Hello, my name is Janice Newman. I have a mission to honor God and help others, so I am excited to receive free ministry education online at CLI. Currently, I am a resident of the south suburbs of Chicago. I am a mother of three adult children and a wife to a wonderful husband named Philip. With a master’s degree in professional development with a certificate in Christian Counseling, I am a full-time, licensed special education teacher working with elementary school students. Further, I am also a self-employed real estate appraiser and broker for the past 20 plus years.
I had a traumatic childhood from being a product of an extramarital affair. Surviving my mother’s attempt to abort me, I had a heart attack at four years old. I suffered child abuse, homelessness, depression from my stepfather lining my family up as a teen threatening to shoot us. I was a foster teen working full-time to help support my family while going to high school.
God Was With Me
My childhood spiritual journey was limited in my younger years. My parents did not attend church regularly nor talk about God in the household. We lived in Chicago until I was ten, where I experienced a mixture of racism with neighbors threatening my family to move out of the neighborhood. We were one of the first minorities in the area. The neighborhood changed quickly from racism to violent gangs trying to break in our home, so we moved to the suburbs of Chicago.
I went to church once under the age of 12. However, I prayed on my own as a young child. How I learned about God, I do not remember. At a young age, I prayed and communicated with God regularly. I felt God was with me. With a love for people and for God, I gave my life to Christ at a young age.
I would say that my life was perhaps different after my heart attack at age four, stepping over a dead body as a young child while walking through a gang fight, or from a near miss from being shot at twice at the age of six. I wish I knew what defining moment in my life that I gave my life to Christ, but I cannot pinpoint a time as I was very young.
My Spiritual Dream and Journey
My spiritual dream is to share my love of God with others and help others come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior. I desire to develop my relationship with God, have stronger faith and wisdom to trust God, and follow His plan for my life. I want to fulfill my purpose in life to the best of my ability while overcoming fears and anxiety from my past and my lack of understanding.
Gifted with being quite intelligent and mature at an early age, I owe all my intelligence, gifts, and blessings to God because I am nothing without God. I was always put in charge versus my older sister. My parents needed my help with paperwork and finances before I was 12. It was I who took a stand against the abuse at home from my stepfather at 15 to help save my family. I was the responsible one, the logical one, and the one to count on. Sometimes that got tiresome. I had to learn about protecting my boundaries, but I went through two bad marriages before I realized that fact.
I knew from the age of four that my mother tried to abort me. Therefore, with being mature and intelligent for my age, I knew I was alive because of God. It humbles me to know that despite being unwanted by my mother, I was loved by God, who did, does, and continues to love me and want me. It puts tears in my eyes now as I write this. There is nothing I can do to deserve that mercy and grace. The best I can do is to honor and love the One who saved me. That is when God became real for me.
Challenges and Changes
I had brain surgery three and a half years ago. A day after surgery, an accident happened in the hospital. My nurse tripped and dropped me in a chair, and I hit my head. Within 24 hours, I lost all ability to communicate. Being unable to write or talk except for four words, I did not cry. I sat there and prayed and listened. God wanted time just for Him and me, for me to listen and communicate with Him. Everything was shut out so I could listen. So, I listened and learned a lot. Those who have ears let them hear.
By the grace, mercy, and blessing of God alone, my ability to talk and communicate returned in three and a half days, right before Christmas. I learned the value of the benefit of my voice, love, communicating, and helping others. At that time, my husband and I were only dating for two weeks. He committed to helping me recover.
After I recovered, God allowed me to start, sponsor, and run a summer youth group for two years in a row. I wrote a self-help book, started a life coaching program, completed a graduate certificate in Christian Counseling, and have a weekly cable television show focused on topics to help others to reach their goals reflecting on God’s perspective from the guest.
Free Ministry Education Online at CLI
The free ministry education online from Christian Leaders Institute will enhance my knowledge and ability to assist others to come to Christ. I hope to build a deeper relationship with God. The free training at CLI is essential for me because I want to expand my knowledge of Christ, ministry, and life coaching with the Christian perspective. I want to be trained to run a ministry and to help people come to Christ. I also desire to learn more about ministry and build my relationship with God. With an increase in my knowledge of God, the more I know, the better I can help others.
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
I am Thompson Emmanuel Anu, from Ghana in West Africa, and I have a mission ministry passion from God. I am a second-year master’s student at Shanghai Maritime University pursing M.Eng. Transport Planning and Management.
In my Junior High School, I encountered a gentleman who started praying and sharing the word of God with us. However, I never believed anything because I thought the foundation of the church he attended was not Jesus. Almost all the rich men in the town attended that church, and there were many miracles in the church.
Coming to Know Christ
After some time passed, I went to High School where a lady invited me to her church. And, to my surprise, it was the same church the gentleman was attending but a different branch of it. This time I thought okay and went on a youth camp meeting with them in the month of August in 2013. On the second day of the camp meeting, a lady preached about “remembering God in your youthful age.” I felt as if the lady was speaking to only me at that moment.
After her message, she made an altar call. Then, for the first time, I heard a voice saying to me, “Go and give your life to Christ, and let Him make your life beautiful.” Among more than 500 youths, I was the only one who went to the front. So, God saved me that day.
My Passion and Ministry Training at CLI
I have a mission ministry passion and enjoy speaking to others about Christ. I have been to countless missions, served as youth president and pastor. Currently, I am now serving as a university connect group leader in Hillsong Church – Shanghai Connect. I am also the President of the Ghana student group in Shanghai. Further, I have different youth mentorship groups.
I was looking for free ministry training online and found the Christian Leaders Institute. I am looking forward to seeing how God will use this training in my ministry life.
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
Study Anywhere in the World for Free at CLI
I am Angelique Gill, married to my wonderful Pakistani husband since 2019. We live in Amersfoort, The Netherlands currently. However, at CLI, I can study anywhere in the world that God may call us. I grew up in a Catholic family, but we only went to church on special holidays. As my dad passed away when I was two, I grew up as the only child of my mom. My mom was a gymnastics coach, and I loved coming with her to practice.
Sports, School, and Church
Unfortunately, I was an outsider from preschool to High School in my country. It had to do with me being smart and good at gymnastics. People had a hard time accepting that. They bullied me from junior high to High School for not following the crowd. The bullying made me vulnerable, feeling alone, and not accepted, however, it did not break me. At a very young age, I did not join other kids when they started smoking and going out.
Even though I was not aware of it at that time, the Lord was already having His eye on me. At age 11, I felt I had to go to the Catholic Church service on Sunday. I went there by myself for some months and also joined Sunday Bible class in the Protestant school I attended. But because I didn’t really know where I belonged in faith (Catholic or Protestant), I did not continue going there. I started to train more hours for gymnastics and ballet. By the age of 16, I was training up to 20 hours a week for gymnastics and did a lot of competitions.
My Testimony
Every year we also had a gymnastics club championship. I received third and second place but had not been club champion ever. It was mostly because of nerves. At the age of 16, I wanted to become the club champion. The night before that club championship, I prayed in my bed. I said, “Lord God, if you exist, please let me win tomorrow.” Amazingly, at that moment, I heard an audible male voice answer me, “I will let you win, but then you will know I am real.” It flabbergasted me because we did not have any males in my house.
The next morning, I woke up and went to the gymnastics meet. Instead of being nervous as I normally always was, I was very peaceful. We started with the balance beam, and I had an excellent routine and did not fall off once. My rival got very nervous then. The other three apparatus also went great. To my surprise and others too, I became the club champion that year. What an amazing way the Lord showed His presence!
Becoming His Child
Now I knew He was real. But how could I become His child? I did not know. The Lord had it all planned out. By the age of 17, I became an exchange student in Colorado Springs, CO, USA. That was my biggest dream since I was 11. I was placed in a wonderful Christian family with whom I am still in touch today. That year changed my life forever.
My Christian family took me to an evangelical church, where I also joined a wonderful active youth group. So in October 1989 in the USA, I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. For the first time ever, I got real friends at school, church, and in the gymnastics team. It was really awesome to find out I was respected and valued for the person I was. The Lord used that year abroad to grow me spiritually and mentally and prepared me for life.
Family Life
After returning to The Netherlands, I started working for the government. I married a Christian man, and we had two sons. After 12.5 years of marriage, my husband divorced me. I ended up raising my two young sons alone. In the meantime, my sons and I were struggling with severe allergies and asthma. It was a hard time but, with God’s support, we were able to manage.
Growing in the Lord
After the divorce, I searched for more of God. For the past 12 years, I served in the church as a singer on the worship team, children’s worker, hospitality team member, and more. However, the presence of the Holy Spirit began missing in that church. I felt stuck and doors closed. About eight years ago, I changed to a church where the Holy Spirit was very present. The Lord opened doors, and I became part of the translation team. Within a few months, I took over leadership of that team and led it up to July 2019.
Healing
Ever since 1993, I knew the Lord had a calling for me in the healing ministry. However, I never knew exactly how. I got into reading books and watching videos about Biblical healing and deliverance. Besides that, I challenged the Lord to heal me of severe asthma and allergies, so I could be His witness. He did!
After being prayed for in 2015, the Lord healed me from all allergies. Then, at the end of a conference in January 2016, He completely healed me from asthma. Hallelujah!! I was and am so very happy and thankful. After my healing, the Lord started to use me more to pray for healing for others, and He has healed many. I also started up a Connect Group in church about Biblical healing which I led for three years!
My Calling
During my quiet time with God, in January 2017, the Lord called me to be an evangelist. I was surprised by that calling and asked Him for confirmation by two people. In June 2017, I received my first confirmation from an English prophet who I translated for two days. In September 2017, I was at a big conference serving in the ministry team, when I got prophesied over by an American evangelist that the Lord wanted me to be an evangelist. I was so happy with both confirmations.
Evangelistic Training
After receiving those confirmations, I started to search for evangelistic training anywhere. In 2018, I was accepted into the School of Evangelism at Christ for all Nations (USA) and it was a wonderful week of Evangelism training. During that week, the Lord opened doors I had never imagined. He created opportunities for me to preach for the first time in Pakistan and India over Messenger, Skype, and Whatsapp. Jesus showed His faithfulness by healing the sick as well.
Mission Trip
After training in the USA, it became very obvious that the Lord wanted me to go to Pakistan as an evangelist. The Lord provided in everything, and in October 2018 I flew out to Pakistan by myself (since others were afraid to go). I had a wonderful 10 days there preaching and visiting in churches, houses, women’s conferences, schools, and a sowing center. The Lord proved his faithfulness by keeping me safe during my stay there.
Marriage
After coming back from this mission trip, the Lord did something extraordinary. He got me connected over Messenger with a wonderful Christian Pakistani man. We fell in love with each other and received confirmation about our relationship from friends, pastors, and evangelists in the world. After the Lord also showed us my husband has the same calling as I do, we got married last year in Pakistan. Now we are planning to do ministry together. We wondered if there was a school that we could study at anywhere in the world.
CLI Ministry Training: Study Anywhere in the World
For years, I wanted to attend Bible School. However, I did not have the finances as a single mom, working part-time, and having to pay for everything myself. I also did not get permission from the Lord to study at expensive Bible Schools. When searching the internet, I came across the website of the Christian Leaders Institute. As I looked at it for a friend in Pakistan, the fact that CLI is a free Bible School amazed me. Further, the name of CLI got stuck in my head. After I read more about it, I felt in my spirit I was to do classes here. That’s when I applied and received my scholarship for which I am very thankful. It gives me the opportunity to start my study while we are in the process of obtaining a staying permit for my husband.
My main reason to study is to get deeper into the Word. I want to grow and become an ordained pastor or minister. I also want to gain much more knowledge to use in ministry. Eventually, I would love to get a bachelor’s degree or even a Master’s degree. Whatever my path will be, I know that God will use me and my husband for His work. He calls us, and we will go wherever He wants us to go. That is also why CLI is the best option for me. I can study anywhere in the world and that brings tremendous freedom, peace, and joy.
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.