Restorative Ministry
Read here how Mark battled substance abuse for years until he gave his life to Christ and is now committed to Ministry training for work in restorative ministry.
My name is Mark Gee and I’m 38 years old. I live in the United States. I’m a proud dad of 2 daughters ages 16 & 9 and a son who is 3. I work for the United States Government as an Examiner.
A Little About Me and My Life
I am the older of 2 children. My father was from Kentucky where he became a member of the United States Air Force and traveled the world. He eventually settled in Utah and met my mother. They both had been married previously and luckily for me and my younger brother, found each other and were happily married until his passing from cancer when I was just a teenager.
In my grade school-high school years, I was heavily involved in sports such as basketball, baseball and my favorite, football. I played quarterback and really enjoyed competition. But unlike our school’s President Reyenga, in my teenage years, my faith was tested and unfortunately, I was led astray by hanging out with the wrong crowd. I discovered I really liked girls and partying which introduced me to drugs and alcohol.
Conversion
I had so many “rock bottoms” in my addiction when I was asked to leave my house by my wife. I’ve been to jail but luckily never prison. I’ve caused physical, mental and emotional abuses when I would get into a state of high anxiety and stress, causing me to abuse drugs and alcohol to the point of blacking out and having to be told the next day what damage I had caused. When I was sober, I would never do such things, so I still can’t believe the person I had become. The last time I drank myself into a stupor was the time when I found myself kicked out of my house and in my mom’s basement. I was on my knees begging God to take the taste for these things out of my body. I asked God in the name of His Son Jesus to help me and that I was giving myself 100% over to Him to use as He saw fit. Imagine someone who had been abusing substances for almost 2 decades instantly rid of the urges thanks to God’s grace! There’s simply no other explanation! The anxiety and stress that had plagued me for so long were erased at that moment. I instantly felt a wave of peace come over me. It makes me emotional every time I think about it.
Ministry Training
I really don’t have much experience reading the Bible but that’s changing day by day. I also feed my soul by listening to podcasts and going to a local non-denominational church. I felt a calling to search the internet for free Bible training (couldn’t afford to pay tuition at this point in my life). Praise God, I found Christian Leaders Institute and immediately signed up! I can’t explain the excitement I have to get deep into my learning plan! I hope to one day minister to people who were as lost as I was, maybe in restorative ministry. I always believed in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit but like a lot of people assume, I too assumed they’d forgotten about me. I know now that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Learn about minister ordination with Christian Leaders Alliance.
Spiritual Ministry Journey
I am Katrina Lounette Zupan and I have been on a spiritual ministry journey with God. I was born in Oak Ridge, TN, the third child of a loving family who was committed to the Lord through service and love. My parents baptized me in the Episcopal Church at 3 months old. I am sure I remember this, but, since that is not possible, I accredit this memory to the loving story my mother told me with a few b&w photos from 1961.
At the age of 3, I recall vividly, accepting the love of Jesus. This is not a story anyone told me, it’s the story I hold in my heart every day. I remember my parents picking me up from Sunday School and they asked what I learned, and I started to sing “Jesus loves me, this I know, cause the Bible tells me so.” I know I was sealed with the Holy Spirit. When I was 13, a revival came through our church and our family all went to the river and got water baptized.
I recall the moment I accepted the idea that I was not “good enough”. I doubted my faith, I studied other churches and religions, I asked a lot of questions. I prayed a lot. God was my only friend. I journaled and was in continuous conversation with Him for most of my school years. God is good, always.
My life was not without past trauma issues which played out in our family. Drugs and alcohol were introduced to me by my peers at about the age of 14. I lived this way of life until I was 29. Meanwhile, I lost my husband to a bad lifestyle and had a fiance who took me to a worse lifestyle. I asked God to help me, crying in agony. Soon after, I started to get a warming and yearning in my heart on my spiritual ministry journey. I knew I would find relief and comfort in the church. It was hard to bring myself, a whacked-out junkie, to go, but I did. No one rebuked me. I went again, not telling anyone my story.
Then one day, a friend where I worked asked if I wanted to stay at her house. I could share a room with her 1 yr and 10 yr old boys. I agreed. I needed to get out of the situation I was in. In a late night fight with my fiance in the middle of the week, I told him I couldn’t live like that anymore. I got out of the vehicle, in a very bad neighborhood, gave him his ring and walked away. I still don’t know how or where I went, but I know God was with me. I got off of crack/cocaine without any adverse effects from that moment. Done. I walked away.
Very soon after, I met my present husband, set up by a friend on a blind date. We fell in love and eventually got married. We both had good jobs and found a church we loved.
I went to a women’s retreat. I realized I had a very polluted heart with much resentment and un-forgiveness. On the retreat, I got a toothache and became ill. My friend dropped me off at my house on Sunday. When Monday came I was in so much pain I called the dentist. They said there was nothing wrong and suggested a sinus doctor. So I went there on an emergency call. I don’t remember, but maybe I had a sinus infection. I know I went home in so much pain and agony crying out to God.
God came and showed me a vision of Him on a mountain watching over me while I sinned and He had tears in his eyes. I literally fell with my face to the ground sobbing. I was sobbing because I deliberately took actions that I knew He did not approve of, and it was like judgment day. I sobbed and told him I was sorry, and God forgave me. This took days, in my pain and crying to God. He continued to show me what I needed to ask Him to forgive me for and He forgave me all.
As I came out of the illness, I could see the light of God, but there was still darkness inside my heart. There was unforgiveness I was not willing to let go of. But God said, “You need to forgive others, just as I forgave you.” I felt so selfish and said, “YES, of course, I have to forgive.” So I started the process on my spiritual ministry journey. Some happened instantly, some took years. I still today actively work to forgive others daily.
I’ve been married now for more than 25 years to the man God brought into my life. We have had a good life, good careers, and a good relationship with God. I am now ready to work for God on this spiritual ministry journey with Him. He has been good to me and has led me to Christian Leaders Institute. I have the opportunity to learn more at CLI. On my spiritual ministry journey, I want to spend the rest of my life seeking a way to fulfill the purpose for which He created me.
Learn about minister ordination with Christian Leaders Alliance.
God Calling Me to the Ministry
My name is Mark W. Mathis and I have a God calling on my life for ministry. My wife, Debra, and I live in Lindale, Texas. I am the middle child of three. I was raised in a Christian family of leaders, teachers, and preachers going back as far as the civil war, as far as I know. I came to believe in Jesus Christ as my Savior at 9 years of age, and I have ridden the stormy seas of life with God ever since.
It was several years back that I heard God calling me to the ministry. I began looking into online seminaries and Bible schools. As I was talking to God, I told Him I could make time for studies but could not afford the training. However, I knew when God was ready for me to train, He would make the money available. Three days later, I came across Christian Leaders Institute and your scholarship program. I knew right away it was God’s hand at work showing me the way to receive free ministry training.
It was not until recently that I began talking with a local pastor I hold in high regards about this God calling on my life. He was the one that started talking about a meeting schedule and possible others to meet with at the same time as mentors for me. To my shock and amazement, he told me it was time to step into my position in ministry and that it was long overdue.
Thank you to Christian Leaders Institute for this opportunity for free training without which I would not be able to afford to study to prepare for the ministry.
Learn about ordained minister study programs and local ecuministry ordinations with Christian Leaders Alliance.