Min. Ian Wharton ‘Prepared for Purpose’

Barbadian-American Min. Ian J. Wharton, a Certified Lay Speaker at Vanderveer Park United Methodist Church (VPUMC) in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, says humankind was born “on purpose, with purpose, and for purpose.”

“You are not a mistake. You are not a backup plan. You are not an afterthought in the Kingdom of God,” said Min. Wharton, preaching on the topic, “Prepared for Purpose”, during Youth Sunday Worship, on June. 22, at Fenimore Street United Methodist Church (FSUMC), corner of Rogers Avenue in Brooklyn.

“God didn’t wait until you showed up to figure out what to do with you,” added the former FSUMC member, who delivered his first sermon at the 134-year-old church in May 2008. “No, He made the plan first and then created you to carry it out.

“If you’ve ever looked at your life and thought, ‘This can’t be it’, I came to remind you that God has more,” continued Min. Wharton as he stressed that he was preaching to “the folks with picture-perfect lives.”

“I’m not preaching to the ones who’ve got their five-year plan,” he said. “No, I’m preaching to the ones who are still standing in faith, even when life doesn’t look like the vision board you made at the start of the year.”

Instead, he said he was preaching to “the faithful few who have faced more ‘no’s’ than new beginnings; who’ve had to smile in public and cry in private; who’ve watched people get picked over you, passed over you, and promoted in front of you.

“And yet, you’re still here–still believing, still trusting, still showing up, still saying, ‘God, I know you’ve got more,’” added Min. Wharton, who currently serves as the instructional dean at Access Bronx Charter School, brings over a decade of experience in education, having served as a Middle School ELA Teacher, coach, and assistant principal.

“Today, we’re not just celebrating progress—we’re embracing preparation,” he told the “Graduates of Faith, “ celebrated during the Worship Service. “The first thing I need you to understand as you walk into this season of purpose is that your portion was chosen on purpose.

“Your next chapter is not up for negotiation,” Min Wharton added. “The career, the calling, the spouse, the ministry, the impact—God already wrote it in. That means your portion, your assignment, your calling, has been drawn out by divine hand. It’s not only enough; it’s exact.”

While purpose comes through process, he said that “many of us don’t want the process that gets us there.

“We want the platform but not the preparation; we want the anointing but not the affliction; we want the glory, but we shy away from the grind,” he preached. “But I came to declare today purpose ain’t (is not) pretty; purpose is painful; purpose is stretching; purpose will have you in midnight prayer when you want to sleep; purpose will make you keep sowing, when you see no fruit; purpose will tell you ‘go’, when everything in you wants to stay.

“God doesn’t waste pain; he recycles it for purpose,” Min. Wharton added. “Your tears didn’t drown you; they watered your next season. The Bible has stories written for you to see yourself in it, to see your situation, and to see the path to breakthrough.

“You should’ve lost your mind, but you didn’t,” he added. “You should’ve walked away from the faith, but you stayed. You should’ve stopped dreaming, but something in you kept praying – because you’re in process. And if you don’t quit in the process, you’ll step into the promise.”

Min. Wharton said that before trauma, mistake, insecurity, or diagnosis, “purpose was already spoken over your life.

“You don’t have to fight for validation when you’ve already been sealed by predestination,“ he said. “You don’t have to earn what God already wrote about you in eternity past.

“Culture will try to name you, but God already called you,“ he added. “Family may label you, but God already positioned you.

“We live in a time where people are desperate to be liked, seen, reposted, and approved by others. But hear me: What good is it to be liked by the world and lost in your soul? What good is it to be popular in public but perishing in purpose?“ Min. Wharton asked.

“Don’t chase the image; chase the assignment,“ he continued. “Don’t imitate the feed—follow the Father because here’s the truth: God doesn’t just give purpose; he gives protection with it. When you walk in your calling, you walk in covering.”

Wharton, who lives in Queens, said he accepted Christ at 18, has been ministering for over 17 years across the gospel field, and has faithfully served the body of Christ in multiple capacities.  

He said he has been privileged to preach and teach the word of God with “power, conviction, and clarity, never compromising the gospel truth.“

Min. Wharton said he has also served the wider church connectionally for over a decade as the music coordinator for the United Methodist Church’s New York Annual Conference and has traveled the world doing ministry—“all to glorify our Lord and Savior.“

At VPUMC, Wharton is the assistant director of media operations and shares that he has served on “every ministry that comes to mind in some way, shape, or form.“

He said his heart is especially drawn to young people, elders, and the unchurched – “those with potential, wisdom, and those whose eternal destiny still hangs in the balance.“

When asked why he serves so passionately in church and community, Wharton responded that he’s “a man with many gifts and hats — all used to glorify God.”

Wharton earned his master’s degree in childhood education from New York Institute of Technology and holds an advanced certificate in school building leadership.

In deepening his call to ministry, Wharton said he is currently pursuing his second master’s — a divinity degree — at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, equipping himself for further service in pulpit and pastoral ministry.