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.
Revival Leader Call
I am Alejandro Baus and I am living in Argentina. I have a revival leader call on my life. There have been a lot of changes since I started to study here at Christian Leaders Institute. The good changes have been:
I have been deeply impacted by the first class at Christian Leaders Institute, and it pushed me to look more deeply at the Word of God. Studying God’s Word has changed everything.
– On the personal side: I see more clearly the indelible love of God shown through Christ Jesus to us. And, also, I see more clearly my own need for this salvation.
– On the family side: I was forced to face my own mistakes I have made and I have worked to change with a right guidance from the Lord and godly mentors around me.
– On the church side: I have become more involved in my local church family and this led me to see the power of the Word in so many of the people’s lives.
2 Peter 19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts…
Now, I just want more. I want more of Christ in my own life as I follow the revival leader call on my life. I desire to learn more and use different approaches to study the Word of God every day. I want to see more lives changed by the Word and the power of the Holy Spirit. I want to be immersed in God’s Word and the work of the kingdom of God until that day comes.
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Mission Ministry
My name is Sheadon Ringor and I am called to mission ministry. I was raised in a strong Christian household. From as long as I can remember, attending church every Sunday with the family was mandatory, along with VBS and any other events our church put on. I got involved in my youth group as soon as I met the age requirement. Even though I was a bit rebellious through my junior and high school years, I still managed to be the president of a Christian club at my public school for two years, where an average of a hundred students met every week.
Although I was raised in a Christian home, very much involved in church and youth group, and president for two years at the Christian club, my faith hadn’t become real to me until the middle of my senior year in High School. Our youth group went on a short-term mission trip to Mexico, and it was there that I fell in love with Jesus and he gave me a glimpse of what I will be doing for the rest of my life: love God and love people.
The desire to be a full-time missionary was born during this mission trip to Mexico. But instead, I went to Biola University (Bible Institute of Los Angeles). During my time at Biola, I continued to visit and serve at an orphanage in Mexico every chance I got. During my sophomore year, and after much prayer and wise-council, I left to do mission ministry in Mexico.
I spent four years in Mexico. I spent most of my time at an orphanage in Tijuana and doing consistent street ministry throughout the week. Part of my ministry was taking kids off the street or supporting them in school. I started a ministry in the red-light district that helped street kids with schooling and basic medical necessities. (Testimony: Joaquin was thirteen when I first started helping him. He lived in a shack made of pieces of wood in the poorest area of Tijuana, he was also without education. Today, he is 19, continues to go to school and one of the main leaders at the orphanage while helping with numerous outreaches throughout Tijuana. I recently gave him the responsibility to help the kids that are in the street ministry that I’ve started. He was one of the first kids in the program and now he is leading it. His dream after school is to be a missionary).
After being involved in mission ministry in Mexico for four years, God made it clear to me to leave and head back to Kauai for a short period of time to take care of my responsibilities. I had $30,000 of student loans that God told me to pay off before heading back into the mission field. I had a financial plan to pay off my loans in five years, but instead, I paid it off within three years from working four different jobs at the same time.
Once I paid off my loans I knew God would call me back into the mission ministry field, but the exact location was unknown. All I knew for sure was that God was calling me elsewhere than Mexico and most likely somewhere in Africa or maybe India.
I recently came back from a short-term mission trip to India. God clearly closed that door as far as a full-time ministry. Within days of being in India, I got extremely sick from the pollution. Sadly, I had to return home early. I believe it was God’s way of saying, “Stick to Africa, Sheadon!”
Several months before I went to India, I went on a short-term mission trip to Kenya, working with widows and orphans. While there, God clearly spoke to me. He didn’t make it clear to me that the organization I spent time with while in Kenya would be where I should move to, but he confirmed my desire to move to Africa, which started eight years ago. After much prayer and wise counsel, I now serve in Africa as a full-time missionary with Iris Ministries Malawi.
I’ve been labeled a Christian my whole life but have actually been in love and walking with the LORD for about a decade. Today, I am more desperate for Jesus than ever. I am eager to study at Christian Leaders Institute to learn all I can about Jesus, ministry and serving in God’s kingdom. Every day, I wake up with Jesus and a cup of coffee, either in prayer, scripture, worship, devotional, journaling or all of the above. From moments of intimacy, I can walk out of my house in confidence of who I am in the Father’s eyes and live according to His Will throughout my day with the help of the Holy Spirit. My day is not complete unless it ends with spending time with the LORD. Every day, I fall deeper and deeper in love with my Savior and I am compelled to live for him and love others!
Learn about minister ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.