Equipped Leader
More grace to the beloved of the Lord. My name is Derrick Opoka and I am studying at Christian Leaders Institute to be an equipped leader in my home, my church, and my community. I live in Gulu which is located in northern Uganda. I am the third to the last born of the nine children in the family.
My father was the police air-wing engineer at Entebbe International Airport of Uganda. He ran away from work for the fear of his life in 1976, during the dictatorship of the former president Idi Amin Dada. After that, he came back to the village and served in various local leadership roles including parish chairperson up to the time he passed on in June 2018.
All the family members brought up in the Catholic religion believed. In the early years of my school, I studied in a Catholic missionary school until 1991. In my higher level of education, I had to move to Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, for better schooling and also there was a war between the Lord Resistance Army (LRA) rebels and the government. There were serious abductions by the rebels.
When I was in Kampala, my friends invited me to their church called Kampala Pentecostal Church (KPC, now known as Watoto Church). At the end of the service, the pastor made an altar call for the people who wanted to give their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ That is the day in 2001 that I gave my heart to Jesus Christ and that is the time, my journey started with Jesus up to this day. I worked with Watoto Church as the district sound technician. Then after serving for three years, another ministry called Full Harvest started. They requested me to go and support them with their sound department plus train them in sound engineering. My wife and I pastor families and marrieds couples. We have two children, ages six and two, a girl and a boy.
I am pursuing this course at Christian Leaders Institute for my own spiritual benefit and to strengthen the family and marrieds ministry. My prayer is to be an equipped leader so as to equip other servants of God and to walk according to His perfect Will.
Learn about minister ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Youth Leader Ministry Dream
Hello, my name is Morgan Edwards. I am 21 years old and I have a youth leader ministry dream. I am from the United States of America in Valdosta, Georgia. The U.S. is a nation that is quickly falling away from God. Doing ministry work here is not easy, but I count it much joy when I see believers standing firm in their faith. Growing up, God was talked about in my home but I could never grasp the true concept of Him. I remember my parents would study about different religions and denominations.
It was not until my sophomore year of college that I decided to become closer to God. I started studying the Bible for myself and praying to Him. Now I know it was very much a part of His will. Jesus has cleansed me inside and out. As part of my youth leader ministry dream, I desire to create a ministry that can help young people who needed help as I did. It is a horrible thing to be lost in this world.
Christian Leaders Institute has helped strengthen my walk with God by teaching me how to be a leader and to study His word more in-depth. The experience that led me to pursue my youth leader ministry dream the most was my conversion story. The day that I came to the knowledge that I needed a change in my life, I prayed to God. I asked God to allow me to help other young people who may have been lost through depression, drugs, alcohol, and so much more like me. I am up for the challenge, even though I know it will be hard because a lot of people in my area have converted to new age religion or have other doctrines that do not line up with the Bible. I know with God all things are possible though!
In my life, personally connecting with the Bible has brought me much joy. I have learned my identity in Christ and there is no reason for me to be ashamed anymore. The CLI scholarship is so important to me because I will be the first in my family to pursue ministry. This scholarship will be a huge help because I can not afford school financially. Please pray that God waters the seeds that I have sown by helping bring people to the knowledge of Him. To God be the glory!
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