Hello! My name is Ronnie Travis Vaughan, and I am 54 years old. I am receiving further Christian education free at the Christian Leaders Institute. I grew up just outside of the Washington DC beltway on the Maryland side. Dropping out of High School at 16, I got my GED. Then, I started working and ended up with a pregnant girlfriend by the time I was 17. By the time I was 19, I was married and in the US Army. I had already made what seemed like a lifetime of bad choices and was on a one-way street to nowhere fast, so the military seemed like the only choice for me.
I spent four years in the military. It taught me a lot. However, I continued to make bad choices and often got into trouble for the things that I did while off duty and drinking. I decided that the military wasn’t for me and blamed the rules for all my troubles. The thing is when I got out my troubles just followed me. Needless to say, alcohol abuse eventually caused marital and financial problems as well.
God Saved Me
Thanks be to God that it all came to a crisis point one day in 1993. I felt like giving up, and I turned to Christian radio for comfort. I heard Dr. Charles Stanley explain the gospel very clearly, and I gave my life to Jesus Christ that day! That was 27 years ago. I’ve now been happily married for 35 years. We have three children, three grandchildren, and one step-grandchild.
Being so sold out for the Lord, I ended up serving in various positions within the local church. I eventually ended up getting licensed as a minister by the Evangelical Church Alliance. Later, I got ordained by another non-denominational group while helping a friend with a church plant. Even so, I have never been in full-time ministry. All my ministry training took place in the local church while I worked and studied at the denominational level. However, I have also taken a few scattered courses for further Christian education.
Wandering
After moving around a bit and leaving the church I primarily served in for over 17 years, I started going to church less and less over time. I ended up backsliding into my former lifestyle. Eventually, I ended up with health issues that kept me from working as well.
God Never Stopped Calling
During the downtime, the Lord began to work on my heart again. Within the last few years, I have been getting back into regular Bible study and prayer. I’ve come to the end of myself and have started seeking local fellowship once again. To make a long story short, fellowship is proving difficult during this COVID 19 crisis.
Further Christian Education at CLI
Regardless, I’m setting out on a new adventure with the Lord while seeking to further my Christian education here at the Christian Leaders Institute (CLI). It’s my prayer that by entering into a formal program of study the Lord will keep me on the right path to serve Him once again in whatever capacity He chooses. And I said, “Here am I; send me!” (Isaiah 6:8)
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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My name is Karen Simms-Lawson, and I am excited to study for free at the Christian Leaders Institute. I am from the island of Jamaica. In December of 1996, I gave my heart to the Lord Jesus Christ. I have been walking with the Lord ever since.
My Testimony
One of the things that propelled me to the Lord was when I watched my aunt as she held my uncle-in-law in her arms. He had just taken his final breath as he lost his battle with cancer. I have never forgotten the feeling of helplessness that I had at that time. As I was not a Christian, I knew well enough that I did not have resurrection power. Broken and helpless at that time, I knew it. He was someone I could talk to about anything, and he would give fatherly, wise counsel.
Earlier that night, as I traveled home on the bus, I started sensing death. I instantly knew someone was dying. I could hardly wait for the bus to get to my stop. When the bus stopped, I ran for home as I had experienced that feeling before, and the inevitable had happened. I finally arrived at my gate, almost breathless from running and walking intermittently. My grandfather met me and told me that death was in the house. Immediately, I ran to my uncle’s room and saw my aunt holding him in her arms as she rocked and groaned. That night I knew I needed God.
Serving God and Study for Free at CLI
The day he was buried, I was baptized. Since then, I have not looked back. I minister to the adults and children at my workplace, church, and in my community. It is my joy to serve in song, prayer, and the Word of God. I also served as a Sunday school teacher and worship leader at the church I first attended. Now, I have joined a new congregation, and I am awaiting the go-ahead to serve as there. I love the Lord, and I desire to serve him with all of me.
Recently, I knew I needed ministry training, so I searched online. Then I found the Christian Leaders Institute. I am thankful for the opportunity to study for free and be equipped to serve!
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
My full name is Christopher William Fitzhugh, and I am receiving formal quality training for free at the Christian Leaders Institute. I was born in 1978 in northern California. Currently, I am residing and hosting a local house church and evangelical outreach with my wife and son in Jacksonville, Florida.
I came to believe in Christ at the young age of five through my faithful mother, Beverly. Growing up under her godly influence and spiritual care and also in a healthy local church engraved in me in-depth knowledge and understanding of the Bible. Even in my teen years, as I would often leave this path for lesser pleasures, like partying, sports addictions, and drugs, I never renounced this faith. However, my life testimony at this point was not a good one.
Renewed In Christ
At the age of 22, while living and traveling around California in a motorhome, with no direction, I heard the Lord speak to me for the first time. While cleaning a pool in an RV park for extra money, I asked the Lord if I was saved. He said, “Hebrews 11:1.” It was then that I felt the call to a real and deeper relationship with our Lord. Within the next three years, addictions and strongholds that remained from my past began to melt away through the counsel of our Holy Spirit.
A miracle happened in 2003 that I can’t explain, which delivered me from substance abuse. I went through a relationship loss. To drown out the pain, I began to drink as much alcohol as I could. However, no matter how much I drank, I remained sober. The words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes 2:3 burned into my mind; “I tried cheering myself with wine and embracing folly-my mind still guiding with wisdom.”
Formal Quality Training for Free at CLI
Soon after this, I met my God-fearing wife, Yana Fitzhugh, and together we began a new journey. It has been our ultimate desire to expand God’s kingdom and lead others into a deeper relationship with Christ. For this reason, the Christian Leaders Institute is essential for our local outreach project. Getting formal quality training for free through CLI will only increase the quality of God’s plan in us and His kingdom. Thank you!
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.