Life Coach Ministry
My name is Thomas Moore, and I am called to Life Coach Ministry. Let me tell you why. I live in Rochester, New Hampshire (USA), a city of approximately 31,000 people in 46 square miles. There are about 26 churches. Rochester has a history of factories to employ the local and surrounding areas. Like many small-town American cities, the factories have closed throughout the years.
Today, Rochester is a melting pot of denominations. In the past few years, there has been an explosive use of illegal drugs running rampant throughout the city. Many Christian leaders are working to find these small groups that live in the shadows. They need our help.
Foundational Early Years
I was raised mostly in Virginia. My parents are USAF veterans. My father transferred to the Pentagon, where he worked until he retired. We were a Catholic family who went to church every Sunday. After church, we would tour the Museums in Washington, D.C., or picnic at the battlefields of Manassas or Fredericksburg, VA. My parents wanted us exposed to as much culture, literature, and history as possible. I attended a Montessori school at a young age, then, St. Francis of Assisi up to the 2nd grade. From there, I attended public schools and had to participate in CCD.
It was at St. Francis, where I felt a strong attraction to the church. Rain or shine, the stained glass windows always radiated sunlight. The nuns were teachers. When it was time for mass, I remember how exciting it was to be able to sit in the pew, listen to the priest, and sing hymns. I felt that Jesus opened his arms to welcome me to his church. Oddly, I felt as though I wanted to be the man behind the pulpit talking about my love of Christ and our way of life.
I was fascinated with the Bible and watched whatever religious show would be playing. I never stayed up long enough to see all of the Ten Commandments. When I switched to the public school system was when I became busy with sports, friends, and anything else I could do. My flame for the church seemed to fade throughout the years. However, my love for Jesus was never-ending, and the Bible was always near. So, I would seek out my questions of the day.
Life Journey to Life Coach Ministry
Time moved forward, and I took on roles much too mature for my age, causing me to make quick decisions. I entered the USAF looking for education and experience, hoping also to find a career. It turned out that I had a different calling and left. Endlessly, I searched for who I was and what I wanted to do. I married at 24 and raised a family. My two daughters are my world, and I thank God every day for them.
I entered the business world of consumer and commercial finance and lending. We attended church every Sunday, and my girls were in a great Catholic school. Sadly, my job took over my life. The money was great. We were able to do things, vacation at Disney, and buy our first house. I remember pulling in the driveway and staring at the shutters on the house wondering how they got painted blue. Since I spent so much time at the office, my home became a mystery.
My marriage ended in divorce after 15 years. I moved out while my daughters stayed with their mom, and I was the one who they would come and visit every other week. I became very stressed out. Alcohol became my self-help counselor. I entered a relationship with Pamela, who I am still with today. We both worked. She was divorced as well, had no children, and enjoyed my daughters. It seemed that life was unraveling itself.
Some Struggles
I had an accident on December 8th, 2008 that damaged my lower spine enough to take me out of work permanently. I went on Social Security and Disability in 2011. During those three years, I was not allowed to work nor earn an income. I lost my medical insurance, which, of course, caused substantial financial hardship. The pain pills increased, “try this one, try that one,” the doctors meant well, but it came in the form of prescriptions. All the while, I still drank, which increased. My life turned upside down. It was a very confusing time for us.
In 2012, cancer took my oldest brother, and in 2015, it took my mother as well. Drinking became an everyday thing as life threw more and more problems my way. I think it was the fourth visit to the ER, after consuming too much alcohol, that I cried out for God’s help. It came in an instant. That day in the hospital, I remember being unconscious in a place of comfort, warmth, and safety.
When I left that hospital, many changes occurred. I published my first children’s book and am working on many other stories. My relationship with Pamela repaired. Her belief in me helped me focus on change. My counselor recommended that I “reinvent myself.” It was a confusing statement to me. How could I do that? It took a while for me to figure it out.
My “Aha” Moment
I was downstairs at my desk when I happened to glance at the small, flat ceramic piece on my desk. It was an imprint of my hand at the age of six. It had scribed on it, “Tommy Moore, 1968.” I had done that at the Montessori school. I remembered how happy my mother was to get it. She put it on the bookshelf in the living room. She gave it back to me a few years before she died. Sitting at my desk staring at it, I felt a spark in my brain. I remembered how much I loved the church and all the things about God at that age. It reignited that flame.
My love for Jesus Christ grew twofold, and I searched for ways to keep Him close to me every day. I found Christian Leaders Institute and dove right in. The classes and awards made me want more, and I got a deeper understanding of my faith. The video lectures were stimulating; I took notes and succeeded on each quiz.
Called to Life Coach Ministry
Then, I was ordained with Christian Leaders Alliance! What in the world am I going to do with all this newfound success? That’s when Life Coach ministry surfaced. Boom! That’s it! I want to help people. People need to know it is okay to be confused about life and the fog or obstacles it can place in front of you. I want them to understand how important it is to have a saving connection to Jesus Christ! To reinvent myself as a Life Coach would be a perfect compliment of my experience while helping people find the answers for their life and goals.
Life is full of what-ifs, why, how, where, and when. There is a never-ending list that people create in their minds every day. If I can make a difference in their lives, that would be a joy for me.
Studying at CLI and Sharing God’s Love
My name is Kendra Franklin, and I have a call to be sharing God’s love. I am originally from Baton Rouge, LA. However, I currently live in the Austin, Texas, area. I love it here because you are free to be who you are. That is the source of why I feel that God needed me to live here. People are very much accepted here, and being “weird” is a part of the culture. I know that I am one of the many Christian leaders here that God has placed here to fight the fight of serving and leading people to GOD.
My Early Life
As a child, I knew that I was different from others. I knew I was different in the way I viewed the world and how others saw me. There was NOTHING wrong I could do and get away with; I remember saying, “how come they did it, but never got caught?” Only now as an adult, I know that God was showing me that I had a calling on my life, that kept me from going out doing things as I got older, because I knew I would get caught.
However, that did not keep things from happening to me as a child; when I was 12, I lost my dad. Only months after that, I was sexually abused by my mom’s married boyfriend that lived across the street from us. I hated it, but I vowed that I would never tell her because it seemed that he made her happy. But, I was found out. My older sister noticed the long showers and baths and pulled it out of me. She told my mom, and that was the end of my childhood and the beginning of seeing my mom’s hateful wrath towards me. With every beating, the words that came out her mouth cut deeper and deeper as if she was trying to beat her hate into my soul (and honestly she did).
Adult Struggles
As the age of 21, I married the first man that said he loved me, clueless to know that words and actions were very much different. Just him saying them was enough for me and again the abuse started. As crazy as it may seem, my mother encouraged me to stay saying, “Well, if he hits you and kills you, that must be what God wanted.” How sad to hear those words from my mother. I stayed until I knew that there was no way that I deserved to be treated that way.
Years after my divorce, I moved to Texas and met the man of my dreams, I thought. By this time, I learned about God, and he talked about God. That satisfied me, he loved me and he loved God. He treated me like a queen, giving me everything I thought I wanted. However, I knew that we were serving two very different Gods. I was carrying my third child, his son. I did not have a job, and he counted on that to keep me from leaving him. But, I did. When I prayed to the Living God, I heard Him say, “Go, you will never need for anything.” So at six months pregnant and with two kids, I left. But, as God promised, I never needed anything.
After a while, I met a guy, a friend who wanted more. He decided that if he could not have me, then no one could, and took my life into his own hands and shot me three times. I died that day 04/12/2012, the best day of my life. I was in the presence of God; there are no words to describe the beauty of what God has in store for his children. That is my road to God, it took some time and many mistakes, but as I live, I realize that as a child I never got away with anything, but God saved me from everything.
My Spiritual Dream
My spiritual dream is “to share with everyone the TRUE LOVE OF THE FATHER.” Now, I know that no one can love me like God. Since the age of 12, I looked for that love in all the wrong places. God redefined my definition of love. “I WAS CREATED FROM LOVE, IN LOVE, FOR LOVE, TO LOVE.” The only way to love is through God, and I am sharing God’s love with others. Amazingly, when I started this journey here at Christian Leaders Institute, I called my mom. I had not spoken to her in years. I told her, “I have finally realized the calling on my life, and I am committed to seeing it through, so I need to forgive you and I have.” I am not ready to see her yet, but I know that in due time, God will also fix that.
Spiritual Warfare
There have been so many obstacles the enemy has tried to place in my way. Satan used my mother, sisters, and other family members, who will not have anything to do with me unless I have something that they need or want. He is currently coming after my children as I lead them down one path; he is trying to pull them down the other. But, as little children, I plead the blood of Jesus Christ over them. I know that God honored my prayer. He has saved my children many times and gives me a sense of peace that passes all understanding when it comes to them.
Sharing God’s Love
There is something about dying and coming back that makes you want to go back to Heaven. I know to do that I have to have God’s help. I have to have God and live His will. Now, I want to share that with all who I come across. Since I am a living witness of the power of God, my purpose is to get that message out.
It is my goal to share what God has done for me, how He loved me when I didn’t even love myself. I want others to know that no matter how bad things look, “Always Choose God.” He cannot and will not lie, He has never let me and my children go without. He blesses us more often than we deserve, and I want to tell everyone my story.
Free ministry training is essential for me because, without it, I would put it off. I have a daughter in college, a son in high school, and a little one in sports. I rarely put myself first, and this would have been one more thing that I pushed aside “until they get older.” This scholarship helps me to get the training and credibility to tell everyone who they are in the Lord Jesus Christ and how much He loves them.
Learn about ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Youth Ministry Christian Leader
My name is Rob Yates, and I am from Greensboro, North Carolina, in the United States of America.
Currently, I am continuing my education at Christian Leaders Institute and hope to become a Youth Ministry Christian leader. My calling is leading teenagers to the Lord. I have always felt a need to lead and work with teenagers. Even while I was a firefighter, I worked with our fire education dept teaching young people the importance of fire prevention and seatbelts. Now, since I am a retired firefighter, is the time for me to pursue this call.
I was saved and baptized at the age of ten and grew up in a Southern Baptist Church. Growing up, I went to Sunday school, VBS, and youth group. I was active in the church but just went through the motions.
Knowing God and Becoming a Youth Ministry Christian Leader
It wasn’t until after being in the fire service for a few years that I truly started to see God and His hand in my life. I knew of God but didn’t KNOW GOD. I was called to serve but ignored that call. Then God called again and again. Still, I ignored the call. This ignoring went on for many years until I started working with our youth at our church. Our pastor approached me and asked me to work with the youth group. He told me that he believed that God was calling me in that direction. That was the push that started the active pursuit of my calling from the Lord.
My dream is to finish the courses here at Christian Leaders Institute and become a youth ministry Christian leader. I would also like to work with the homeless and possibly foster teenagers or recovering teens.
Learn about minister ordination with Christian Leaders Alliance.