My name is Dawn Thornton, and I am called to the ministry to serve. I live in the United States. I grew up in the suburbs of South Texas with my parents and siblings. We were a typical middle-class southern family that attended an Episcopal and Lutheran Church every Sunday and every potluck. Life was going well until the age of five when the priest with whom I was doing a private Bible study violated me. I lost complete trust in any clergy or church leaders.
Challenges and Saved by Grace
This event was the beginning of a downward spiral for the next 28 years. I had no respect for myself and suffered from severe depression, bulimia, and anorexia. I even attempted suicide. Furthermore, I became promiscuous and began drinking and smoking at a young age. I grew up, married, and had three children, of whom two are autistic.
Fast forward to being a single mom for 20 years and discovering that autism became the hardest battle I’d ever encountered. However, ultimately it’s what led me to surrender my life to Christ at the age of 33. I was at the end of my rope and contemplating suicide when I heard God call my name. At that moment, I realized that my life was beyond out of control. So I asked Jesus to come into my heart and take over my life. In an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, I felt His Spirit enter me. I was convicted of my sin and set free with a brand new heart and new spiritual eyes! I’ve not been the same since, and I thank God in his mercy for saving me.
Called to the Ministry and Finding CLI
Over the years, I’ve felt called to the ministry and have even had dreams about it. However, I didn’t have enough confidence and faith to leap. God has been igniting a new fire in me recently, and I came across the Christian Leaders Institute. It just felt like the place I needed to be. It’s taken a while to enroll in my first class due to fear of the unknown and fear of failure. But, I trust that God will get me through!
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
My name is Vagner Valentim, and I’m being trained to be a Christian leader at the Christian Leaders Institute. I’m 48 years old, married to my beautiful wife, Helyana Mello. I’m from Galileia, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. I have an incomplete degree in law.
Born and raised in an evangelical Christian home, as a child, I was always very thirsty to know the Word of God. During my pre-adolescence and adolescence, I read the Bible systematically and sought, through short biblical courses, to learn more and more about the sacred texts.
Spiritual Cooling
However, in adulthood, with the chores and the search for my place in the world, I ended up moving away from the Word. The Bible, my old companion, had been put aside. With that, of course, comes spiritual cooling.
I was in the church for a long time, but away from God. And the further away, the more pain, disappointment, and frustration grew inside me. Until eventually, they made me believe that God does not exist. I was dying inside, and nobody knew it.
Today’s church is full of people, just like me, spiritual zombies, and leadership with concerns other than the Lord’s sheep. This leadership does not have the sensitivity, much less the presence of the Holy Spirit, to perceive how wounded these souls that roam the churches are.
Holy Spirit Led Me to CLI
But, thank God, that there was still a spark inside me. The Spirit of God blew again and rekindled that flame from before. And it was the Holy Spirit who introduced me to the Christian Leaders Institute to return to studies and be trained to be a Christian leader in our local ministry.
May God bless CLI so that they continue to be an instrument of blessing in the lives of so many. These men and women have accepted the call from God but cannot pay for a course like these courses at CLI. Yes, the Christian Leaders Institute provides us with an education of excellence!
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
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Meu nome é Vagner Valentim, tenho 48 anos de idade, casado com minha linda esposa Helyana Mello, sou de Galileia, estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil. Tenho graduação incompleta em Direito.
Nascido e criado em um lar cristão evangélico, desde criança sempre tive muita sede em conhecer a Palavra de Deus. Durante minha pré-adolescência e adolescência sempre li a Bíblia de forma sistemática e busquei, através de pequenos cursos bíblicos, conhecer mais e mais sobre os textos sagrados.
Esfriamento Espiritual
Já na idade adulta, com os afazeres e a busca pelo meu lugar neste mundo fizeram com que eu acabasse me afastando da palavra. A Bíblia, minha companheira de sempre, foi posta de lado. Com isso, evidentemente, vem o esfriamento espiritual.
Estive um longo tempo na igreja, mas afastado de Deus. E quanto mais afastado, mais dor, desilusão, decepção e frustação iam crescendo dentro de mim até me fazerem acreditar que Deus não existe. Estava morrendo por dentro e ninguém percebia isso.
A igreja de hoje está cheia de pessoas assim como eu, um zumbi espiritual e a liderança que tem outras preocupações que não são as ovelhas do Senhor. Essa liderança não tem a sensibilidade e muito menos a presença do Espírito Santo, para perceber quão feridas estão essas almas que perambulam pelas igrejas.
Espirito Santo
Mas graças a Deus que ainda havia uma centelha dentro de mim que o Espírito de Deus assoprou novamente e reascendeu aquela chama de antes. E foi o Espírito Santo quem me apresentou o Christian Leaders Institute para retornar aos estudos e ser treinado para ser um líder cristão em nosso ministério local.
Que Deus abençoe o CLI para que continuem a ser um canal de bençãos na vida de tantos obreiros que não têm condições de pagar por um curso como este. Sim, o CLI nos fornece um curso de excelência!
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Mi nombre es Vagner Valentim, tengo 48 años, estoy casado con mi hermosa esposa Helyana Mello, soy de Galileia, estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil. Tengo un título incompleto en derecho.
Nacido y criado en un hogar cristiano evangélico, de niño siempre tuve mucha sed de conocer la Palabra de Dios. Durante mi preadolescencia y adolescencia, siempre leí la Biblia de manera sistemática y busqué, a través de breves cursos bíblicos, aprender más y más sobre los textos sagrados.
Enfriamiento Espiritual
Ya en la edad adulta, con los quehaceres y la búsqueda de mi lugar en este mundo, terminé alejándome de la palabra. La Biblia, mi antigua compañera, ha sido dejada de lado. Con eso, por supuesto, viene el enfriamiento espiritual.
Estuve en la iglesia mucho tiempo, pero lejos de Dios. Y cuanto más lejos, más dolor, decepción y frustración crecía dentro de mí hasta que me hicieron creer que Dios no existe. Me estaba muriendo por dentro y nadie lo sabía.
La iglesia de hoy está llena de personas como yo, un zombi espiritual y un liderazgo que tiene preocupaciones distintas a las ovejas del Señor. Este liderazgo no tiene la sensibilidad, y mucho menos la presencia del Espíritu Santo, para percibir cuán heridas están estas almas que deambulan por las iglesias.
Espiritu Santo
Pero gracias a Dios que todavía había una chispa dentro de mí que el Espíritu de Dios sopló de nuevo y reavivó esa llama de antes. Y fue el Espíritu Santo quien me presentó al Instituto de Líderes Cristianos para volver a estudiar y capacitarme para ser un líder cristiano en nuestro ministerio local.
Que Dios bendiga a CLI para que sigan siendo un instrumento de bendición en la vida de tantos hombres y mujeres que han aceptado el Llamado y que no pueden pagar un curso como este. ¡Sí, la CLI nos brinda un curso de excelencia!
My Journey to Faith and Ministry
Hello, My name is Jennifer Goebel, and I am taking free online ministry classes at the Christian Leaders Institute. I am from Warren, MI. I am 41 years old and looking to further myself in ministry. Married to my wonderful husband, Jeff, I am also a mother of three children, 18, 20, and 25. We also have three dogs and three cats.
I did not grow up in a healthy Christian home. I did attend church with my grandmother and my mom occasionally. Most of my learning came from what I heard in church and what I put together independently. I have always believed in God just never had the proper teaching from leaders.
Challenges and Growth
My husband and I have been married for 21 years. We have spent most of our marriage struggling to get by. We both had our faith in God, but the church was not something we attended. A few years after our youngest was born, we started thinking about wanting to find a church for our family. We wanted to further our faith and introduce our children to God.
In 2008, my husband was involved in an accident with a tree. We were astonished that he was not injured any more than he was. God was with him, and he only suffered a few broken ribs, a torn tendon, and some scrapes. After surgery, he had a lot of healing to do. Unfortunately, there was more damage than anyone could see. My husband was not able to return to work. This fact took a toll on our faith.
Finding a Church Home and Salvation
As homeschooling parents, our children needed to be around good people. We joined a Christian homeschool co-op. At our first meeting, one of the moms asked where we attended church, and that is when things got interesting.
We were guided to a local church. This church was very different from the traditional churches we had tried. The music was excellent, the people were super friendly, and they had a fantastic youth program. On our first visit, they handed out small toy blocks as we entered. At one point in the service, they told us to write the name of someone we felt needed an encounter with God. To make a long story short, one of the people we wrote down had that experience. From that day forward, we felt a powerful pull to God and the church. We immediately wanted to jump in and be involved n any way possible. The whole family was baptized together because of the work that God was doing in us. Sadly, we felt the church was too big for us to be able to serve there.
The next part of our journey took us to a smaller church where my husband served on the worship team. Eventually, I was dragged kicking and screaming (metaphorically speaking) to sing on the worship team. I had a powerful fear of anything that put me in front of an audience. Eventually, singing for the Lord became a passion for me. I couldn’t imagine not singing for the Lord and ministering to people with music. For three years now, I have been singing in worship and hope to continue for many years. I will keep singing for as long as God keeps me on this path.
Free Online Ministry Classes at CLI
I want to learn more and more about understanding the Bible and how to guide others in their walk. So, I found the Christian Leaders Institute for free online ministry classes. I am hoping that these courses will help me further my ministry. Please pray for me that I can keep focused on this task to help bring others to the love of Christ.
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.