This is a topic which was touched on here, but not directly.
How do you decide where to go in ministry?
Some of the factors I hear bandied around are:
Need: Where have people not yet heard the gospel? Where are they the most downtrodden and in need of Jesus' transformative power? How can they believe if they have never heard? And how can they hear without a preacher?
Gifting: I should find out my 'gift-mix' and work out what the best utilisation of my unique combination of strengths and weaknesses is. Where can my particular abilities be put to the most use?
Passion: Shouldn't I just do what I'm passionate about? Surely that means I'll do it better, and have a greater impact for the kingdom, as well as fulfilling those ends that God gave me the desire to achieve?
A 'call': Clearly I should only do what I've felt and inner calling from God about. Otherwise I could find myself working at cross-purposes to God.
'Strategicness': Tim Keller would say we need to reach the cities and then let the gospel work its way out from there, just like Paul did. Should strategy be the key factor in our decision on where to do ministry?
Personal/Family 'fit': How much of a part should my 'fit' into a type of ministry as a person and a family come into it? If my kids like the city, does that mean I shouldn't go overseas or go country? What if they've got medical issues?
Now some of these are as much paradigms for decision-making as much as they are factors for decision making. Please feel free to reject or pick apart all the paradigms/dichotomies/ that you want! What are the strengths and weaknesses of using each of these?