Youth Ministry Leader
Hello, my name is Andrew Woodill. I am receiving youth ministry leader training at Christian Leaders Institute. I grew up in Northern British Columbia, Canada. I grew up in a broken home raised by a single mother. I have, six brothers and one sister, although I was only raised with four of my brothers. My mother was very faithful in bringing us to church almost every Sunday. I did not want to go as a child, but slowly I desired to know more about God.
When I was about ten years old my mother took us to a Bible camp. It was there late at night as I listened to a speaker talking about how Jesus died for my sins, that I heard the call of God. You see, growing up without a father in my life, I had never known the love of a father. But at that moment, I knew that I had a heavenly Father who loved me and still loves me to this day. Later, in my early teen years, I was baptized.
It’s been well over a decade that I have been walking with God and I know that He guides my feet. This last year I started a young men’s Bible study at our church with the help of a close friend and mentor. We strive to teach them how to walk honorably before God. It’s very close to my heart as most of the young men do not have a father figure in their lives, just as I did not. God has allowed me to use many of my experiences to help minister to them.
One last major blessing on my life is my wife, whom I married last year. In the short time we have been married, I have been blessed to have her in my life. She points me back to God on a regular basis. We continue to grow in faith and love not only with each other but with God as well.
My last two points are why I am interested in Christian Leaders Institute for free online training. As both a youth ministry leader and a husband, I want to grow my understanding of God’s word to both serve Him better and to be a more effective leader that God has called me to be.
Learn about minister ordination with Christian Leaders Alliance.
Pastor Call
My name is Ntombende Mthembu-Nyoka and I have a pastor call from God. I am married with three kids and many spiritual kids that the Lord has given me. I am currently staying in South Africa in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, eThekwini Metro which is where Durban seaport is located. I stay in Tongaat one of the towns within the metro, it is where KwaZulu-Natal airport named after the founder of the Zulu nation, King Shaka is located. A lot of innocent blood was shed when this nation was established, this was coupled with a lot of ancestral sacrifices to appease the gods.
Since our province is a mixture of ancestral and Jehovah worship, it takes God’s grace for an individual to completely surrender to God and make Him Master. I was one who truly practiced both going to church and doing ancestral worship. One day, I had a divine visitation from God and He told me the only necessary being I was missing in my life was Jesus. So, I asked Jesus to come in. At that time I did not fully understand salvation, but I was saved as soon as I asked Him to come into my life. God then helped me to study the Scriptures even though I did not know that Jesus Himself is the Word of God.
After reading the book of John, it became much clearer that I needed to hear from God more. I have been reading the Bible. Some of it never made sense to me and some of it confused me. Through the years, the Scriptures became more clear as I continued to read. I then had so much hunger for the Word, I started studying short Bible courses. There was still so much hunger for the Word so I began to look for an institution of higher learning where I could study. By God’s grace, I found this great institution, Christian Leaders Institute.
My pastor call ministry dream is to establish a prayer center where people of God can come to pray and be enlightened through the study of the Word of God. This is mainly because, in my few years of knowing God, we as His children pick and choose those Scriptures which are in line with our thinking while leaving out those we feel are not in line with our feelings. By this, we have limited God to our feelings and no longer train ourselves to walk and live by faith. This must change. I need to be equipped so I am able to teach at the prayer center which will be interdenominational.
Studying at CLI has already pushed me to start a prayer session where we meet at least twice a week to pray and study the Word. This is renewing my faith walk. I believe in taking care of the children of God, so I identify with my pastor call. Our area is characterised by idol worship and perverse living. Even our churches are accommodating the things of this world while the world is going far away from God.
I must confess my church does not clearly understand my ministry dream. I only hope they will join in later to support. These classes at CLI will equip me to have a much deeper fellowship with God and to be able to feed His sheep. I have seen that as I share His Word I am more eager to study His Word more deeply.
Learn about minister ordination with Christian Leaders Alliance.