Hi! I’m Melencio Lomod Jr., and I am receiving formal Christian leadership training at CLI. I am from The Philippines. My friends call me Lenz. I am a seafarer onboard tanker vessels as a Fourth Engineer. I am a follower of Jesus Christ since 2014, and by God’s grace, I am still a believer now.
My Testimony
My family was “religious” and went to church every Sunday. I was first introduced to faith in Christ when I was still in school during the worship services. I casually attended and even ventured to join the Music Ministry, where I play strings during worship services with a thought of performing to gain my way towards God.
In 2014, the turning point of my life came. I got suspended from school because of the violations I made. They expelled me from the scholarship that I had from a shipping company. I didn’t know what to do.
When out of school, a senior from school reached out to me. We met and visited a worship service. On one of my visits to that church, the Pastor led a prayer of repentance for sin. He called out for people who don’t know what to do or where to go. He called out for the lost and those who are tired of their situation and need rest. I prayed to surrender my life to Jesus Christ and have a personal relationship with Him. I prayed that prayer and have journeyed through ups and downs in my Christian walk.
Now I belong to a new family of Christ-followers. I am saved by grace through faith in Christ as my Lord and Savior. He paid the penalty of my sin and made His righteousness as my own. I am a new creation! That’s my story I share with people who ask me how I came to know Jesus Christ.
My Ministry
When at sea, our local church encourages me to spread the Good News of the Kingdom. From time to time, other believers on board, and I gather to read and study God’s word and pray for each other. When I am on land, I lead the music ministry in our local church. I create blogs and podcasts about my walk with God and my ministry journey.
The Need for Formal Christian Leadership Training
I need formal Christian leadership training. If I’m going to lead people to Christ, I want to do it in a way that God is shown as who He is. The formal Christian leadership training at Christian Leaders Institute will also help me properly lead people when I am on board the ship. I want to be better equipped to lead people to Christ.
I love to know more about God and to enjoy Him. It is my prayer that in everything I do, and in everything I am, God gets the glory!
Learn about ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.
A Free Minister Education Opportunity at CLI
My name is Kirsten Blodgett Gill, and I am thankful for the free minister education Opportunity at CLI. I live in Canada. I didn’t grow up going to church but was invited by a friend in my teen years. Even before I went to church, I felt called into a life with God. When I went to church, God opened my eyes. I humbly accepted the salvation of Christ but still felt unworthy. I waited until I was an adult to receive baptism. Then I realized that being saved means I lead the life Christ wants me to and serve him.
God’s Call to Serve Him
For the next twenty years, I raised my children and taught them. As they grew older, I served the church in the women’s group and the community. Now, I am being called to take more of a leadership role in my church. Callings change over time as God requires us for different things. I think a lot of times, I hesitated to serve God because I felt I wasn’t good enough. Sometimes, I still think that way.
My most recent calling to serve in a more ministerial capacity came at a particularly difficult time in my life. I felt like I was not good enough for this critical role. Yet again, I was hoping to postpone it. However, the call from God still came. Recently, our minister received the call to another church, and I realized I could delay no longer. God wants me now. So, with the grace of God, I will follow where he leads.
I knew I needed a free minister education opportunity and found the Christian Leaders Institute. CLI is what I precisely need. Now I can prepare for my call to serve as a minister. Thank you, CLI, for this free minister education opportunity!
Interested in minister ordination? Check out the Christian Leaders Alliance.
My Journey to the Degree Program at CLI
My name is Deon Joubert. Currently, I am studying at the Christian Leaders Institute and hope to get a degree at the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
I am from Polokwane, formerly Pietersburg, in the Limpopo province of South Africa. I have educated up to the Matric Level the equivalent of Standard 10, which I completed in 1995 in Tom Naude Technical High School. In November 2013, I completed a 3-year ministry program called the City Changers Ministry Program with the City Changers Institute through the Apostolic Faith Mission Church.
Being a Christian leader in Polokwane, South Africa, is not looked down on and is not dangerous. We have freedom of religion at the moment, although changes in the education department are beginning to limit this freedom in the school setting.
Early Years
I had a wonderful childhood. I was born in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, but my family moved to the Transkei in 1980. We went back to Zimbabwe, where I complete Junior School, before completing my high school in 1995. The High School is where I decided to receive Christ as my Saviour on the 17th of September 1991. In 1994, I joined the Christian Community Church and loved the charismatic services. I rededicated my life to Christ and was baptized after becoming a day scholar in 1995. However, I did not attend church much after that.
My Marriage and How God Spoke
I married my wife in 2002, and we have an eleven-year-old son and a seven-year-old daughter. Everything was going along well until, in July 2009, work pressure became too much for me. I reached the end of my strength and was depressed and didn’t want to go on. I couldn’t imagine going to work and facing the daily pressure for one more day.
When I went home on that Friday, I was alone as my wife and son were away for the weekend. I opened the Bible my wife bought for me. She encouraged me to read it but to no avail until that Friday. The scripture I read was from Matthew 4, where the devil was tempting Jesus to turn the stones to bread. I was shocked at Jesus’ response, “Man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Immediately, I realized God was speaking to me! The things that weighed me down did not have eternal value. God let me know that I needed his Word to live!
God began to deal with me about living in my strength. So, I committed to seek God. I studied the Bible, and through a series of teachings, I felt as if, for the first time in my life, I understood the Gospel. I gave my life to Jesus anew and joined the Apostolic Faith Mission Church. With God’s help, I was able to stop smoking after almost 19 years of addiction.
My Call to Ministry
I felt a calling to ministry and to teach. I was unsure how this would be possible with my busy work schedule. However, I began looking for ministry training, and God opened doors with the City Changers Ministry program first.
Growing into maturity is a gradual process, which is still ongoing. I appreciate the metaphor of a walk with God. God dealt with my insecurities over my tattoo very early on in my walk. The deceiver tried to convince me that I did not belong in God’s family and challenged my identity continually. But, God spoke to me through Luke 15 on the prodigal son and clarified my identity as a son of God.
The church branched out with an English campus, and I serve there as a Sunday school teacher and run a cell group on Wednesdays. My wife also serves as a Sunday school teacher, while my son and daughter both enjoy attending with us.
Ministry Training at CLI and a Degree at CLI
I have been out of school for twenty-five years now. Seeking to get recognized ministry training, I was looking for a degree program. That is when a friend suggested the Christian Leaders Institute. I appreciate the opportunity to study at no cost and get myself back into being a student. Ultimately, I would like to look at getting a degree through the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.