At the heart of Christian service is a simple but searching question: Am I willing to say yes to God? The question does not always come with a clear understanding of where obedience will lead or what it will entail. Rather, it requires surrender to God’s ways—a willingness to place our lives completely in His hands and to trust the One who calls us.

My personal story is like many others in this Gospel who were called to new fields of service. Several months before I was asked to serve in my current role, I felt God asking if I was willing to say yes to Him. I wept on the altar as I sang, “Take up thy cross and follow Me, I heard my Master say; I gave My life to ransom thee, Surrender your all today.” The chorus says, “I'll follow my Christ who loves me so, Wherever He leads I'll go.” Soaked in tears on the altar, I barely could say much after singing that chorus, but I surrendered my life and my all to God.

There is profound beauty in answering God’s call. It is not the beauty of knowing exactly where the journey will lead, but of trusting the God who leads us. Our obedience may involve uncertainty, sacrifice, or responsibilities that seem beyond our abilities. Sometimes God’s call is to an unfamiliar community, and sometimes to an unfamiliar land. Other times, it simply asks for greater surrender right where we are. In every case, the heart of the call is the same: are we willing to say yes to God?

Brother Randy and Sister Jean Antalan’s testimonies illustrate this beautifully (read them here). As a young man growing up in the Philippines, Brother Randy’s pastor urged him to “pray, consecrate, and say yes to God.” Though initially reluctant, he eventually surrendered to God, and that decision became the pattern of his life. When Brother Randy was asked to serve as pastor in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, cultural differences made the responsibility seem daunting. Yet, by saying yes to God, he learned that the love in God’s family is deeper than culture.

Then came another unexpected call: the Antalans were asked to leave Toronto (with a population over seven million) for Bide Arm, Newfoundland (with a population around 160). To say yes to that call, Sister Jean had to leave her job, exchanging what others considered a desirable career for what she considered as something far better—working for God. Brother Randy expressed a conviction that has come to define his life: “If He is calling me to do something, that is the very best thing I can do with my life.”

That same conviction can be seen across generations in our church. As a young girl in the late 1800s, Sister Edna Damron dreamed of becoming a foreign missionary. Her life did not unfold according to that dream, but her commitment remained unchanged. Her decisive spiritual moment came when she “said yes to the whole will of God” (read her testimony here). Later, when God led her family to relocate to Kansas City, Missouri, she had serious concerns about their safety there. However, through prayer God transformed her heart until the city she once hesitated to live in became a place she deeply loved! Her experience reveals a remarkable truth: God can give us love for people, places, and assignments we never would have chosen ourselves.

In the “Short Takes” in the World Report you can read about others who recently answered God’s call to serve. One of them is Brother Mark Mfandarahwa, whose family relocated from London, England, to Winnipeg, Canada, so he can serve as the district superintendent there. Decades earlier, the work in London started when Brother Victor Okusanya and his family moved there from Nigeria and helped start a small fellowship with about eight people. From that humble beginning have come about thirty branch churches today—a powerful demonstration of what God can accomplish through people who say yes to His call.

We will not always know where God will lead, what we must leave behind, or how far the influence of our obedience will reach. Whatever the case may be, the great question for us is not “Where will God lead me?” but “Am I willing to say yes to God?” The surrendered heart answers: “Lord, wherever You lead, I’ll go. Whatever You ask, I’ll do.” God will help us as we surrender our all to Him.