Ministry Calling Adventure
I’m Baffour Appiah – Kubi, known to many as Nana Kwame Appiah. I’m a Ghanaian and currently residing in the Capital town of Ghana, Accra. My life and journey with the Lord Jesus have been an amazing ministry calling adventure.
Early Life
I’m the last born of six siblings although we were initially 8. I didn’t meet two of my siblings as they died before my birth. According to my mother, after giving birth to so many children, she had abnormal pains in her womb. Therefore, she decided to seek prayers from one of the leaders of a Christian movement called New Life Mission, of which she was a member. She requested that God should close her womb so that she would not give birth again after her seventh child.
However, after the leader prayed for her, he gave her a prophetic word. It was that God says she will give birth to yet another child who will continue where she ended with her ministry work. Now, although she received this word, she, however, was not ready for another child in her heart. This prophecy was about two years before my birth.
After a time, she was three months pregnant without taking notice of her body changes because the pains in her womb were excessive. When she went to consult a doctor at the hospital, she learned that she was about three months pregnant. Since the pains in her womb were too much for her to bear, a surgery was conducted on her to resolve the problem. It became a sharp disagreement between the medical staff as to whether to abort the baby or not. The leader of the team stood his ground, and I was not aborted. After some months, she gave birth to me on a Saturday at dawn in November.
The Start of My Ministry Calling Adventure
Having a mother and father who were ministers of the gospel has its advantages. For me, it had the opportunity to travel with them to the villages and towns where they preached. Most often, I got to either sing and play drums or recite some Bible verses. This travel time was my exposure to ministry. I grew up involved in ministry work but was not born again until I was in basic school class two. It was in the third term that I gave my life to the Lord. It was November of 1992, at the full gospel business men’s fellowship one Saturday during a breakfast meeting.
Three months before my conversion, my parents separated, and life became tough for my siblings and I. Along the way, mum quit her job as a teacher, and she gave her whole life to the work of ministry. Hence, money for our basic needs became an issue for us, and it even affected our education. It was around this rough period that I became very conscious of God’s calling in 1996. That year also marks the year I became involved with Christian leadership on my ministry calling adventure. Since then, I worked in Christian leadership and training others. I quit my job, and I gave my time entirely to the work of God.
Study Opportunity on My Ministry Calling Adventure
It all began when I was in my final semester while I pursued a High National Diploma in Marketing at Takoradi Technical University, Ghana, in 2006. I heard God’s voice instructing me to give attention entirely to His work after my National Service. However, because of financial issues, I didn’t obey the voice of God.
So, for seven years, beginning in 2007, after school, I looked for a job to no avail. I also tried getting my first degree outside Ghana, but it didn’t work. All this while, God’s voice was still pursuing me. I wanted to work and do the work of ministry at the same time. But the Lord wanted me to focus only on His work. Finally, in 2013, after another failed attempt to travel outside Ghana to study, I finally gave in.
It has not been easy for me because I had no sponsoring church. I had to rely solely on God for every need. The fantastic thing is that from August 1, 2013, until now I have not looked back. Although the financial challenges are there, God has not left me alone. He always makes way for me.
I joined the Christian Leaders Institute because I want to broaden my view of Christian leadership training. I believe the experience I gain here will impact my ministry and mandate to train and raise other leaders. During and after the training with CLI, I plan to continue with my ministry work.
Learn about ordination options at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Enterprise Ministry
This is my story of how God brought me to my enterprise ministry calling. I grew up in southern California, during a time when people declared peace and free love. They tried to open their minds with drugs and called it free thought. When I was eight, I collected bracelets with the names of solder’s missing in action somewhere called Vietnam. In the midst of it all, Jesus was pursuing me. Someone invited me to AWANA, and, although I was not from a Christian home, I regularly attended by God’s grace. I had a neighbor, family friend, or church member volunteer to get me there and back home. One day, I received my own Bible at the bus stop. I did not know God, but I came to love and serve him.
By the time I was eighteen, I had learned some Bible verses and about the kindness of Jesus, but I was still not sure where I fit in. I hadn’t gone to church for a few years and became compelled to attend. I was licensed to drive and recruited some unsaved friends to tag along. They slept in the pew at a Baptist Church, while I was on the edge of my seat. I wanted more of Jesus. Later that year, I was baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit at that same time. My church didn’t believe in that, so my friends and I moved on. In the meantime, Jesus showed me my life was like death. So, I started to live for Him – my heart transformed that day. I became friends with other Christians, found a Spirit-filled church, and sensed a calling and a purpose for my life.
Enterprise Ministry Dream
Many beautiful things have occurred during my walk with Christ as well as some tragedy. I am stronger in enduring the journey with God’s love and his Holy Spirit to guide me. These past two years, I have seen God directing and leading me in knowledge and grace. Now, I see He is leading me to serve others in enterprise ministry. He has brought me to the Christian Leaders Institute for further study. I want to complete my degree in Business Enterprise. I work in an established business, and now I consider it part of my ministry training field.
Learn about ordination with Christian Leaders Alliance.
South Africa Ministry Journey
My name is David Mukendi Kande. I’m currently residing in Johannesburg, South Africa but am originally from Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This South Africa ministry journey to being a Christian leader has been both exciting and challenging at the same time. My serving and leading people since I was 15 years old have been the best times for me. I went through a tough time when I was attacked by my local church because people felt as though I wanted to start a church. It wasn’t even the case. I have a heart for the youth and gathered them for the purpose of preparing them for service to Christ.
Early Years
I met him for the first time when I was 12 years old. My childhood was rough and yet very spiritually ordained. My mom sold fat cake so I could go to school. I had a few friends from my classmates at school and one best friend. My schooling was at a Christian school from grades 4 – 6, then we relocated to come to South Africa. I joined the Youth Band at church in 2015, and that’s how I started serving at my local church. Already a churchgoer from a very young age, my relationship with the Lord was not as deep as it is now.
I was 13 years when I first came to know the Lord in 2004. However, I received baptism the following year in June 2005. Then, I finally started pursuing my relationship with the Lord in earnest. In 2007 after the death of a very good friend of mine, I spoke in tongues for the first time and that deepened my relationship with the Holy Spirit.
Spiritual DReam and Obstacles Faced
My spiritual dream is first to know God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ in the most intimate way. Second, I love serving people and seeing them grow into mighty women and men of God with great passion. Also, I would like to build a center that will take in the homeless and invest in them so they can become servants of the God that I believe in and serve.
In terms of obstacles, my age played a huge role as an obstacle, especially in my church community and society. It is generally very difficult for a young man with a calling to be accepted and given a platform to serve freely. Another obstacle was to abstain from sexual relationships before marriage while being young still not married and not in a relationship either. In this maturity journey, I’ve learned to differentiate between ministry love and romance to avoid some of my previous errors.
Growing on my South Africa Ministry Journey
Many events have happened in my life that humbled me. Once, I was falsely at church. During this time, I wanted nothing else but to defend myself. That’s when the Lord clearly said to me, “If you defend yourself, then you are doing my work and I will have nothing to do for you.” That realization humbled me and made me want God even more. For a time, I rebelled against God, because I struggled with my finances. When I returned to the Lord, I received an invitation to minister in a youth event. There God used me mightily in his power and ministration of the Word of God.
I grew closer to God when I lost my elder sister in December of 2018 while I was at church praying for her healing. After that, I had to rediscover God from point zero. Jesus Christ became real to me as my Savior when I was 21 years old when I discovered the message of grace. It made more sense to me why Jesus Christ came to die for me and reconcile me to the Father. That’s also when I understood my sonship in the kingdom.
Free Ministry Training at CLI
As I mentioned earlier on, I desire to one day lead a Christian Bible School. This desire is the very reason why I’m taking the free ministry training at Christian Leaders Institute. I believe that you can not take people where you have never been. Therefore, with the knowledge I receive from CLI, I wish to impact and impart the same to others for the advancement of the kingdom of God.
Financially things have not been easy for me, but I hunger to study theology. The credibility of the knowledge and qualification gain with CLI will also back me up when I’m presented before men. Therefore, it is necessary for this training to be free, and not just for me, but also for many others with the same hunger and no financial freedom to invest in such education. Thank you for this opportunity to tell my South Africa ministry journey to this free ministry training at CLI.
Learn about ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.