Welcome! Well, the new class is here and are getting acclimated to life at McLean Bible Church. We’ll be doing a series of blogs to help you better get to know the Future Leader Class of 2010. Today we’re highlighting Morgan Goodson, who works with Frontline Arlington, one of Frontline’s Community Campuses.

The only reason I am here in the Future Leaders Program is because of God and only God.

Now that you know the reason I am here I will share the story behind it.

During the fall semester of my senior year at Liberty University Lon Solomon, the Senior Pastor of McLean Bible Church came to speak at our convocation service. One of the first things that came out of his mouth was about the Future Leaders Program that his church offered. He explained that the program was for graduates who desired hands on ministry and also wanted to learn the fundamentals of church ministry in a classroom setting while being paid! He had me listening by the last part of that. I looked over to my friend beside me and said that would be really cool, but that is so not me to go somewhere that I don’t know anyone and just step into ministry; however it would be my dream. He looked at me and said, you should really go for it. The program entertained my thoughts for a while and then in the business of school and friends I quickly forgot all about it.

Thanksgiving break arrived and I traveled home to North Carolina to spend time with my family. People started asking me all the time what I was going to do when I graduated; I had no idea at that time. While pondering my future, the moment where Lon was speaking in convocation popped into my thoughts. The thought of The Future Leaders Program resurfaced in my life and I began to research the possibilities of applying. I was still wary about going somewhere completely new and out of my comfort zone, but I knew I needed to surrender to where God wanted me to go. It wasn’t until a couple of weeks before the deadline of the application in March that I applied.

The reason I applied was because I really loved the idea of getting to be in the ministry as well as being taught more about it. Also, there was a possibility of future employment and I knew God called me into the ministry so this was a great opportunity. Once the application process started I really felt an exciting peace and confidence that God was placing me in this program. However, in the back of my mind I was still uneasy of the whole thing and didn’t really think I would make it to the final cut. That peace was certainly from God because on a Thursday afternoon in late April I got a call that I was accepted into the program and they had placed me in Frontline (a young adult ministry) at Arlington. I was so excited!!!!! It was such a surreal moment all the way up to the day I arrived. Then it actually became reality July 1st 2009. Dreams are so much easier than reality because in my dreams everything goes perfectly and in reality God prefects me through the process.

I am certain this is where God has placed me and He has me here for a reason. The FLP is such a blessing and I am already building relationships that I know will last a lifetime. Through this process we call life, God puts us in places that will not necessarily be a walk in the park but may be a run in an ultra-marathon. I have learned so much in this short amount of time about who God is and that He places you where He knows you can be used and be a blessing. God is sovereign and so the only reason I am where I am today is because of God. This was a desire of my heart to be here and He gave it to me…I thank Him every day that He is with me on this journey because sometimes the desires of our hearts are more than we can handle alone. I am here to genuinely serve the Lord with a pure heart and to embrace this journey He has set for me.