Associate Pastor
My name is Anthony L. Francia and I am an Associate Pastor at my church. I am 46 years old and I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States of America. My testimony begins when I was 15 years old. We moved to a crime-ridden part of town and when I went to school I started to get into drinking and smoking just to fit in. I rebelled against my parents and moved out as soon as I went to high school. By the time I was 21 years old, I was addicted to cocaine, marijuana, and pills. I was committing crimes to pay for my habit. When I was 24 years old, I moved to Denver, Colorado to try to get away from the life that I was living, but little did I know that without God it would get worse. The next thing I knew, I was selling cocaine and other drugs to feed my own addiction.
Well, my life got worse and I stole a car to go back to Albuquerque. I was then introduced to methamphetamines. I was helping people make this drug. To make a long story short, all the meth dealers were suddenly arrested and I had no one to get drugs from. So I tried to cook them myself and I was successful. One day when I was supposed to be moving out of the house we were renting, the landlord came to check on the house to see if we were out yet and when he knocked on the door I was asleep. He checked the door and it was open. When he looked in, he saw the meth-lab and all the drugs in the house and called the police.
When I was in jail, I gave my life to Jesus. With all the charges I had, my attorney said that my sentence could be 37 years. So, I pled guilty to the charges for a 12-year sentence. God was working everything out. My dad was in the courtroom with me that day. When I called him later, he told me that God had to corner me to get my attention and that I needed to get as close to Him as I could. He also told me that God would let me out early because He has a job for me to do. I told him, “Didn’t you hear the sentence?” He said it doesn’t matter what it looks like, it matters what God says! He also told me that God showed him that I would be helping people like myself and preaching the gospel.
Well, that was in 2001 and they had a new program called drug court. When I went to visit my attorney, she told me about this new program and asked if I would be interested. I knew this was God’s plan. I successfully completed the drug court and I was put on probation for one year. Since then, I’ve had a good job for over 16 years and I’ve been in ministry just as long. I am now an Associate Pastor at Soul Harvest Ministries. On the weekends, I share the gospel and God’s love at a nursing home and rehabilitation center called Princeton Place. Christian Leaders Institute has been an important part of my education and ministry. I have been attending since 2014 and I have learned so much.
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Ordained Pastor Call
My name is Amy Allen and I have an ordained pastor call on my life. I am a child of God foremost and a mom to three beautiful kids, and a bonus mom to twelve others. YES! We have 15 kids! I was raised in a Christian home as a pastor’s kid, and I am the oldest girl of 7 with one older brother. My family has many pastors in its lineage and a great heritage. I have always known I had the calling of God on my life, but as a young adult I started having kids and being a wife and that took the majority of my time. I am at a place in my life where I am supported by my husband, a man of God that also feels the call of God on his life. So, together we are building a life that we truly believe is ordained and blessed by God.
I found the Christian Leaders Institute after my husband and I purchased an old church, that was not being used, where we live in Tecumseh, Oklahoma. Our big family has been ministering in music for churches and ministries all over Oklahoma. We began to seek God for a facility to work out of. I knew we needed more training and that God laid a desire for ordination and pastoring on my heart. One day via the internet, CLI came up on a search. After reviewing and praying about CLI, I started the first class. I truly believe this program is something God has laid across my path for more training and for a deeper understanding of the ordained pastor call on my life. It will also help me to learn more in His Word so I can be equipped to help the hurt and broken. CLI has already become an extra resource for me to draw from. I’m excited everyday to see what God is doing in my life!
Since the age of 3, I have been singing with my family as well as by myself in ministry. At 5, I knew I wanted to become just like Naomi Judd, the singing nurse. God fulfilled that desire, and as an adult, I did receive my nursing degree as a Registered Nurse and I have sung to my patients and helped the hurting. I have had many struggles in life from a broken home, broken marriage, betrayal, abuse and even a car accident that I could have died in and that left me with chronic pain. Through it all, God has kept me. I believe He will use every piece, every lost or broken thing, every hurt and every situation through this ordained pastor call He has on my life to reach those that are in need and broken. Since we purchased the church, we have begun remodeling it. We are hopeful to open the doors soon. We hope to not just grow a congregation “inside” the church but to get out into this community and show God’s love in whatever way God directs us.
I want to continue training at CLI to get a Bachelor’s Degree in Ministry and continue to follow the call of God in my life.
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Pastor Ministry Calling
My name is Daniel Gonzalez and I have a Pastor ministry calling on my life. I am very happy to share my testimony with you all! I grew up in a Christian home and was going to church since I could remember, but it was a “religious” experience for me. I didn’t know the true love of God and did not know how His grace really works or even truly understand it. I knew one thing though, that I had this overwhelming feeling that God was calling me and that he had something planned for me.
As I got older I dealt with the death of my older sister, the sickness of my father, and with some other very painful moments in my life. I lost my identity and thought I had found it in a gang which was called the Latin Kings. Years later, I became a leader of the gang and was in a lot of trouble with the authorities. However, there was one thing that I would always remember, and it was that God was always there every step of the way with me.
It was when my grandfather who was the spiritual leader in our family died that it hit me. I could almost hear God saying to me, ” No more running Daniel! It’s time!” And that is when I made my decision to pursue God and His calling on my life. My Pastor ministry calling is to lead the lost sheep like myself back to the arms of Christ. Amen! Thank You to Christian Leaders Institute and the staff for having such a great program like this where I can truly learn how to become a qualified Christian leader and answer the call of God.
Learn about ordained minister study programs and local ecuministry ordinations with Christian Leaders Alliance.