’s calling as a means of pastors remaining strong in the face of battle against a powerful enemy. Focusing on Matthew 10, identifying the passage as one in which the apostles were preparing for their first ministry, he highlighted Jesus’ instructions: “I am sending you out as sheep among wolves….” This, he said, is living, or ministering, dangerously. Focusing on the unconventional nature of National Community Church, which meets in five locations that are linked utilizing video technology, Batterson said he craves ministering on the edge. “We have put ourselves in those places where God can intervene,” he said. He added, “When you’re called, you’ve got to act and behave dangerously.”

Living dangerously, Batterson said, requires ministry that often counters the routine, meaning we have to “invade some hell holes with the Gospel.” He said that over time, churches tend to “do ministry out of memory” instead of through imagination. He then encouraged pastors, saying if they are following God’s calling, God will see them through the trials of dangerous ministry. “If God is giving us the vision,” he said, “He’s going to give us the provision, as well.” Pressing the ministry envelope, Batterson added, “There are ways of doing church that no one has even thought of yet.”

Batterson closed with heartening words to pastors, again utilizing Matthew 10, namely that we are to be as innocent as lambs and wise as serpents. He referred to what he calls “the innocence of expectation,” which he says is the need to recapture the innocence of faith that is wholly dependent on God. “What keeps me on my knees,” he said, “is raw dependency on God.” He urged pastors to similarly dwell on their knees and never doubt the power of God in their lives. “If Jesus says, ‘come,’” he concluded, “you’d better not stay in the boat.”