The Long Road to My Calling and Biblical Schooling at CLI
My name is Stacy Clark, and I reside in Lauderdale, Mississippi, USA. By the grace of God, I am saved, a wife, a mother, and a nana. Presently, I work at Lauderdale County Detention Facility. Working in a jail, I see a lot of worldly darkness. My neighboring city is Meridian, MS. You have a 1 in 203.7 chance of being the victim of a violent crime in Meridian each year. As Christians, it is our job to spread the light of Jesus. God calls me to help others see the light of Jesus in their dark storms. My calling started over a year ago, and I lead a Facebook group called Thrive/Women’s Support Group. Also, I’ve started a new biblical schooling journey. I’m studying Women’s Ministry and Life Coach Ministry at the Christian Leaders Institute.
My Journey
I am fifty-one years old, and it has been a long journey for me to get to this point. As a child, I survived my parents’ divorce and my absent father. I am also a survivor of sexual abuse by my first stepfather between the ages of five and ten. One day, I prayed that my stepfather wouldn’t come home or my mother would come home before him. On that day, God answered my prayer. My stepfather passed away. Now I realize that I might never have recovered from his abuse if he had come home. Further, I would not be where I am today. The love of God saved me.
I completed high school and got married a year later. When my oldest son was almost two years old, my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. She gave her life to God and started going to church. In doing so, my mother and I were also saved. I taught Sunday school at a little church called The Barn. It was an old barn remolded into a church.
Challenges
My mom passed away in 2006. Suddenly, I lost my mother, best friend, and spiritual mother all at once. I buried my feelings and slowly fell into a life of sin and turned away from God. After seeing what my lifestyle was doing to my family, I again started going to a new church and rededicated my life to the Lord. Then, a year later, in 2011, my husband and I moved with my three boys to Mississippi.
We were financially broke and on the brink of homelessness during the time my middle son needed surgery. Over the years, I was unable to find a church home, and truth be told, I didn’t look very hard either. In 2015, I was struggling financially and had to have surgery that led to a three-year battle of severe depression. Then, at the end of that battle, I started going to Life Church in Meridian, Mississippi, and began a new journey.
New Journey
Now, as I look at the past and see all the storms I went through after my mom died, I see how God used it to strengthen, humble, and mold me into a vessel to serve Him. Then, in 2020, I lost my oldest son in a motorcycle wreck, and my world fell apart again. And again, God brought me through as I learned that grief never goes away, but God builds you up through that grief if you let Him.
I dream to be free of this world and be with my Heavenly Father, Savior, and family that has gone before me and others after me. But while in this dark world, I genuinely want to be on God’s chosen path for me to further His glorious kingdom.
I am so appreciative that I found the Christian Leaders Institute. CLI provides me with the biblical schooling and necessary tools to answer God’s calling in my heart. It is such a blessing that this biblical schooling is free! Biblical schooling would not have been possible at this time due to financial struggles. Thank you, Lord, and all who give to CLI to make it possible for others like me to pursue our journey to serve the Lord faithfully!
Register a Study Account
Register for a free study account, automatically enrolling you in the Getting Started Class at the Christian Leaders Learning Platform. The Getting Started class will take you less than an hour to complete.
When you log in to the Learning Platform, you will notice that the Getting Started Class automatically appears on your dashboard.
The Getting Started Class will orientate you to the Christian Leaders Learning Platform and the Programs offered, including:
- Ministry Awards, Certificates, Diplomas, and Degrees with the Christian Leaders Institute.
- Minister Credentialling (Ordination) with the Christian Leaders Alliance, including local Soul Center registration possibilities.
Note: You can enroll in tuition-free courses or mini-courses immediately without finishing the getting started class.
Find out more about women in ministry here.
