Tim Satryan

Mr. Satryan, from Wilmington 1^st Assembly in Wilmington, PA, came and spoke to our class about his role as a presbyter for the Assemblies of God. He is in charge of interviewing people who are seeking to receive credentials with the Assemblies of God. He looks for people to articulate that they know for sure that God wants them involved in full-time ministry, that they feel like they cannot do anything else. He did a mock interview in class with one of the students and afterwards said that one of the most important parts of that interview is that you know your call. Mr. Satryan said that if you think you could do anything else besides ministry, then maybe you should look into doing that now, because when ministry gets difficult, you cannot doubt your call. It’s essential we who are looking for credentials are knowledgeable in AG doctrine. The two things a lot of people question are the doctrines of eschatology and initial physical evidence. Regarding eschatology, he recommended reading up on a few basic things on it including the rapture, the seven years of tribulation, the revelation, millennial kingdom, the battle of Gog/Magog, the New Heavens and New Earth, etc. Regarding the initial physical evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, he said to know, understand, and be able to explain Acts 2, 8, 10, and 19. The endgame of this credentialing process isn’t just to pass the test, it’s about becoming an effective minister. Ministry isn’t just in the church- it’s who you are. He is a bi-vocational pastor and takes advantage of the opportunities God places in front of him. His church focuses on disciple-making and expanding their ministry. They have planted five churches out of Wilmington First Assembly, none of which being satellite campuses. They didn’t want the planted churches to be copies of the main church, but to each be unique because their desire is to reach people they wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach. He ended the interview by talking to us about another big aspect that the interviewer looks- your financial status. He or she wants to make sure you are able to handle your life situation financially, and with all your debt, you need to be smart with your money. The suggestion he gave us students was to be very caution with all our student loans. A pattern he’s observed is people going out to a secular job so they can work through their student debt but then never actually go back into ministry. That's why it's so essential that we are confident in our calling. Mr. Satryan's information was extremely helpful, since most of us are seeking to earn credentials with the AG, and I really appreciated how he turned a vague process into something that we know we're getting into.