Youth Ministry Journey
Hello. My name is Martha Berge and I am on a youth ministry journey. I live in a small town called Beacon Falls in the USA. I am the eldest of two children and the fourth of eleven grandchildren. I grew up in a home with three Christian women in the form of my mother, aunt, and grandmother and an alcoholic father. My entire life I went to church and sang in the junior choir and dance ministry.
I gave my life to the Lord at a very young age. When I was a senior in high school, I started teaching Sunday School. Growing up, my mother supported every decision I made regarding ministry and church. At one point, I switched from a congregational church (that my ancestors helped to found) to a Southern Baptist church. I taught Sunday School and sang in the choir there as well. I went back to the church I grew up in when a ministry opportunity arose three years ago and have been teaching there ever since. I now teach fourth through sixth grades. This is an important class since our fifth graders make their first communion. Apparently, I’m the one teacher who knows the Bible the best, though I’m not that comfortable with my Bible knowledge.
That is why I enrolled at Christian Leaders Institute. A friend got his online ordination without the education, and that made me think about my ministry. I went online and found CLI.
I am an EMT in my town and love serving God and my community in that way as well. It’s hard to not stray when you’re surrounded by people who don’t have that foundation. I have experienced so much spiritual warfare and need to ask God constantly for help in my fight with Satan. I praise God every day for getting me through those tough times.
Growing up, I went through some very difficult times. In the second grade, I was diagnosed with ADD and arthritis. That’s when I started dancing in church. This also presented some hurdles in my education and future as a youth. In high school, I wanted to join the Air Force but couldn’t because of my physical limitations. I eventually received my Associates in Human Services twelve years after graduating high school. I then struggled when I went on for my bachelor’s degree.
Because of my disabilities, I now have Social Security and so don’t have the resources to go to a formal seminary. CLI makes it so easy for me to further my education and advance in ministry. I can get a free education and go on to youth ministry. I look forward to the way God will use me in my home church or where ever He decides He needs me on this youth ministry journey.
In my community, one challenge we face is that everyone is big in sports. Most of the children are on one team or another, and they all have either practice or games on Sundays. Because of this, our Sunday School attendance is dwindling. People seem to have stopped making God a priority. I pray I can help to change that ideology.
Thank you to CLI for this opportunity to be able to serve and get to know Him and grow as a Christian. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for my future on this earth.
Learn about minister ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Ministry Education Call
My name is George Clark and I have a ministry education call. I found Jesus but he wasn’t the one who was lost. I was born and raised in a small town, the hamlet of Scott in Saskatchewan, Canada, population 75 people. I was a Sunday School regular until our church was closed. Summer Bible Camps are where I came to know God. My teenage years shut down my relationship with God. Drugs, alcohol, gambling became my new friend. This lifestyle lasted for 38 years. I always felt empty. But recently in a dream, I felt my connection restored to God but he also called me to ministry.
My ministry dream is to reach out to as many people as I can. I hope to reach people and help inspire them in their search for Jesus. Christian Leaders Institute has helped strengthen my commitment to God and has made me more determined to follow God’s leading in this ministry education call. I identify the most with evangelist because I am a committed to preaching The Gospel.
As I look back at my life, the empty feeling was so apparent. My call to ministry is to help others who have that empty lost feeling like I used to. I want to be a tour guide on the walk with God journey for others. Since I still live in a small city in a small province, my area to reach out to is small as well. But with mentorship and fellowship, my ministry dream is coming true. My family has supported my dreams and have confidence in me. The Christian Leaders Institute scholarship has given me the ability to become ordained and has filled me with confidence as I work through my classes.
Learn about local ecuministry ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Fire Department Chaplain
I am Ryan Crawford and I am feeling called to be a fire department chaplain. I am writing this in an effort to inspire those who may want to have a role in ministry. I was born in the mid-1980’s in upstate New York to a young couple out of wedlock. My mother’s parents and other family were devout Catholics and frowned upon it. However, they were relatively liberal about the idea of their daughter having a child while unmarried. I was baptized Roman Catholic and grew up going to the Catholic Church with my grandparents who were heavily involved with their local church.
Then tragedy struck. At about 5 years old, my mother left my father due to him being an alcoholic. My mother and I became “nomads” moving from place to place and finally settling in Eastern Pennsylvania. My mother and I rooted down and finally had a place to call home after chaos for several years. We went to church here and there, mostly on holidays, but we kept our faith and she taught me about God and Jesus. A few years later, my father who was threatened to never see me again, chose to put down the bottle and my parents reunited.
Fast forward to my teenage years. My parents weren’t happy with the ways of the local Catholic church and their congregation so we began “Church Shopping”. We tried the Baptist, Methodist, Evangelical, etc. until we stumbled upon the Lutheran Church where we fit, perfectly. I received my confirmation and attended Sunday School and was at every service for years until we moved and I began my employment as a teen getting ready to get my driver’s license. I worked and worked and worked and I never stopped. I stopped going to regular church services due to my work schedule, but, my faith stayed strong.
I then met a girl in high school. We started an on again, off again relationship my senior year which continued several years after school. We too then had a child out of wedlock. The apple doesn’t fall from the tree in some aspects. We then ended our relationship due to infidelity and went our separate ways with joint custody of our daughter. I questioned God as to how this could happen, yet, my faith never wavered. My work schedule continued to keep me out of regular church services. I had also started in the volunteer fire service at the age of 14 and began to see the dark side of life that most people do not have the advantage of seeing. Death, evil, danger. Maybe not the best thing for a teenager to see. I furthered my experience as a part-time paid fireman at the age of 19 which I still do, however, the years in between, I furthered my education, training, and experiences to Emergency Medical Services (EMS) where I saw even more death.
Fast forward to today. After seeing friends, family and patients take their last breaths which made me think: What have I done with my life? Are they going to Heaven? Am I going to Heaven? What can I do to be closer to God and Jesus? What can I do to help my friends and family be closer to God? My goal now is to further my education in ministry and faith here at Christian Leaders Institute. I want to become a Fire Department Chaplain to fulfill my service to my fellow man and my God.
Learn about ordained minister study programs at Christian Leaders Alliance.