My Journey to Becoming a Preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
My name is Israel Okolo. I am grateful to God for directing me to the Christian Leaders Institute for ministry and evangelism training. I am currently a resident of Canada but am originally from the eastern part of Nigeria. In my 40s, I am an engineer by training.
My Story
When I was born, both my parents practiced traditional African religion. My father was the chief priest of the community shrines, and my mother also had her gods. At a very young age, my father took my brothers and me to the community shrines during the festive period, and at any other time, they performed sacrifices to their gods. They served us food and meat sacrificed to the idols.
However, I noticed that any time my father was to offer sacrifices to their gods, he first raised the sacrifice towards the heavens while facing the heavens. He would thank the bigger God he called “Chiukwu,” which means greater God. After thanking the bigger God and asking for protection from Him, my father or any other priest would turn to the community shrines to ask for the same favor from their small gods. I became aware that there was a greater God who lived in heaven. I wanted to know that greater God more than the small gods that my community worshipped.
When my father died before I turned ten, my maternal grandmother took me to live with her. My grandmother was a devout Catholic. Becoming a Christian allowed me to offer my prayers directly to that greater God my father always referenced, the greater God living in heaven. Then, I received baptism in the Catholic Church. However, I cannot say I was seriously serving God.
Lukewarm Toward God
In high school, my uncle, a Baptist pastor, took me to live with him in another state. I received baptism again since the Baptist Church wanted me to be baptized by immersion. However, I was not seriously serving God at this time. I attended church to retain my Christian identity and not offend my uncle. What I needed was ministry and evangelism training.
I also switched from the Baptist Church to a Pentecostal Church during my time at university and a few years after my university education. During these years, I did not know God. I did not have a relationship with God. I was just a church member and a churchgoer. This inner voice deceived me, telling me I should first enjoy life and serve God truthfully and faithfully at an old age. I kept forgetting that it is by the grace of God that one reaches an old age. The owner of our lives can decide to take it when He wishes.
Even when I returned to the Catholic Church to marry, this lukewarm attitude continued until 2019, when everything changed. In 2019, I became seriously ill, and my illness was unresponsive to medical treatment. Every hope of living was lost. Before I knew it, I was battling depression and anxiety. Amid all these confusions, my mother died.
New Direction
In my struggles and the search for solutions to my problems, I came across a preacher who preached that our illnesses should draw us closer to God. Immediately, I felt that the message was for me. For the first time, I turned to God. I started studying the Bible with the desire to hear from God. My prayer life changed. I spent hours studying the Bible and listening to Bible messages. Again, because I had insomnia at the time, I used the more significant part of the night to pray and meditate on the Bible passages I read, asking God for mercy. I gradually started to forget about my illness and to focus on Jesus. My depression and anxiety disappeared. I became strong again in Christ Jesus.
After some months, I felt the urge to share some Bible passages with others. Then, I started sharing the good news of Christ in my community. It was mostly one-on-one evangelism. I aimed to speak to many people daily, but not less than two people. After three years of my walk with Jesus, I started making videos of my preaching, posting them on different social media platforms, and continuing with my one-on-one evangelism.
Finding CLI for Ministry and Evangelism Training
I was doing this when God directed me to the Christian Leaders Institute. My journey with the Christian Leaders Institute has taken me to a new level of Biblical understanding and interpretation. It has given me a new view of approaching prayer and fasting. More importantly, it has trained me to carry out my evangelical activities. I am grateful to God and also to the Christian Leaders Institute for the tuition-free program offered to me.
With my training at the Christian Leaders Institute, I now go out there with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit and carry out my evangelical activities effectively.
Register a Study Account
Register for a free study account, which will automatically enroll 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.
Hi! I am Kelley Kain, and I live in sunny Arizona, the United States of America. As the mom to two sons, wife to my husband, and soulmate of over 20 years, I wear many hats. I am a Bible study leader, writer, author, educator, captain of a healing circus, songwriter, and business process manager. Studying at the Christian Leaders Institute is part of answering God’s calling.
My Journey to Answering God’s Calling
I met Jesus for the first time in January 1999 as a college student at the University of Arizona. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Molecular and Cellular Biology and a Minor in Religious Studies and went into science research. Not long after I entered my post-graduation work world, I knew I was to work with people more directly.
At that time, I began teaching high school science and returned to school to earn my teaching certification. I earned my Master of Education from Grand Canyon University in May 2006. Teaching led me to realize my love of God and passion for empowering people could be combined. Therefore, I prayerfully acquired knowledge and equipped myself to speak and write as God called me. At this point, I became fearful and did not step into my calling. I was raising a young family and poured myself into our local church body, thinking that was enough and would be an okay trade for my calling to speak of God and write to empower others.
I volunteered for almost two decades in the nursery, women’s, and worship arts/tech ministries at my local fellowship. Further, I had the pleasure of weekly proofreading the sermon and assembling the Sunday bulletin. During this time, I was invested in growth and learning through conferences and Bible studies.
A Life-Altering Experience
In June 2016, I had a life-altering incident where someone kidnapped, assaulted, and raped me in broad daylight. God came to my rescue in the middle of that experience. His unmistakable rescue of me is what allows me to write this today. My assailant did not plan to leave me alive, and just as I thought I would never see my family again, there was the calm but loud voice of the Holy Spirit that told me I would be okay and to close my eyes. I did precisely that.
As I prayed, an undeniable presence entered the scene in a brilliance I could see through my closed eyes. I was at complete peace. My assailant immediately backed off. When the brightness vanished, I opened my eyes to see my assailant looking terrified and ashen white as though he had seen something much more terrifying than a ghost. I knew God sent one of His angel armies to protect me then. My assailant left me alive, and through medical help, counseling, and God’s promise to never leave me nor forsake me, I can write this today.
My Journey to Full Surrender
God called me into ministry service in March 2018 at a Women’s Retreat. There, I had an undeniable experience with the Holy Spirit while praying. I prayed with my leaders at the event, and they, too, spoke wisdom and confirmation into my soul. Excited and apprehensive, I attended the Christian Women’s Leadership Center through WMU to become a better-equipped leader. I earned my leadership certificate, which I thought would alleviate my fear of speaking and ministry. However, it did not. I had to press into God and face my fear, lay down my pride, and realize that God would equip me as He had called me. In August 2020, I received baptism after finally coming to peace with my millions of questions and my skeptical journey with God, which allowed me to surrender in complete trust.
Then, in November 2022, while sitting at my weekly women’s Bible Study, what God had spent years, months, and weeks speaking to me about through the Holy Spirit, which I had not shared with anyone, was now being discussed at Bible Study. I could no longer ignore my calling by doing other things in service. At that point, I prayerfully asked forgiveness for my stubbornness and fear and stepped into penning the scripture study journal collection God had called me to write. I published the series throughout 2023.
Answering God’s Calling and Study at CLI
In May 2023, my family and I entered a new church fellowship. This was a journey that I had no idea would lead me straight into the calling for my life. God knew my heart and orchestrated something unimaginable and undeniable. In June 2023, I met a worship minister one evening while working on my last journal at the church and waiting for my sons to finish youth group. Little did I know this worship minister was the person I was supposed to meet, so I would step into my ministry calling of speaking.
Since June of 2023, I have been part of a healing artist ministry where worship songs are written and performances are used to share the love of Christ with our community. God knew my mission-minded heart and passion for my community. Further, God knew He had called me into ministry. In this opportunity as captain of a circus, I have grown as a speaker and a leader. I also shared my Jesus journey with the worship minister/organization owner, and he confirmed my calling again. He encouraged me in answering God’s calling and offered to mentor me. This is what led me to investigate the Christian Leaders Institute.
CLI is part of my journey to step into my ministry calling to speak of God and empower others to find the truth. I aim to increase my knowledge of God and pursue my ordained minister credential. Then, I can show up fully for others as God has called me.
Register a Study Account
Register for a free study account, which will automatically enroll 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.
Seek First the Kingdom
My name is Sandi Iamurri. Married for 21 years, my husband and I live in Chester County, Pennsylvania, USA. I am studying at the Christian Leaders Institute to further my education in Biblical studies.
I love being in ministry with my husband. We’ve experienced many situations that strengthened and deepened our walk with the Lord. God has been so faithful to us! Our children are in their late teens now and live with us. Our son is currently working as an intern with us at InFaith. We’ve seen God move mountains in their lives. We know that God is not done with our children’s spiritual journeys.
Early Life
I grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs, in a Christian home with loving, hard-working parents. My childhood mainly centered around our family business, which was more highly emphasized than anything else. Unfortunately, this taught me to be more self-reliant than God-reliant. As I approached my late twenties, I had one foot in church and the other in the world, searching for fulfillment, but it left me feeling empty.
Shortly after our church obtained a new pastor, his wife, Ruth, was intentional about getting to know me. Ruth quickly noticed that I was seeking after all the wrong things. During a desperate season of my life, she invited me to be a part of a small Bible study. I gladly accepted. I knew that God wanted me. Through the course of that Bible study, Ruth became my mentor. It was an incredible season. The Holy Spirit moved in my heart. For the first time, I experienced God’s saving grace through His son Jesus Christ!
My whole perspective changed as I pursued the things of God. I grew in understanding God’s truths and experienced Matthew 6:33 – “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” All the lessons I learned from attending church during my childhood/teenage years finally became REAL! God restored me to himself and blessed me with godly friendships, a career, and a godly husband, an Evangelical Presbyterian pastor. Reflecting on all this, I see how God was preparing me for a ministry life alongside my husband.
Development of my Spiritual Dream
In the past two churches my husband, Jerry, and I served, I only assisted in the children’s programming. It wasn’t until we needed a lead Sunday School teacher that I felt the Holy Spirit prompt me to step up into this role. Furthermore, God led and inspired me to write a curriculum. I developed a passion for studying Scripture and a love of teaching. I used these gifts for His glory for many years by teaching children’s Sunday school, VBS, and women’s Bible studies.
My desire to further my education in Biblical studies began then. However, the timing wasn’t right. My only higher education is an associate degree in applied science from a community college, and I have training in skin care. I worked before we had children and was a stay-at-home mom for 18 years. My husband and I have talked about how we couldn’t even afford for me to take classes online, so we put it off.
Further Education in Biblical Studies
My spiritual dream is to have formal biblical training on correctly and effectively teaching the word of God and sharing Christ’s love with those who don’t know the Lord.
My husband and I work for InFaith-American Missionary Fellowship, a non-profit domestic missionary-sending organization. Our ministry includes traveling to see our missionaries in the field to encourage, pray, speak, and sometimes work alongside them. I pray to utilize my education in Biblical studies at CLI to further the Kingdom as the Lord provides opportunities within our ministry, in the church we attend, and in those whom the Lord places in my path.
Growing into Spiritual Maturity
In 2016, some godly leaders asked my husband to serve on the Evangelical Presbyterian Church’s executive level at their Orlando, Florida headquarters. When we moved in 2017, we had no idea what lay before us. Both our children got involved with the wrong people. Our son, in particular, was targeted by an organized gang that had a nationwide network. The kids were caught up in activities that were our worst nightmare. My husband and I felt helpless. It shook my faith and forced me to question my beliefs.
Thankfully, the Lord brought a group of godly women into my life. They helped me. One woman whom the Lord laid on her heart to reach out to women in the area was so instrumental in my spiritual growth. By the Holy Spirit’s leading, this woman, Tina, formed a group called “The Mat Bearers.” We met once a week for 2 1/2 years, and it was indeed a spiritual transformational season for me. I learned to fully surrender to the Lord amid absolute chaos.
More Growth
Completely humbled by all that transpired with the kids, these women encouraged me, prayed for me, and always pointed me to Christ and the power of His saving grace. I realized I was not putting God first in my life. I was complacent. Gradually, through prayer, reading Scripture, and journaling, the Lord showed me how to prioritize seeking the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. The situation with our children did not improve. However, it deepened my walk with the Lord. “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” 2 Corinthians 4:17 & 18.
New Direction
In 2020, we felt the Lord calling us back to our home in Pennsylvania. The lessons God showed me during our time in Orlando gave me a new desire to reach hurting women. About five months ago, I discovered the Christian Leaders Institute. CLI’s further biblical education is my spiritual dream come true! I am eager to learn and share what the Christian Leaders Institute teaches me. Further, I want to help other women make seeking the Lord their highest priority.
My husband and I feel that now is the time to pursue my biblical training with this program, which is graciously funded by others. It is beautiful to get a high-quality education. My goal is to get a diploma of Divinity.
In Christ alone, Sandi
Register a Study Account
Register for a free study account, which will automatically enroll 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.