Free Formal Christian Education
My name is Veronica Cordoba and I am receiving free formal Christian education at Christian Leaders Institute. I am originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I have been living in the United States since 2001. I was born and raised in a predominantly Roman Catholic society. I did all the right things in regards to tradition: baptism, communion, confirmation. Though I loved God and prayed to Him every day, I did not read the Bible. I still remember that God was very important to me at the time, but everything changed one night. I was 12 years old and I had a dream that I still vividly remember. It was the ocean and a big sun rising on the horizon getting bigger and bigger, and the sun became the face of Jesus saying to me: “ I want you to serve me.” After this experience, I woke up and I remember saying: “No, I want to get married and have a family.” Because I was Catholic, the only way I understood serving God was by becoming a nun and I didn’t want that. So, I remember saying No to Jesus at 12 years old and living my life my way … which ended up in a divorce in 2008 while living in the USA.
In 2008, I remember one Sunday coming out of Catholic mass with my son and looking at the sky and saying: “God, I really want to know you. There must be something else, please show me!” It was an honest cry from my heart (obviously the Holy Spirit was doing His job already). In a matter of weeks, the Lord surrounded me with Christian friends and people who introduced me to my first Bible Study and a ministry that teaches theology to women. I became very passionate about the Word of God and got into theology and apologetics. I also discovered my teaching gift. My transformation started the moment I opened up the pages of the Bible and was exposed to His Word. I can say that I got born again at the end of 2009 and my son and I started a journey of walking with the Lord through some tops and many valleys.
During my years as a born-again Christian, I have tried many times to get a formal Christian education or some kind of certificate. But every time I attempted it, I would lose my job and financial needs arose that would keep me from pursuing it. I believe in education, and I myself hold some professional licenses. So I am so glad I found Christian Leaders Institute! I can receive a free formal Christian education at CLI.
At 12 years old, I said no to Jesus. At 50, I say YES to Him and to whatever He has in store for me. God bless Christian Leaders Institute!
Learn about ordained minister study programs at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Youth Leader Calling
My name is Marc Russell and I have a youth leader calling from God. I come from Pontiac, Michigan and partly Flint, Michigan. Both cities are poverty-stricken and full of everyday obstacles like drugs, crime, gangs, and teenage pregnancies to name a few. I was like many others who grew up without any type of religious background. I had two kids by the age of 18, and two more by the age of 22. I got in trouble with the law – I fought a lot – I did what I thought everyone else around me was doing just to get by. Then one of my older friend’s dad came to me and asked if I would like to ride with them to church one evening. He promised there would be games and other fun things to do so I reluctantly went. There were games and snacks and a bunch of other kids my age, and I ended up having fun too. On the ride home, my friend’s dad asked me if I was saved and went on to explain how important it was. Well, about 5 minutes later I was on my knees in the back seat asking Jesus to come into my life and into my heart and I asked for forgiveness for my sins.
I wish I could say that was the day that I became a GOOD Christian, but it wasn’t. I still struggled in life. It wasn’t until I was older that I felt a calling to read the Bible. I happened to be sitting in a jail cell at the time. As I read, I felt a connection with the Scriptures and a connection with the Holy Spirit. I read and prayed, and as I did I started to see positive things happen in my life.
That’s when I knew that the GOD of the Bible is real. I wanted to share what I’ve learned not only with my kids but with kids who were struggling like I was in a rough environment. That’s when I received my youth leader calling from God. Having very little resources, I went online and did a search on how I could make this happen. I found Christian Leaders Institute and have been enrolled and studying towards ordination ever since. I feel like everything clicked and happened for a reason. Now, I’m so grateful to have CLI to help guide and teach me what I need to know in order to be a strong Christian leader in my community.
Learn about minister ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Chaplaincy Call
My name is Juli Baumler and I have a chaplaincy call on my life. I am from Eugene, Oregon, USA. I had a happy childhood with two loving parents. Over my childhood, we moved from the East Coast of the USA to the Midwest (where I spent most of my younger years and most of my extended family live) to the West Coast. I also spent 2 years in high school on the East Coast. My father died of cancer when I was 16, which, of course, was a challenge for my family.
I was raised that we should all give according to our gifts and capabilities and have always tried to do so. As a child, my parents always volunteered and for a while, my mother was my Sunday School teacher. This allowed me to have one of my foundational religious experiences of being dedicated in the church at the Christmas Eve services (rather than a smaller regular service), which I remember well and provided a touchstone for me when I had doubts growing up. I would not say that I had one particular moment where Christ touched my life, but many small important ones that have grown my faith. I am a mustard seed Christian, not a Saul on the road to Damascus Christian; my faith is no less sure.
In college (I was blessed in that my father had been a professor and I got to go to the school where he had taught for free), I majored in Religious Studies and planned to go to divinity school after working for a few years. During that time I fell into a career I loved in computing.
Throughout my late 30’s and early 40’s, my health was going downhill and working was a struggle for me. There were a number of years when I could only work part-time. Finally, in my mid-40’s, I was diagnosed with epilepsy and was no longer able to work. Unfortunately, because I tried so hard to continue to work, I am not eligible for disability – my work record automatically makes me look like a slacker and not someone who is disabled.
Over the last few years, I have been struggling to get my health under better control and find a way to go back to work in some form that does not trigger seizures or migraines. It recently occurred to me that chaplaincy feels like a good path and if my health continues to improve, I should be able to do it. I think I misunderstood my calling to ministry when I was younger because my childhood faith tradition does not really have a tradition of chaplains as separate from church leaders, although there are a few ministers who have taken that route.
I think my own struggles in life (several of which are not fully mine to share publicly because they involve others), give me a good perspective to bring to this chaplaincy call. One of my struggles after realizing this calling has been figuring out how to get the education and training I will need. While there are many excellent programs to prepare people to be chaplains, I would be unable pay back any student loans I would need to take out, and currently, my health does not allow me to study during regular hours. Finding Christian Leaders Institute, where I can train for free and during the times and days that my recovery allows, is an immense blessing! I pray that there will be a time where I will be able to return the financial part of this blessing, I can already see that it is equipping me to return the spiritual part.
Learn about minister ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.