A Path & Call to Ministry

by Mark Behle | published on Oct 10, 2014

The call and path to ministry is probably as varied as there are footpaths and pony trails in the mountains of Lesotho. Probably like snowflakes, no two are exactly alike. And like magnified snowflakes, each one can seem to be incredibly intricate and amazing. Recently I heard the story of Rev. Nelson Khethang Posholi’s call and path to ministry and I thought you would appreciate hearing how God has brought him to where he is today.

Therefore, come now, I will send you to…” (Exodus 3:10)

Rev. Posholi’s path to ministry had many twists and turns. Through it all the words above from Exodus were like a constant whispering in his ear that never left him. He grew up in the Lesotho Evangelical Church of Southern Africa (LECSA) going to Sunday School and church. After finishing high school, he went to a teacher training college and eventually started teaching primary school. At one point he experienced vision problems. An eye doctor told him he could find nothing wrong with his sight. Rev. Posholi prayed that God would heal him and that he would enter the ministry. Healing came, but his parents were not supportive of his desire to enter the ministry. Not wanting to upset his parents, he reluctantly accepted their decision.

He told his fiancé about the intention to be a minister and she supported him. Eventually they married and she, ‘M’e Manneko, continued to encourage him to seek his parents’ blessing. Her support has been invaluable over the years and has made the ministry work all the more enjoyable. They have been blessed with three sons.

For a time he found employment in youth ministry and thought perhaps that would be his vocation. But then the funding dried up and he went, like many Basotho men, to the mines in South Africa and worked there for a few years. While there he not only had a day job in the mines, but continued to use his teaching skills by teaching classes for illiterate miners.

Life on the mines had its challenges and one day he tried to break up an argument. One of the men stabbed him badly in the abdomen, as well as another man who was stabbed in the chest. Rev. Posholi had to use his hands to keep his innards intact. Both were rushed to the hospital. Rev. Posholi thought the other man was more severely wounded and told the doctor to attend to him first. The doctor brought him up short by telling him that it was his life that was most in danger.

Again he prayed to God for healing and promised to serve in the ministry. After a few days he was suddenly healed, to the utter wonderment of his doctor, who could not explain how the wound had healed so quickly. Unable to believe what had happened, the doctor kept him a few more days, and then a few more, until at last he released him.

Leaving the mines he returned to his family in Lesotho. Having twice been healed by God, Rev. Posholi found his parents had changed their views. They could not deny God’s call on their son’s life. So a family gathering was called and his mother announced that they were now giving their blessing to their son’s desire to go to seminary and become a church pastor. Unfortunately, one final dramatic twist lay ahead. The following day, his perfectly healthy mother died suddenly.

The path to ministry was not easy for Rev. Posholi. Roadblocks and challenges seemed to loom everywhere, but God did eventually provide a way. Rev. Posholi has never looked back and loves the ministry. Since completing seminary he has served ten years at the Mafeteng LECSA parish. He is currently working on a Master’s Degree in Systematic Theology. Additionally, he is chairman of the Christian Council of Lesotho and the Board of the Morija Theological School.

The path taken by Rev. Posholi is not likely the one you, I, or he would have drawn up. Certainly, as has often been said, God is full of surprises! But despite the ups and downs we travel in our faith journeys, may our voices join with the Psalmist and proclaim, “Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.” (35:6)

Thanks be to God for those who, like Rev. Posholi, hear the call and persevere to follow the path prepared for them.

Yours in Christ,

Mark Behle serves with the Lesotho Evangelical Church. He is working to identify development projects, assist the church in preparing project proposals and coordinating project implementation.