Rev. Amy Banka is a graduate of Eastern University’s Palmer Theological Seminary (MDiv 2009) and Senior Pastor of Hopewell United Methodist Church, which partners with the Campolo Center.
Every time Rev. Banka leads a Monday Meeting Fellowship, she offers an inspiring message for the students. In anticipation of a recent meeting with the Scholars, we asked her to ponder what she wished she had learned while still a student.
She offered the following two insights she wished she had known before entering ministry:
- How to listen to God – that is, to develop ways to commune and connect with God, like Moses. We are surrounded by people who want us to listen to them. We can also be bombarded by our own thoughts and ideas. And while there is wisdom to be found in the ideas of others and in our own contemplation, it is critical that we cultivate the habits and spiritual disciplines to hear from God and act on His calling and leading.
- The power of hope – trusting in God’s active spirit to be motivated to dream big and act in faith that God can and will do great things, both in and through us. The function and promise of hope, especially in the face of suffering, brokenness, and insurmountable challenges, is that it compels us not to be paralyzed by doubt and fear. Pastors and church leaders – like the Campolo Scholars – must be brokers of hope to their churches and communities.
Rev. Banka challenged each Scholar to answer the following question: “If God can raise Jesus from the dead, what can He do in and through you?”
We invite you to listen to Rev. Banka’s challenging message and to the honest and, at times, difficult discussion that ensued. And we ask you, as Rev. Banka asked us – If God can raise Jesus from the dead, what can God do in and through you?