Online Ministry Training for Free
My name is Rochelle White, and I am receiving ministry training for free at CLI. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, in the United States of America, I am a divorced mother of two boys. I was with my ex-husband for 20 years, and from that union, we had Stanwyck (22) and Gabriel (19).
During my marriage, I was a stay at home mom focused on homeschooling my sons as well as my education. I obtained a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and a Master’s in Business Administration, specialized in Human Resources. After that, I entered Concord Law School, where I obtained an Executive Juris Doctorate.
My parents divorced when I was a little girl. Our mother raised my oldest sister and me as a Baptist. We would go to church with my grandmother, but it was never consistent. I remember trying to listen to the pastor when he would speak but found that my mind would often wonder.
Saved by Grace
When I was 12, I remember there was this one sermon that hit me like a ton of bricks. I remember going up the aisle and giving my life to Jesus that day. But as a new Christian, I wasn’t exactly sure how to go about growing a relationship with God. My grandmother told me just to read my Bible.
All of my life, I’ve always felt that I was on the outside looking in. Like I never really fit in with any group. I always felt like I was alone. At the age of 14, I lived through a traumatic experience. Because of that experience, a friend of my mother’s invited me to go along with the kids from her church to church camp. So I took a friend of mine, and we joined them.
It was on that trip that I experienced God. I felt a heavy presence that seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I felt a peace like never before and no longer felt alone. My heart was completely open from that moment. By the time I came home from church camp, I had cried so much, especially if I had read or watched the news. I felt like my heart was breaking from seeing all of the devastating stories. I began feeling other people’s emotions and finding myself wanting to comfort them.
Marriage Struggles
Throughout my marriage to my ex-husband, I felt sad, stressed, and anger more than happiness, peace, and joy. I remember spending many days and nights talking to God, praying for my family, and for things to get better. My ex-husband was very emotionally and mentally abusive towards our children and me. I tried to teach our children about Jesus, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. However, my ex-husband always found fault with things. He would not take us to church, so the boys and I watched different pastors on the television. He did not approve of them either and made us stop. We had to pray the exact way that he wanted. Thankfully, God kept me sane through it all.
Divorce and Health Concerns
Eventually, I turned 35, and my ex-husband decided to leave me for a younger woman. At that same time, I had a hard time moving my body. I lost the ability to walk and moved in with my parents. On January 1, 2016, I fell into a coma for two weeks after my throat closed. When I finally woke, it was to find my entire life changed more than I ever imagined possible. I found myself going through a divorce and with a diagnosis of polymyositis and quadriplegia. I received a trachea peg tube and had the knowledge that the doctors told my family I was not going to make it.
The hospital chaplain came to visit me, prayed over me, and sang Amazing Grace. Every time he visited, he did the same thing. He told me to remember that God always takes care of His children. Lying in the ICU, I repeated over and over in my head: “By your stripes, I am healed, Jesus.” I almost died three separate times during that 8-week hospital stay. I held on to the belief that Jesus loves me. I sang that song over and over in my head. It was the only comfort during that time in my life.
My Spiritual Dream
I’ve always been the type of person that everyone turns to for guidance. I want to be a beacon of light to help others find the path to Christ Jesus. My sister encouraged me to seek out ministry training and become ordained since she is a minister as well. At first, I felt myself mentally running from God, saying, “Me? A part of the ministry?…no, no, no.” To hear God’s reply, “Yes, yes, yes.” I sought advice from my mother because she is the one person that understands why I feel or think the way I do.
I prayed and asked God if He had the right girl because I didn’t believe that I could be a minister. I knew I wanted to help bring people to Christ but didn’t think I fit the mold of what a minister is. Even though I regularly read the Bible, I did not believe I had such a grasp of it that I could confidently explain the gospel to others. The last thing that I wanted was to reveal Jesus to non-believers in such a way that it made them choose to stay away from Him.
Online Free Ministry Training at CLI
So here I am at Christian Leaders Institute with an open heart and an open mind ready to absorb everything that you can teach me. I hope to complete as many studies as possible. Since the significant life changes of divorce and polymyositis, I’m unable to work and considered medically retired. I’m on disability, so the money I receive from the government is used to pay the bills and take care of me.
Therefore, at this time in my life, I cannot afford tuition. That’s why I’m so thankful that CLI offers ministry training for free. The idea that I can heed the call of my Lord and Savior and not be hindered by a lack of ministry education means so much to me. With CLI’s training, I will finally be able to help others find Jesus. I will no longer lack confidence in myself for not being adequately trained in the gospel. I feel very blessed to have found a ministry training school that is willing to teach me. Thank you, CLI!
Learn about ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Substance Abuse Ministry Call
My name is Brandon, and I have a substance abuse ministry call. I was born in a small town in Kentucky in 1986. Growing up, I had opportunities to attend my grandparents’ church, but I was not a fan of it. For some reason, I had an unhealthy fear of God. This fear made me want nothing to do with Him or the church. I thought if I were to pretend He didn’t exist, then everything would be okay.
My Early Struggles
I was raised by a single mother who had to work a lot to support us. While growing up, I felt like I was different from other people. I felt alone and like I didn’t fit in. I wanted to, but I didn’t know how to do it. On the outside, I looked like any other kid, but on the inside, I was an emotional basket case.
The dark period of my life started pretty early on. At twelve years old, I experimented with alcohol for the first time. My life would never be the same. When I took my first drink, I felt something that I had never felt before, relief. For the first time in my life, all my feelings of inadequacy and pain went away. I thought that I had found my solution.
Once discovering that with just a little alcohol, I could face the world, my life took a drastic change. Throughout my teenage life, I used alcohol and marijuana daily. To fund my habits, I began selling small amounts of both. I used the money to keep me and everyone around me in a constant fog.
Arrested
March 30, 2015, was a day that would change my life forever. Looking back on this day, I now know that it was the day that God stepped in. However, I was too dumb to realize it. At the time, I would have considered myself an agnostic. I didn’t want to believe in God because if He were real, then He would want nothing to do with me and rightfully so.
My drug use at this time had steadily evolved into a several hundred dollars a day methamphetamine habit. I was selling drugs twenty-four hours a day with people in and out regularly. That day around 2:15 p.m., the local drug task force kicked in my door and charged me with manufacturing methamphetamine. This time was not my first run-in with the law, and unfortunately, it would not be my last.
I went to jail, and when I got inside, I felt a slight sense of relief. I was exhausted and had a nasty infection in my stomach. They sent me directly to the nurse after booking. I went into a segregated medical holding cell for the medical safety of other inmates. When the nurse weighed me, I was only 98.5 lbs. At the time, I wanted to die and was not far from it.
God Saves
I was in jail for 16 days before I could make the bond. During that time, one of the guards asked me if I wanted to go to church. I said yes immediately. I just wanted to get out of my cell for a while. During the service, I felt something on the inside of me. It felt like a knot in my chest and an extreme and overwhelming emotional tugging at me.
After the service was over, I returned to my cell and, once again, was alone. That feeling that would not go away, and I began to cry. I went into the shower and completely broke down. I fell to my knees in that disgusting shower stall and begged God for forgiveness and asked Him to help me. When I had finished with my “break down,” I stood up and felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders.
For the first six months of my new life, things went great. I got involved with a local church and became very close with the head pastor. I did little odd jobs and kept busy to keep my mind off of the world around me and the fact that I was facing a 25-year prison sentence. One day out of the blue, I made a mistake and used drugs. I can’t say why I did.
Back to My Old Ways
Once I slipped, I fell back down hard. Confused, I thought that since I had messed up, God would no longer want anything to do with me. I felt like I was separated from the source. Once this happened, I went right back into the same thing I had been doing before.
This time things got a lot worse. I started injecting drugs and became wild and reckless. I was in and out of treatment programs and halfway houses for the next several years. For a while, I lived in my car until the motor blew on it. Once that happened, I was living on the streets. On the run from the police in my town, I slept on a bench in the city over. I wanted to die.
God Intervened
January 2, 2018, was the day that God intervened. I was five months out of my latest round of treatment and back to the same old song and dance. That morning, I got a call from probation and parole telling me to come into their office. I knew that when I went in, they would test me. Something different happened this time; I didn’t run. So, I went to the office and told the woman I had been using. I was tired.
When I got to jail, I was relieved. The first time, I was terrified. But this time, I felt peace and safety for the first time in a very long time. After a month, the judge agreed to send me to long-term treatment. I wondered why he gave me another opportunity for treatment. I had failed so many times. Now I know that it was God’s mercy and His favor.
God Always Loves Me
February 6, 2018, was the day I went to treatment. When I went in this time, I wanted things to be different. I knew I wanted more. My previous round of long- term treatment did not go well. It took me ten months to complete a six-month program. Two days after arriving at the facility, I was in my bunk, and for some reason, I started to pray. I had not prayed in a long time.
I told God that I had messed up, that I didn’t want this life anymore and asked Him to please help me. If He did, I would spend the rest of my life telling everyone how it happened. I had already messed up one opportunity and understood if He did not love me anymore. In my head, I heard a voice say, “I love you so much that I died for you.” After praying that prayer, I felt whole.
Bible Study
Suddenly, I felt that I wanted to read. I was not a big reader and knew it would be difficult to do so in a room with 60 other people, but I decided to give it a shot. There was a small library, so I went down to see what they had. I was drawn to a section where the religious books were, picked up one of the Bibles and took it back to my rack.
I opened it up and started reading out of the Gospel of Matthew. One of the guys that had arrived at the same time as I looked up and said, “Hey, man. If you got any questions about anything, let me know. I am a follower of Jesus Christ, too, and would love to read with you.” Richard Brown was fresh out of prison, and we did not know each other. I was reluctant at first but remembered my prayer and agreed to start doing a Bible study with him in the mornings.
What started with Rich and me reading the Bible together in the mornings grew into a group of 20-25 men spending an hour a day reading. We read the Jesus Calling devotional, a section of the Bible, and prayed. We were there for one another throughout our time at the center. It was not a faith-based program that allows this type of gathering, but with some reluctance, we had access to one of the classrooms to hold our study each day.
My Substance Abuse Ministry Call and Finding CLI
While I was in treatment, I found my substance abuse ministry call. I loved working with the guys and, for the first time in my life, felt fulfilled. Every night, I had guys stop by my room and talk with me. I spent hours listening to them, praying with them, and sharing any experience I had with their situations. The facility had a firm rule against clients being in another client’s room. However, they seemed to overlook people coming into mine. That was the favor of God again. Therefore, I realized my calling to work with individuals that have substance abuse issues. God allows us to go through situations to equip us with the tools that we need to follow our calling.
I found Christian Leaders Institute one day while researching Bible study courses. Immediately, I enrolled in classes. However, I did not sign on again for almost six months. I knew I was called, but I was afraid. I tried to put off what I knew I should do. The funny thing is, no matter how fast or far I tried to run from my substance abuse ministry call, it did not seem to matter. I re-enrolled into courses and am happy to report that I am now on my way to becoming what God wants me to be!
Learn about ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Ministry Calling Free Bible Training
Hello, My name is Anadelia Yamilex Jerez, and I finally found my passion. My family is from the Dominican Republic but I was born in New York. Growing up I felt like the ugly duckling of the family. Everyone would bully me and call me names. Also, nobody was nice to me. My mom was always working and was never really there for me. We were always moving around to different cities/states.
Materialistic Left a Void
Nice houses and materialistic things still left me with this void. All I yearned for was my mother’s love and time. I had to learn things on my own and act as a mother to my younger siblings. My dad got deported back to the Dominican Republic when I was young, he was never in my life. My grandma would always go to church and take me with her when I was a little girl. But my grandma and my family were the types of people they preach against in a church. They were corrupted people who only cared about the money and were always cursing. As I grew, I grew confused, with a lot of anger and always thought negative. At the same time, I grew strong and brave and I was very smart.
New Dreams
I remember growing up my dream was to be a lawyer if anybody would ask me, that was what I wanted to be. In conclusion, I wanted to help keep people out of jail because people were always getting into trouble in my family. My older brother until this day keeps going in and out of jail. As I completed my first year of college I realized that is who I do not want to be. I didn’t feel passionate or saw myself being a lawyer anymore. After finishing that school year off I didn’t go back to school. By then I was 19 with no sense of direction of what I wanted to do with my life. I always had many jobs but I would always leave them because I didn’t like working for other people. I always wanted to be my own boss.
Running from God
In July, the summer of 2017 was when I started to run away from God, instead of running towards him. I met my soulmate that year. When we met we were both lost and so far away from the Lord. In August he got shot, the bullet went in through his back and came out through his chest. As you can see he wasn’t supposed to be alive but the Lord works in mysterious ways. After that, we tried to get closer to the lord. We would go to church every Sunday and I even got my first Bible and that made me feel closer to the Lord. For the first time in my life I was genuinely happy.
Two years pass by and my life goes downhill again. We lost our Apartment and in the midst of it all I find out I’m pregnant. We moved in with my aunt. My relationship takes a turn for the worst. We still decide to work through it. I was having a boy plus we named him Adonis. We decided to move to California with my mom. Two months later I find a job and after three months I ended up leaving my job. My relationship with the people around me got worse because I was angry all the time. I started spending money until I didn’t have any. Therefore, I was broke, angry and miserable. The major problem this time was that I only looked for the Lord when I was down. Never said, “Hey Father Thank You for everything you have done for me.” As for that major reason, I believe now the Lord kept me down time after time, so I can remember to always praise him high up.
New Awakenings Begin
In essence, nobody taught me the right way of loving the Lord. Nobody sat me down and told me to read the bible. Nobody told me that the power of the Lord is amazing and what he can do for us, nobody else can. I knew there was a God but I didn’t know anything about my father.
The moment I analyzed my life and realized I didn’t want to live like that anymore, things started to change. I desired to do the right thing and to find the Lord. I longed for the Holy Spirit. I wanted to find my passion. However, I was good at many things yet nothing fulfilled me. To help people is all I ever wanted to do. I vowed to become a better me, a new mind I thought. As a result, I started listening to motivational videos. I decided I was going to read the bible from start to finish.
Called to Serve
People were always drawn to me throughout my life. Back then I was clueless but now I saw clearly. They were always seeking for help. My gift is to help. I can help others through the Lord. God is my only escape. He is my father. Every time I speak about the Lord my heart races with excitement. I feel a fire in me I just want to tell everyone about the Lord and what he can do for us. I found my passion. My only mission in life is to serve the Lord. To become a deacon to help others. Additionally, I yearned to learn more but I didn’t have the funds. Initially, this led me to Christian Leaders Institute. What I’ve learned here taught me things nobody has ever taught me. Peace is within me since I have embarked on this new journey. I’m going after what has always been mine.
Learn about ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.