Trusting God through the twists and turns

Sam Foentjies and Alisha Whatnell’s journey as Ministers in Training took an unexpected path but they didn’t lose their focus on God’s call

How and why did you become Ministers in Training?

Sam: I’d wanted to be a pastor since I was seven, then I felt a nudge when I was 19. The opportunity arose for me to go to Regents, and as soon as I got there, I knew I wanted to become an MIT.

Alisha: I left home at 20 to live with my uncle, Jason Heron, and his wife, Lynda, who are lead pastors at Northampton Elim. After a few years, I felt God prompting me to look at Regents Theological College and calling me to do a degree. I’m a Romany Gypsy and I only went to primary school. I had no GCSEs, so at my interview they told me to study for a GCSE in English and then reapply. I did and got accepted. I often felt I didn’t know why I was there, but I was clearly in the right place because I was passing my papers and exams. I was just waiting and seeing what God was saying, and that’s how I got into MIT. Regents was where Sam and I met, too.

What were your expectations as you started your MIT, and how did those change?

Sam: We actually had a pretty turbulent journey through MIT, not least because of Covid. We started our training with placements as lead pastors at a church in Knottingley in West Yorkshire but for a variety of reasons, we only ended up staying for six months, and then Covid hit soon after we left. All of a sudden, we were without a church, without an income and in lockdown, so we went into care work in Leeds.

Alisha: Working in care homes for a year was unexpected and not something I had anticipated being a big part of life during our MIT, especially at a time when people were scared to go into that environment, but we both felt it was where God was calling us for that season.

Sam: We joined Bridge Community Church in Leeds, but at that time, the church was unable to offer any salary. We got to a point where we couldn’t manage to work full-time in a care home and also progress as MITs. We talked to Elim and eventually, an opportunity arose in Telford. Our expectations that everything would be smooth were very different to the actual outcome, but going through that has helped me tremendously. It’s shown me I’m more resilient than I thought.

Alisha: I’d say the same. Now we’re at Telford Elim I’m in full-time ministry here but Sam is working full-time in a school and that’s a reflection of our journey. Things don’t always work out the way you’d expect but if you believe God has a call on your life, you have to ask what he’s doing in each situation. If Sam is working in a school, does that mean he’s not a minister? Of course not! He’s still serving the Lord.

Tell us more about your work after ordination.

Alisha: My official title is Next Generation Minister. Part of my role is coming up with teaching materials which accommodate the ages of eleven to 30. Our 11-17s group is called Limitless Telford, and our 18- 30s young adults ministry, which I relaunched last April, is called Thrive. In my spare time, I help our senior leader with other tasks. I love my job! I love working with 11s to 30s because I feel it’s where I’m called to be. I particularly enjoy engaging young people with the truth of Jesus.

Sam: I’m a school assistant and DT technician, so my role involves maintenance of the school, and the majority of my time is spent in the design and technology department. We do woodwork, robotics, metrics and lots of other things. In the church I volunteer my time to help with the youth and young adults work that Alisha leads. She sometimes leads the 15s to 17s and I lead the 11s to 14s. Working outside the church has taught me so much and has been a great benefit to me, both as an individual and as a minister. I’m reminded that Jesus was a carpenter’s son, too!

What was it like going through the MIT process as a couple?

Alisha: Sam and I really complement each other in ministry, so I found it challenging when he needed to work full-time elsewhere. It never entered my mind that we wouldn’t end up working in the same church or sort of job together, but God has his own way of doing things. Over time, I’ve recognised and appreciated the importance of protecting my marriage by not talking about church at home. It can become all-consuming. It’s important to seek balance and remember the priority of marriage.

Sam: You get to experience everything together and for me, that’s the best and the worst thing. It’s great to see the other person developing and growing, but then there were low times when I didn’t know what to do and Alisha couldn’t help because she was in the same boat. The flip side is having that person there, seeing how God shapes and moulds you and uses a situation to stretch you as individuals and as a couple.

Alisha: Also, I really defended the fact we were two individual ministers. I am called in a different way to Sam and we have separate approaches and abilities for different parts of church, too, which means sharing a job may not be fitting, but working alongside one another, enabling and empowering each other to be the ministers we are called to be is really important. It was really liberating for me to be trained and ordained as a couple but also as individuals.

What would you say to others thinking about doing MIT as a couple?

Alisha: We’re a very diverse couple – Sam is from South Africa, and I’m from a Romany Gypsy background – so our worldviews are sometimes very different, but that’s OK. I would encourage anyone who is thinking about MIT and what it would look like for them as a couple by saying don’t be concerned with trying to fit into a certain mould – there isn’t one!

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.

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