Biblically Sound Training
My name is Shanna Coker and I am from East Tennessee, US. I am married to my high school sweetheart, we have been married for 7 years now, and we have a beautiful 5-year-old daughter. My life can be crazy at times but I am so grateful from where God has brought me.
Growing up, my family didn’t talk about faith, God, etc. My father was an abusive drunk and my mother liked to stir the pot. I was very sick as a toddler ( 3 years old), I had what is called ITP. At the time, they had no idea about it, so I was having lots of tests run on me. I was always in and out of the hospital. I remember finally being home, yet I was still sick, and a Pastor and his deacons came to our house. They spoke with my parents and I remember them bringing me to the living room and sitting me down on the floor as they began to pray over me. I remember feeling a relief as they prayed. I was so young I wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but I was so grateful, even then.
As I got older I began to seek out Christ, going to local churches and such. But it wasn’t until I was about 22 years old before I decided to turn my life over to Christ and be who He wants me to be.
I have always felt like God has had some kind of calling for me, I know he has something amazing in store for me. I am still not quite sure what it is exactly but I am so excited to find out. Ideally, what I would like to eventually be some type of Christian Counselor. I have always been the “Go To” person for anyone that needs advice, but I would love to be able to do that on an everyday basis with the most Biblically sound training preparation. Ultimately, I plan to take this blessing with Christian Leaders Institute (CLI) and allow it to lead me where God wants me.
I happened upon CLI when trying to google free online bible study courses. And it is so hard for me to believe this opportunity is real because all I have ever wanted is to go to school to get Biblically sound training and further my knowledge of God’s Word and strengthen my faith. Unfortunately, it hasn’t always been an option, due to my husbands off and on health conditions, we are a low-income family and being able to afford a Bible college was not in our budget.
We have decided for me to stay home officially, and homeschool our daughter, which is very exciting and scary. But we want to be able to give her the most Biblically sound training as possible, and I feel that CLI is going to help me do that!
I also babysit 3-5 children through out the week and kind of do a pre-school type atmosphere with them, we learn Bible stories and songs and do lots of crafts to go along with the bible story. I just am so excited about CLI. I am trying not to break down in tears of joy. I can not thank you all enough!
Ministry Training Classes
My name is Michael James Duckett and I am receiving ministry training classes at Christian Leaders Institute. I live in Managua, Nicaragua. Right now is a very challenging time for the country of Nicaragua and also for Christian leaders due to the unrest and violence in the country. There are many conflicts happening between the current government of Nicaragua and the local citizens. This is a time where faith and works are required to maintain the peace and heal the people of the country.
I was very blessed to grow up with a healthy childhood in a close, loving family. I am the oldest of 3 with 2 younger sisters. I was born in Upstate New York and grew up in Elkton, MD. I did not really start my spiritual journey in earnest until I was in my late 30’s and early 40’s, after experiencing some personal tragedies in life.
I came to know the Lord as my Savior after I had gone to work in Afghanistan in 2008. During my time in the country, doing police training missions for local citizens, my marriage that had been struggling for the last year or two finally fell apart. This caused me great stress and concern, on top of being in a combat area. I remember feeling like I did not have much to live for in my life and was at the bottom of my personal barrel with giving up hope. I remember coming in contact through Facebook with an old friend, who was now a Pastor of a local church, and we began to talk. He was able to recognize that I was struggling with some very serious issues in life and hurting. After many, long conversations and visiting the church several times while I was home, I was led to surrender my life to Christ.
My dream is to fulfill the calling God has given me to advance His Kingdom and locate His lost sheep. My desire is to serve His people through feeding ministries and through an active men’s ministry here in my community.
Most of the obstacles and struggles I faced growing up were of self-confidence issues and also not feeling like I fit into various groups in school socially. The loss of my marriage, loss of a relationship with my daughter and a struggle with alcohol are what started me on my journey of humbling myself to realize that I need a Savior in my life. God became real to me once I accepted Him as my Savior and began to learn about His Word and who He truly is.
I hope to use the ministry training classes at Christian Leaders Institute to learn new ways of reaching people that are lost, hurting and struggling so that I can share my journey/testimony with them and bring them to Christ.
The free training is very necessary for many reasons. There are limited career opportunities here in Nicaragua and I am blessed to have a job that enables me to provide for my family with all their needs. The free ministry training classes would enable me to further my growth of faith so that I can advance His Kingdom and serve His people wherever God calls me to be.
Learn about ordained minister study programs at Christian Leaders Alliance.
