“I am fascinated with the curriculum CLI provides. With each class, I find myself more immersed in my Chaplain calling.”
My Journey – My Chaplain Calling
My name is Arlene I. Salcedo, and I have a Chaplain calling on my life. I am married to Asdrúbal Salcedo, and we live in Valrico, Florida.
Early Life and Conversion
I am the eldest of three children, all females. I was born in 1968 in Puerto Rico. From an early age, my parents, who were college professors, stressed to me the importance of living a life of faith and prayer, reading the Bible, and having a personal relationship with Jesus as my personal Savior. At the age of eleven, I gave my heart to Christ and was baptized.
Calling to Ministry
At sixteen I received a calling for ministry, but being immature I postponed it, although I continued to live a life around the three principles my parents instilled in me. I graduated with a B.A. in Business Administration from the Inter American University of Puerto Rico, the Christian institution my parents worked for. Later on, I pursued a Juris Doctor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico.
In 2010, I fully surrendered my life and will to our Lord. This same year God told me that I had to move to Florida. After prayer and confirmation from my pastor, I sold what I could, gave away the rest to charity and relocated.
My faith was tested on multiple occasions as I went through divorces, infertility, unemployment, and sickness.
Ministry Training
From 2011 through 2015, I studied Theology online through Seminario Reina Valera (I confess I have yet to request my diploma.) From 2011 on I have dedicated most of my spare time to reading the Bible and enriching my spiritual life.
My renewed calling to ministry and CLI
Throughout my life, I enjoyed taking care of the ill in the family. I also enjoyed assisting friends during their convalescing. In 2018, our mighty God called me to be a Chaplain minister to the sick. After much prayer and confirmation from my pastors, I started to research about online training to fulfill my calling and God blessed me with finding Christian Leaders Institute.
I am fascinated with the curriculum CLI provides. With each class, I find myself more immersed in my calling. The course Ministry 101 is so interesting and comprehensive! The professors are very knowledgeable and the resources presented are vital for any practicing Minister or Minister to be.
My husband and I are members of New Testament Church of Brandon, where my calling has been welcomed and supported. My pastors are two of my mentors and they have given me opportunities to learn and serve.
CLI has been instrumental in my development as a Christian leader. The scholarship CLI granted me is the only way in which I could have pursued my dream of formally educating for a ministry. Being disabled and unemployed, I could not have afforded the education by traditional means. Thank you, CLI!!
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Christian Leaders Journey
My name is Harvey Fry. I grew up in central Pennsylvania in the USA in a church attending family. After high school, I joined the Marines. Upon my return, I worked as a forklift driver at a warehouse. One of my coworkers had a strong relationship with Christ and witnessed to me. In 1979, his words and God finally got through and I became a born-again Christian. I started attending a local church on my Christian leaders journey. This is where I met my wife of 30 years, Patti, and we have three children.
In February 1994 during a Sunday evening church service, I responded to an altar time and God spoke to my heart calling me into ministry. In 1997, I took early retirement from the warehouse to pursue my ministry calling of being a pastor on my Christian leaders journey. In September 2002, I was elected Pastor of my first (and thus far) only church. In the summer of 2008, I felt God had other plans for me and my family so, after five and a half years of ministry, I resigned my pastoral position. Though guest speaking at other churches, I haven’t accepted any full-time pastorships for 8 years and thought that some new learning and further education would be the next step before returning to the ministry of my calling.
Starting in 1984, I have participated in numerous missions trips to various countries outside of the United States as well as several youth work camps around the United States. Over the years on my Christian leaders journey, I have found myself back in warehouses working to provide for my family, which is where I am at the present time. The calling on my heart for full-time ministry in a pastoral setting is still the core of my desires, and hopefully, the Christian Leaders Institute Basics Certificate will assist that dream. The ease of working and learning online when there are no nearby Christian college campuses really supported my decision in choosing Christian Leaders Institute.
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Grace Saved through Christ
My name is Micah Staples. I am grace saved (Ephesians 2:8) as are all of the people who have submitted their lives to Christ. I am not perfect by any measure, however, I have found myself desiring more depth in my knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. The Lord has taken great care of me from an early age and I owe Him my loyalty because of His love and his death on the cross for me. (Luke 23:44)
Both of my parents are grace saved Christian, however, it was not always like that. At the age of approximately 5, my father left our family and eventually came to know Christ. We know that “all things work together for the good of them that love God and are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
It was pleasant bliss as a child, but growing up I learned that some things you wished to know about your past could best be taught by your actual Dad. I have stayed in contact with my father as he has given his life to Christ completely and unashamedly after his exit from our family. The entire length of my life, via telecommunications and infrequent visits I have kept in touch with this grace saved man and seen growth and maturity in him.
Many people have noted the success of my mother in raising such an ornery child and they would be partially right. My life has been filled with hills and crevices, challenges and victories, pitfalls and successes. My mother has done her part to put me on the right track and for that I commend her. I have been raised in an interesting dynamic being the son of divorced parents who found themselves able to commit to the Lord at different times in their life. My mother was ready earlier in her life and my father took more time and discipline and ultimately lost out on the family because of his long journey to the cross of Christ.
My father has since become a grace saved man of God and I am thankful for him. At the same time, a life without a father sometimes is cold and lonely as you wish to be accepted wholeheartedly by who you know you came from and the acceptance of others no matter how well the intentions are doesn’t meet the “you’re not here for my mother threshold.”
Thankfully, both my mother and father supported me going to a church that taught me all about God through the Word and invested limitless resources in my education of the scripture.
My pastor of many years taught me a lot before his death approximately 13 years ago. I miss him very much but wish to hold on to what he taught me – to be a real grace saved man of God and not a slave to the flesh or the things of this world anymore. (Romans 6:20)
My goal is to reach out to as many as possible in Jesus’ name and provide solace to as many as possible. I want to be a witness to the Fire of The Lord when He chooses to move. I am thankful to Christian Leaders Institute as I am stateside and can take advantage of this opportunity. I hope to minister to the desire of the hearts of fellow believers that the lost do not go unmet due to a famine of the Word. (Amos 8:11) God bless you and thank you for your prayers on this lifelong journey. “Truly the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few.” (Matthew 9-37)
Learn about Ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.