By Victoria Chapin
Several years ago, I found myself with a simple prayer on my lips: “Lord, reduce me to love.”
I had been serving, speaking, writing … and grieving the loss of my daughter. But God gently interrupted me with a question that pierced deeper than the pain.
“Why do you do what you do?” The question stayed with me for weeks.
But the Lord was inviting me to something greater. He wanted me to understand that ministry isn’t just built on gifts, platforms, or conferences. It’s built on loving his people.
A Search for Calling Through Suffering
Like many in ministry, I had walked through valleys— losing a child, navigating toxic relationships, and facing a rare cancer diagnosis. Through every season, I clung to Romans 8:28, believing God was weaving something redemptive.
Was I called to grief ministry? Cancer ministry? Prayer ministry?
I prayed for clarity. And God showed me— through something beautifully simple.
The Prayer Box That Changed My Heart
God impressed on me to place a locked prayer box outside our home. Every day, I checked it, and every day my heart softened. Inside were handwritten notes filled with sorrow, fear, longing, and expectancy.
People in my own community were carrying wounds I never knew existed. In time, some requests turned into praises. One day, I found a note:
“God bless you. We are praying for you, too.”
Through that prayer box, God showed me: My calling was not just about sharing my story—it was about loving his people deeply and discipling those he would place in my path.
The Well: Where the Story Began
In 2018, I attended the very first gathering of The Well, a retreat for Christian creatives.
I was a grieving mama trying to learn how to tell her daughter’s story. I walked in carrying grief and questions. I walked out having discovered a community: creatives who love Jesus and long to use their gifts to share His truth.
Today, I serve as executive director of the very ministry that first helped me find my voice.
Creatives Need Discipleship Too
Through The Well, God showed me the people I was called to love: creatives carrying the message of Christ into the world.
Writers, speakers, podcasters, actors, filmmakers, artists, musicians. And if anyone is going to share truth with the world, who better than God’s creatives? They, too, experience grief, cancer, spiritual warfare, and adversity.
The Lord’s given clarity that I’m to disciple them—to help them drink deeply from Jesus, the Living Water, so they can pour out truth, love, and salvation through their work.
Ministry Begins with Love for God’s People
Ministry is not about a microphone, a book, or a platform. It’s about being faithful to the people God puts across our paths.
So as you navigate your next season, may I ask the same questions God once impressed on me? Why do you do what you do? What is the heartbeat of your ministry? Who is God inviting you to love? Let those questions penetrate your heart.
The calling becomes clearer when the love grows deeper. And come to The Well. We hope to see you there.
Victoria inspires others to find jewels in adversity and full life in Christ. She directs The Well Conference for Christian creatives and is co-founder of Do Life 2 The Full Ministries alongside her husband. She loves everything coffee, especially when shared with friends.
