Marriage Ministry Training
I’m Brittany Earl from The United States of America, and I have a marriage ministry training dream. I’m married to a United States Marine, and as we have called a lot of places home over the last few years, we are blessed to be back in our home state now. We come from a small town in Arizona, about 100 miles north of Phoenix and 20 miles south of Sedona. Both of those coordinates are important as they have a lot of impact on our tiny community. Between drug trafficking and New Age cults, our town suffers and is nearly divided by the two. I never felt like I belonged to either group, and I thank God for that protection over me.
I was adopted by a couple in Minnesota in my early childhood. They divorced as soon as the adoption was finalized, leaving my mother and me on our own to spend many years shuffling between living with family members and on our own. It was during that time of my life that I was sexually abused by my adopted father. Many people have asked me, “How can you believe in God after going through that?” and it brings me joy today when I’m able to use that window of opportunity to share the Gospel with them.
I didn’t personally seek the Lord until I had my child out of wedlock. I spent many years before that drinking away my problems. I spent years trying to repair myself, but I finally realized I am a breaker, not a maker. I could not make myself whole again when I’m the one that broke myself in the first place. I did not grow up in a Spirit-filled house. My family told me, “You’re a Christian,” but never exemplified what that meant. I didn’t know His love for me personally. I just knew that God was real but never asked further. I didn’t know my God.
In my early twenties, I was in a situation that a good father could’ve saved me from, “If only I had a dad that loved me, I wouldn’t be in this mess.” Then it hit me one day. I do have a father. His name is Jesus, and He’s been protecting me since I was first born to a mother who did not want a child. I thought I had to be a better version of myself before I even spoke to Him. I didn’t know I could ask Him to forgive me. I struggled to accept the fact that He wanted me as I was. Broken and empty. All glory to God!
My goal is to achieve my ministry degree to help people like my mother. She didn’t feel worthy. She didn’t know Jesus at a time in her life when she needed Him the most when we all need Him the most. I now understand that it’s on a daily basis that we need Him most. Over the years of being Born Again, the Lord has placed people in my path that have found salvation through our fellowship and His wisdom. It’s hard work, but I pray for the opportunities to bring people to Christ. I feel like these courses at Christian Leaders Institute will better equip me for present and future encounters.
I would also like to focus on Marriage Ministry training as it has made my marriage flourish. It was my husband that brought me to Christ. I knew if I ever wanted to be at peace and have real joy in my heart, I needed to surrender myself to the Creator of the Universe. There was a void in my heart that only my Lord could fill.
As I ran to Jesus and away from my flesh and those who enabled me along the way, I became isolated from and foreign to the world I once knew. My “friends” completely disappeared from my circle, and I was left with the people I call my family to this day, my church. They accepted my daughter and me with open arms. I thank the Holy Spirit for closing doors for me and opening new ones to guide me and help me grow closer to Him through everything that I do on a daily basis.
As a family of five, I want to be an example to my son and daughters so they do not have to grow up with the hardships that I did and that they know the Lord their entire lives as actually present in their life. CLI has given me a sense of purpose and this opportunity for marriage ministry training. I’m thankful to work hard towards something that I could only wish for before. My wishing has turned into praying and even if I can just bring one person to God, these classes will be more than worth it.
Learn about minister ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Evangelist Training Opportunity
My name is Tiffany Richardson, and I am excited about this evangelist training opportunity with CLI. I was born and raised in a small town in the United States where going into ministry is a definite calling. My dream for ministry is to be an effective Evangelist. I desire to be a humble leader and prayer warrior for my church, denomination, and for Christians worldwide.
This class at Christian Leaders Institute strengthened me tremendously by speaking on the things that matter most to me as a Christian Leader. Transparency, prayer and devotions, and meditation are all crucial. Acknowledging the dark side of leadership and praying to not fall into temptation has helped me to focus and take everything to God in prayer. I pray that I please Him always.
There have been many events in my life that have prompted me to ministry. The first being young and “different” from my peers as I had a direct understanding that God had set me apart for His ministry. I sat on my calling for years, finding it difficult to step into my calling because I was female and young. Then illness took my freedom to do much of anything as I lay in a hospital for three years.
Free Ministry Training
I could never afford to go to Divinity School. So, the opportunity to study at CLI helps me to fulfill my calling into ministry. In my city, there are many opportunities to lead others to Christ and to achieve my ministerial goals. My local church has been gracious to keep me lifted in prayer and encourage me.
I want God to use me in every area of my life to do His will. I desire to use the calling that is on my life to reach the broken, lost, pushed aside, thrown away, lonely, alone, and those who want to use their gifts and talents for God. God has called me to His great work. I agree to His calling with a resounding YES! I am grateful for an opportunity to study to show myself approved unto God!
Learn about minister ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Christian Training Journey
My name is Jamey King and I am on a Christian training journey with my Lord which has led me to CLI. I was born and raised primarily in the small town of Athens, Alabama, USA. My parents were divorced when I was very young. I have only a few memories of them together. My biological mother gained custody of us. She struggled to support us sometimes working three jobs at once. She remarried a very abusive man. They both used drugs, so it was an unstable life. My sisters and I learned first hand what severe abuse does to a child and the path his or her life takes. This abuse started a pattern for me of thinking that I was very bad.
My father fought to gain custody of us. My older sister moved in with him first. My mother did not want the trouble that came with a very hyper nine-year-old son. So she just packed my stuff and took me to him. She ran to Mississippi with my younger sister but was finally tracked down. My sister went to foster care for a while but was eventually placed with my dad too. Our life there was unstable at first, but I remember feeling safe. I loved hunting with my dad and the attention he gave me.
Then my dad remarried, and we had two younger sisters added to our family. There were five of us kids in all, four girls and one boy. Life became stable then, but my dad grew very stern and often violent. I believe he set out on the path of raising normal, capable adults. Unfortunately, we were not normal since we had suffered severe abuse earlier in our lives. Because of this, the home became very unhealthy for all of us.
My father did not hold to the teachings of the Bible. He grew up with an abusive father. He was in the Vietnam war, and he believed in a military type discipline. He destroyed all of our confidence and self-image to make us driven. All of us were driven, right out of his house. No matter what we had to do, all of us worked to become independent. We all went in different directions and began our own families.
I moved out with a friend. We rented a house, and the party life started. This part of my story is hard to tell, so in short, I slept with a woman for all the wrong reasons. But out of that, the Lord created a beautiful daughter’s life. I was young and immature and could not get along with the woman. We went back and forth in a very toxic relationship until she found someone else. I have been in and out of my daughter’s life over the years. We kept it from her mother because she has a severe hatred of me.
Soon after that relationship, I met my wife of twenty-three years now. I needed someone who was gentle, loyal, and safe. I found that in my wife. We soon had a son. I was a proud father, but life changed, and I didn’t. I still wanted to hunt, fish, and run the roads. But that didn’t work. My wife went back to work on second shift. I worked days. Her parents helped watch the kids in the evenings so I could hunt and fish some. I never was much of a drinker or had anything to do with drugs before this time but sitting at home all the time was not good for me. I started drinking every evening.
I found a job in maintenance on the 3rd shift and started going to school full time during the day. Four years later, my daughter was born. I was in construction as an electrician by this time. Drugs were available everywhere. I found pain pills/opiates, and it was all downhill after that. The next chapter of my life dealt with jails, rehabs, and hospitals.
I was not raised in the church and did not have a personal relationship with the Lord. After many years of failing to get sober, I began to study the Bible. I wanted the Lord to come in my life, but addiction had a solid hold on me. I wanted a better life for me and my family, but I did not see how giving up the desires of this world could make me happy. I was selfish.
On February 18, 2016, I gave up and surrendered. I decided I would do my very best to follow God’s words, commandments, and convictions. So I gave my life to my Lord and Savior. I got a new boss. My life began to change on my Christian training journey. I put filthy language off my lips. I became honest. I started a routine of getting up, praying, taking my shower, then going downstairs and reading my Bible while having my coffee. I would usually watch a Dr. Charles Stanley video or something spiritual before work.
The Lord has blessed me immensely. My wife and I now have a very stable and Christian life. My routine has been to read the Bible every day. I now want to learn more on my Christian training journey. I want to serve the Lord better when I witness and be more involved in my church. I don’t feel I have been called to preach, but I do feel the Lord has a plan for me and this program at Christian Leaders Institute is a part of that plan for my Christian training journey.
Learn about ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.