Debt Free College Degree at CLI
Blessings in Christ to the wonderful president, students, staff in general, professors, and ALL the body that makes a debt free college degree at Christian Leaders Institute possible. My name is Angel Luis Gerena, Sr. I live in Chicago, Illinois, USA. I am originally from Puerto Rico. At the age of nine, I came to Chicago, and I have been a resident here ever since.
I am so grateful that I found the Christian Leaders Institute because I had been looking for a college for a few years until now. I was depressed and feeling like I wasn’t able to find an Institute or College that would accept me and also be reasonably priced. However, now I have found a Family, who are great brothers and sisters. These are people whom I didn’t even know existed, and they treat me as if they knew me for years.
Doctorate in Theology Goal
I am an experienced musician, composer, recording engineer for 45 years, and studio owner, now retired. I play guitar, some keyboard, Puerto Rican cuatro, and minor Latin percussion.
My long term educational goal is to get my Doctorate in Theology. With God, all things are POSSIBLE. I know the Holy Spirit will help me with intelligence and knowledge for He has done it before. I am doing this because I believe God still has a mission for me on this earth; my work here is NOT finished. Christian Leaders Institute will guide my steps on this long journey and teach me the steps I must follow to make it to that Doctorate in Theology.
I gave my life to Jesus at the age of 12, and I plan to serve him until my last breath. I will go where He leads me and do what He shows me to do. In Jesus name, Amen.
Learn about ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.
My name is Janine Bower (Parslow). I am 47 years young and live in Perth Western Australia. I belong to a beautiful Christian community part of a church not far from home. This community is very accepting of people of all races, backgrounds and abilities, and people are encouraged to participate and explore their individual gifts.
Early Life
I was born in England on 30th June 1972 to two loving parents.
As was the standard then, I was Christened into the Church of England as a baby. My mum would say a prayer at night when she tucked me into bed and good values were role modeled and encouraged, however, that is is the extent of my Christian experience at home.
At the age of seven, I had my first spiritual experience. My grandmother who I was very close to died which devastated me. A few days later she appeared to me at the door of my room. This for a seven-year old was a bit scary.
Anyway, in high school, we received religious education and my aunt occasionally took me to her church and Sunday school there. I loved the church but was not so keen on Sunday school- I was a strange child! What I didn’t know was at this time God was not only working on me but my mother as well.
Challenging God
I was about 13 and had continued my nightly prayer since a young child, but it seemed empty and meaningless, and I was wondering if God was really there. I decided to challenge God and said these words “God if you really exist I need to know. If you are there you can do anything so I know you could move my wardrobe from where it is to the other side of my room by the time I wake up. If you don’t I will stop talking to you. Amen”. Looking back I don’t know how I dared to challenge God, but that’s what I did. The next morning I was disappointed and resolved not to say my prayers anymore.
God Showed Up
That night I went to bed still disappointed as I desperately wanted God to be real, so I decided to give him a second chance. However, when I opened my mouth to say the same prayer I had for many years the words had gone. I could not remember them for anything. Instead, a more meaningful prayer came out my mouth and I felt an amazing connection to God- the presence of the Holy Spirit. I thanked God for answering my request and realized from that point on that God always answers your prayers, even if it’s not in the way you expect.
Early Leader Experiences
By aged 14 I was going to church regularly and so was my mother and sister. After a while, my dad started to come with us as well. God was working on my whole family. At 15 I was confirmed into the Church of England, and soon after we emigrated to Australia.
We attended the local Anglican Church and I joined the youth group.
After three years I became a youth leader and was invited to sit on the Church council. This was the first time a young person had ever been invited and was the result of trying to bridge the gap between young and old in the church and give youth a more active role.
From this point on I was seen as a leader and trusted confidant by both youth and adults in the church. I loved God and wanted to share that love with others.
I got married and we moved to a different suburb and therefore church. Before long I was a youth leader and heavily involved in the church. I was also studying to be a Social Worker.
During my training, God very clearly told me I would be needing the skills learned in this course but I would not be a Social Worker. God handed me the Sword of his Word. I remember going to pick it up and it was extremely heavy. It took two hands to lift it and accept His calling.
I was recommended to be Chaplain at the High School and began my ministry journey.
A year later my priest recommended me to the Anglican Church as a candidate for ordination and I commenced their discernment process prior to being accepted.
Trials and Sidetracks
Unfortunately, at this point in my life I and my baby were subject to domestic violence and my world fell apart. I had to stop everything I was doing and get to safety. I was soon divorced and a single mother.
For the next several years I struggled to raise two children just one year apart, one of whom had Autism. I raised them as Christians, keeping God at the center of our home, discussions, and schooling.
After 13 years I fell in love and remarried, but had chosen to ignore Gods word on my choice of partner. I thought he was a backslidden Christian as he had been christened and attended Sunday school. He was happy to talk about faith and had questions about God, attended church with me on a few occasions and let me say grace even at his house.
Once married this changed. He sabotaged my going to church, banned grace every day and declared himself to be an atheist.
New Beginnings for Women Revival Leaders are Being Raised Up!
It has taken four year and chronic illness to bring me to where I am today.
I again have my close relationship with God and have drawn a line in regards to my faith and my husband. God again has re-affirmed my calling to ministry and confirmed it through a third person.
I am armed and in the midst of a spiritual war but winning thanks to Jesus.
My spiritual dream has always been to have a hug from Jesus and sit at his feet, but that privilege would be for God to grant and I pray I am found worthy enough to do so.
I have come to the Christian Leaders Institute as my husband would not let me spend money on training to be a minister.
I am so thankful and humbled to have been lead to the institute, and for the time and effort put into making this training accessible.
I hope to use this to minister to others but how is not yet clear. I did have a God encounter a couple of days ago with a hospital chaplain who has requested to meet me and discuss volunteering in the hospital as a Chaplain. I will pray over this as
I believe this may be a starting point for me.
Free Online Australia Bible Training
Sarah has an opportunity to study Free Online Australia Bible Training by simply enrolling here. Christian Leaders Institute offers over 70 free courses. If you are interested in a College program, check out CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
Free Australia Ministry Training
My name is Sarah. and I live in a beautiful part of Australia close to some of the world’s most beautiful beaches and rainforests. I live with my husband and have six amazing children (yes, you read correctly). How did I get to a place that I would be seeking out Free Australia Ministry Training with Christian Leaders Institute?
The Story Begins
I grew up in an extremely dysfunctional and abusive home where my parents claimed to know God but lived under the influence of Satan. My mother was absent for much of the time and lived a separate life as a prostitute. My father was an alcoholic who abused my siblings and me for many years. We lived in the country, very isolated and neglected. Most of the time we were starving and dirty. No one truly knew our horrible situation.
When I was eight, I visited my grandmother who was a very beautiful, godly woman. She told me about the love of God and brought me my first Bible. I cherished it and the word of God sunk deeply into my starving heart. I knew God was true and always kept the Bible close to me, but I didn’t realize the depth of His love for me and that He wanted a relationship with me.
When I was 14, my father went to prison. We were sent to live in a youth hostel where we met the wrong children and were influenced badly. I found myself pregnant at aged 16 and desperately tried to make things work with the father. However, after four years in an abusive relationship full of deceit, drugs, and affairs, I found myself in such a desperate situation that I felt I had no way out.
God’s Grace Saved Me
I knew something had to change. I cried out to God and dared Him to prove Himself to me. Even though I gave Him only two weeks to do it, every day I read the Bible and prayed. Then at the end of the two weeks, I felt an inner strength rise up within me. For the first time, God’s love became real to me, I knew He had a plan for me, a hope and a future. God’s grace saved me, and I left the situation. I grew in strength and faith more and more. Soon I was baptized and never looked back. That was almost 22 years ago.
A Twist in the Road
A few years later, I met my late husband. He had been saved from a life of drugs and alcohol and was a new Christian on fire for God. I didn’t give it long enough to get to know him, we were married soon and after about a year of marriage when I was 7 months pregnant he began to be physically abusive, I was petrified, too scared to leave. I suffered from extreme panic attacks. It was like being married to two different people.. one-minute he was the loving man I married and the next like the devil himself. I sought help from the church and different leaders and all I heard was how God hates divorce and not to mess with God’s anointed.
This led to 16 years of being in an abusive relationship. He moved us around and things slowly got more intense. I almost losing my faith and my children lost theirs. In my most desperate time, I cried out to God and told Him I couldn’t leave (I knew I could not escape him). I begged God to take Him out of our life somehow. I don’t know if it was in answer to my prayer, but God did. Seven months later my husband passed away from brain cancer which was heartbreaking but relieving also for me and my five children – the youngest was less than 1 year old. Though we loved him dearly, God knew we could not go on, and I believe out of His great mercy He saved us.
God Launches a Christian Leader
Finally, I was free. So, I said to myself, “No more will I allow myself to be under anyone’s control.” I vowed never to marry again and to devote the rest of my life to serving my Lord and loving my children. I grew in strength again. Also in this time, I finally realized what I wanted to be when I grew up, what my spiritual dream was, what my calling is. My heart’s desire is to be an author and speaker and life coach/counselor. I aim to start by finishing my Bachelor in Ministry and go from there.
Fast forward four years, I find myself married to the most amazing man. He pushed his way into my crazy life and his love is healing my broken heart. The way he loves us is such a pure reflection of the love of God, and bit by bit we are becoming whole. We have recently celebrated the birth of our son Noah, our little promise of joy. Never did I believe a love like this existed, especially not for me. But no matter how much I struggle to accept this love, I am a living testimony of how God doesn’t just save but He restores! He is truly restoring all the years the locusts have eaten, all the years the enemy has tried to destroy me and render me useless to the Kingdom of God. God’s love is truly ALL CONQUERING.
God Makes All Things Beautiful
I have led a life full of suffering, more than many people have experienced. However, through this, I know that I know that I know that God uses our suffering to refine us. It removes all of “SELF’ so what is seen is only a reflection of Him. Suffering does not mean God is angry with us or that He has left us. No, God allows us to suffer because He loves us. I believe this suffering in my life fueled my intense calling to ministry. God give me the strength to endure such cruelty and now He gave me the happily ever after I never knew I wanted.
My prayer for you is that you would not lose hope in the face of suffering, truly, God is our rock we can cling to, our hiding place in times of trouble. There is no other way to endure but through His grace.
Now, God has led me to CLI for ministry and life coach training. Thank God for CLI. God bless you my brothers and sisters in Christ as you seek to serve Him.
Free Australia Ministry Training
Sarah has an opportunity to study Free Australia Ministry Training by simply enrolling here. Christian Leaders Institute offers over 70 free courses. If you are interested in a College program, check out CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.