Small Group Mission

I am Diandra Leigh Kuyler and I have a small group mission call. I am currently living in South Africa, my home country. In South Africa, we are fortunate in that there is freedom to practice religion openly and people are respectful (for the most part) of each other’s beliefs. In my opinion, however, the church is not taking full advantage of this to spread the Gospel. Many are comfortable with their local church ‘boundaries’. I marvel at Christians who risk their lives daily for Christ in places where Christian persecution is high! South Africa is known for its high rates of unemployment, poverty, violence and fatherless families – there are loads of people desperate for hope and restoration. They need a Saviour. We, Christians, need to lay our lives down, push comfort aside and grab the opportunity to be the messengers of salvation!

My mother, who at age of 20 was delivered from witchcraft when she gave her life to Christ, encouraged me to surrender my life to Christ. I was not fully aware of the decision that I had made that day but now, as a growing Christian, I am so aware of Jesus’ grace and that there is nothing that I can do to make Him love me more or less – His love is unconditional.

Although I am still figuring it out, I would love to work with youth and young adults, particularly those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds. I have a passion for photography and travel and I would love to go on group missions trips during which we get to share the gospel and develop skills in Media and Design through documenting the trips. This would provide opportunities for young people to develop skills in photography, journalism, editing, and content sharing on social media platforms. In this way, we get to reach and influence a larger group of people.

This class with Christian Leaders Institute has provided me with simple yet effective steps in having a more intimate relationship with God. I believe this is a most important aspect of a Christian’s journey – to know your Maker and Purpose Giver. It has also made me realize that God calls every person into a personal relationship with Him and to be an ambassador for His kingdom. None of us are perfect but when we humble ourselves and acknowledge that it is Christ who lives in us and gives us strength, then we are able to operate in our calling and accomplish that purpose which He has set before us.

Small Group Mission Leader is what I see myself as. I am someone who enjoys developing close relationships with people and I believe I can do this effectively with small groups of people. When I consider my dream, I think it would be a lot easier in terms of logistics, management and skills development to lead and work with small groups.

Some of my challenges have come from growing up in a single parent home without a good father figure and having little direction when deciding on my career path. This lack of direction was a result of being completely blind to my true passions and allowing people’s expectations of me to determine my career path. I think the biggest challenge I face now is a financial constraint and lack of resources.

I have only shared this small group mission dream with a handful of people in the church. Those that I have shared it with are supportive and can in some way relate to the dream. I also feel that I am not equipped enough yet and so I started attending our church’s Bible study class which is based on CLI’s coursework in order to become equipped for my dream.

I grew up with my mom and I guess it is our love for the outdoors that has played a role in my dream. My mom has always supported my adventurous endeavors. She always dreamed of going on missions trips to evangelize and I guess that desire has rubbed off on me.

A CLI scholarship is important to me as I believe it will provide me with the necessary tools to accomplish my ministry dream. The quality of the content is high, it’s free and more than enough time is given to complete courses which, for me, are all bonuses as I can’t afford to pay for courses and I am a full-time employee. CLI is centered around Jesus and that is exactly who I want my life and dream to be centered around.

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