Read how leadership training at Christian Leaders Institute is blessing this pastor as he serves his local church.
Leadership Training at CLI
But Moses replied to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent — either in the past or recently or since you have been speaking to your servant — because my mouth and my tongue are sluggish.”
11 The Lord said to him, “Who placed a mouth on humans? Who makes a person mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go! I will help you speak, and I will teach you what to say.”
13 Moses said, “Please, Lord, send someone else.” — Exodus 4:10-13 (CSB)
This was me! I knew I was called to the ministry from the time I was saved at three years old. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Joshua Sylvester, and I am from the USA in a little town in rural Missouri called Iberia. Currently, I am pursuing leadership training at Christian Leaders Institute.
College Study and Military Service
When I began actively looking to the future and deciding where I would go to college, I thought that what I experienced at my conversion was just childish thinking. Ironic, since at that time, I was still a child in thought at least. Like most teenagers, I thought that I knew what was best for me better than anyone else, including God.
I spent one year in college and decided I wasn’t ready and needed more discipline. I knew that the best place for me to get the discipline that I wanted was the military. Therefore, I joined the USAF as a linguist. I will say a couple of things about that experience. God used it to open my eyes to the gift He gave me for languages. It was also the time a thorn in the flesh was given to me.
Military life is not easy. There is always someone telling you what to do. Even if they are not actively telling you, there are many rules and regulations that you are held accountable for knowing and keeping. There is always someone ready to fault you if you break a rule or regulation. The stress got to me, and I told God that I did not want to be a Christian any longer. God did not accept that proposition, and according to Proverbs 3:12 and Hebrews 12:6, God disciplined me. He allowed me to get an autoimmune disorder called Ulcerative Colitis. It is painful and permanent. Therefore, I see it as my thorn in the flesh. It is a reminder of where I came from and what I am called to do.
Spiritual Growth and Study at CLI
Through that experience, I grew in my knowledge and faith. I grew closer to God than I had ever been before. I still strive to continue to grow closer to Him through knowledge and faith. That is why I chose the Christian Leaders Institute for my ministry leadership training.
I am now a pastor, praise God! I am the Pastor of Family Discipleship at First Baptist Church in Iberia, Missouri. Coming into this position, I not only had to integrate into the leadership that was already in place, but I helped create this position to start a family discipleship ministry. So I am building a leadership team while becoming a part of a leadership team.
That is the reason that I took the leadership training class at CLI at this time. I wanted to do my best to be part of the church leadership and help bring the vision of the church to fruition. This leadership training class has helped me with that tremendously. A couple of things, in particular, have come at the right time in God’s sovereign way.
Leadership Training Application
First was leading through change. The church I am part of has been here for 175 years. They have a rich tradition, and change is hard for them. We (the leadership) have to introduce change in a way that alters small things slowly, so they see a need for more substantial change. The leadership training class at CLI has been beneficial with tips and strategies to get the church on board with our vision for discipling the whole family starting at home.
The second way the leadership training class helped is in dealing with conflict. There is one particular person in leadership that has refused to see the need for this position, and the need for the vision as a whole. He thinks things are beautiful the way they are and doesn’t want to change. The senior pastor and I have both talked to him. We are praying that God will change his heart. Therefore, we wait on God’s timing and see if this particular leader has heart change or if he will leave. The rest of the leadership team believes that this is what God is calling this church to do, and we already have seen the “first fruits” of the work.
Leadership Training and Ministry Opportunities
I thank God for this opportunity that He has given me. I am looking forward to the work that is in store for the future. We will be starting a couple of clubs in the local public schools to introduce kids to God, Christ, and the Church. So, we are hoping that this will bring more families into our church.
We are also starting a parent’s small group to share our struggles, to know that we are not alone in them, and to learn the Biblical way to parent. Our goal is to get the church as a whole, and parents, in particular, to see that discipleship starts at home. The church is here to partner with them and not just do the discipling for them.
We offer instruction in all facets of our ministry. From beginning to end, we are building a cohesive program to focus on making disciples who will make disciples.
Learn about ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Peer Support Coach Ministry
My name is Deborah Wright, and I am called to a Peer Support Coach Ministry. I was born in Detroit, Michigan, and moved to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1976, where I finished school and continue to reside. There are many opportunities for Christian leaders in my community, not just in the Church but also including some secular opportunities in the behavioral health and crisis shelter venues. These are examples of where my calling lies.
Early Years
I grew up in a broken, single-parent home where substance abuse was prevalent. I am eternally grateful for my great grandmother. She provided a children’s Bible and taught me prayers when I was a young child. Although my parents were not Christian, I did have the opportunity to attend Sunday School at a local Nazarene church in Michigan. It was there I approached the altar and asked our Lord Jesus to save me. I was 11 or 12 years old.
After moving to Arizona, life became unstable. As I entered puberty, I was always getting into trouble. Drug and alcohol abuse are critical factors to the sinful life I was living well into my early adulthood.
Change in Christ
At about age 33, I was in crisis. I had managed to destroy my marriage, my career, my friendships, and my family relationships. I also had nearly died of a drug overdose. It was then that Jesus sent someone into my life. A former co-worker that was also an ordained Christian minister invited me to church, and my life began to turn around! I am still amazed at the power of God’s love and the many miracles He has done on my behalf!
It was a long, hard walk to recovery, but I am free from drugs for over 24 years now! If not for the power of the Holy Spirit and having “eyes to see” how faithfully and powerfully the Lord worked on my behalf, I would not have made it.
My spiritual dream is to take my testimony of God’s love and salvation to hurting women and young people that are struggling with their recovery process. Jesus wants me to walk among these hurting souls as He did when He walked the Earth centuries ago. I am to minister love, hope, acceptance, and healing to the broken. Our Lord Jesus will go with me to reach out to those that desperately need Him.
Free Ministry Training at CLI
I am very thankful for the Christian Leaders Institute free ministry training. It will help me be the best ambassador for Christ that I can be in pursuing my spiritual dream and my calling. The CLI study program is such a blessing. I am thankful to be receiving quality ministry training free of charge since I will need to pay to become certified in the State of Arizona to work, volunteer, or serve in behavioral health and domestic crisis centers. I will work in what is known as a Peer Support Coach Ministry.
Peer Support Coaches are people with lived experience with addictions and successful recovery in their own lives. They work with people struggling with their recovery. I have a great desire to do this and to share my testimony and relationship with the Lord as well. I still have much work to do to prepare before stepping into this Peer Support Coach ministry, but God willing, it will happen.
“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” (Proverbs 19:21 NIV)
Learn about ordination opportunities at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Online Bible Training in Las Vegas
My name is Donald L. Lowery, and I am receiving free online Bible training at CLI. I am from the state of Pennsylvania and the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, in the USA. I currently live in Henderson, Nevada, which is ten miles south-east of Las Vegas.
The Lord brought me to Vegas after I served fourteen years in the U.S Navy. The Lord planted me in a beautiful church named Remnant Ministries. Here, I’ve had the pleasure to serve the Lord in the youth ministry department and drama ministry. Currently, I serve the Lord in the media ministry.
Being a child of God in a city that’s known as the “city of sin” has its challenges all of its own. That’s why I believe the Lord sent me here, and my heart is for the church of tomorrow and the youth. The youth, especially here in Vegas, need someone willing to stand in the gap for them.
Young Life
I grew up in the church serving the Lord from my youth. My parents always made sure that I and my two brothers and two sisters went to church even if they didn’t make it. Growing up, none of my friends went to church so sometimes we didn’t want to go. However, one of the rules at our house was no church, no outside. Therefore, every Sunday, I was in church.
About the time I became a teenager, the Muslim faith rushed through my neighborhood like a storm, and when the storm clouds rolled back, many of my friends were practicing Muslims. It was hard enough being a kid from the south with a speech problem, and the only kid that was a Christian; now, my friends became Muslim. It seemed I was back on the outside looking in. But, I realize now that it was God separating me for his purpose and His plan for my life.
God Spoke
Even though I grew up in the church, my journey to know the Lord started after I left my parents’ home. I remember the moment like it was yesterday. I was in a night club in San Diego, and my friends just purchased another round of drinks. Plans were set for an afterparty. I was living “the life.” Then it happened. The music stopped. Everyone was still talking, but I didn’t hear them anymore. I heard a voice say, “It’s time to come home.” I looked around to see who was talking to me, but I didn’t see anyone. The same voice said, “The time is now.” At that moment, I got up from the table I was sitting at and went home. Soberer than I had ever been in my life, my mind was clear and calm. For the first time in my life, I was afraid.
Now don’t get me wrong. I have been scared before, but I never feared anything, nor any person. However, I didn’t know what respect was until the fear of the Lord came into my life that night. That night in that club, thinking I was living, the Lord came and saved me from the death that was surrounding me.
Spiritual Dream
My spiritual dream is simple: to reach the lost that don’t know they are lost. There is nothing sadder than to see someone who is broken and doesn’t know it. One of the biggest obstacles I faced in my growth into a more mature man of God is facing the man in the mirror, myself. I thought that if I’m a good person, then I’m okay with God. Even a sinner can do the right thing and can make good decisions, but I asked myself, “Are you in the will of God?”
Since I have aligned my will with the will of God, everything I do gives me the joy of God. The outcome of things is no longer critical. My goal is to stay in the will of God and know Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”
God became real to me that day I accepted Him as my Lord and Savior. That day, I stopped holding back and just let go and let God. God loves me. Jesus stands in the gap between the Father and me, so I can come to Him in my sinful state and ask for forgiveness for my sins.
Online Bible Training at Christian Leaders Institute
My hope and prayer are that I have a closer walk with God. Through the online Bible training here at Christian Leaders Institute, I hope to gain better understanding and insight into God’s word. I will be equipped to go out and make disciples of Christ, my Lord, and Savior. CLI provides free online Bible training for those that are not in a position to pay for it. To receive this training is a blessing from God. He is using his people to help those who have the same desire to know him more intimately and to be able to do so with a financial blessing.
Learn about ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.