Online Ministry Education
My name is Amber and I am receiving free online ministry education at CLI. I live in the United States. I grew up in and reside in the state of West Virginia. I love it here because of the beautiful mountains and friendly people here. I also love that there are so many churches in this small state. I think it would be great to get involved more in ministry here.
I first came to know Jesus when I attended Sunday morning church services with my late grandma Patty. She taught me the importance of knowing and loving Jesus from a young age. If she was still here, I would hug her and thank her for leading me down the road that helped me overcome so many obstacles in my life.
I am not sure that I have a ministry dream, but I am very interested in Christian counseling and would like to become fit for that calling. I am still seeking to make sure that is where God is leading me to be.
This course at Christian Leaders Institute in my online ministry education has already strengthened my outlook on a few things. It has caused me to focus more on who God wants me to be and where I can be used most for His divine purpose! It has caused me to research my options in considering an online degree and so far CLI is winning me over based on the fact that you can further your education for free. I have not found any other online colleges that offer that.
God is nudging me towards furthering my education in Christian/Bible studies and potentially even a Psychology degree to become a counselor (Chrisitan counseling/ marriage counseling) or maybe even in human services where I can connect with people more on a personal level and help lead people back to Christ. I have not completely decided on everything yet, but I know He has led me here for a reason and I believe He wants me to follow through with it. I am doing my best to do that while homeschooling my 7-year-old daughter. I believe Christian Leaders Institute is leading me to my true purpose and I am grateful for that! I am grateful my husband supports me to be a stay at home mom and figure out what I am most passionate about before pursuing something.
I have always tried my best to be an understanding person who cares a lot about how I make others feel about themselves. Sometimes, I may disagree with someone, but I always try my hardest to understand their perspective as well. I think that is important in Ministry and in life in general. I would like to take more classes with CLI in my online ministry education to understand more about my calling and where Jesus is leading me next!
In the past few years, I have grown in my faith. I started reading the Bible more and have felt the Holy Spirit moving me to action. I was worried about that because I am sort of a shy person, and that makes it harder for me to go up to someone and share my beliefs. But I felt He was nudging me in that direction, so I decided to start by sharing my beliefs with my family and others on the internet. I noticed that Facebook was a great way to do that, and after a while, I started my own faith-based page on Facebook to try and lead others back to the Lord.
Since I started reading the Bible on a daily basis, it has changed my life. I understand Jesus’ love for me, why He had to die on the cross for my sins, and how, by Him doing that out of love for me, I am set free by my belief in Him. I want nothing more than to show others they too can have that same amazing gift!
The fact that my grandma took me to church when I was younger helped plant the seed of faith in my heart. I fell away from the truth in my teenage years. It took me until I became a mother to help me see I needed to change things about myself. I stopped drinking and engaging in wrong activities. I wanted to be a good role model for my daughter and be a devoted wife. I found the way to do that was to understand God’s Word as the absolute truth. It is a blessing to watch my daughter growing in that truth with me as I share the Word with her.
My testimony could help others, especially young girls that are caught in a crossroad with wanting to fit in, partying and pleasing people more than pleasing and serving God. I want to help people see that we can be washed clean from our sins and start over new with Him. I hope that CLI will consider me for a scholarship so I can further my dream of being used where God is calling me to be!
I would ask that you pray for me to find my calling so I can help others to find theirs as well. Thank you, CLI for this amazing opportunity of continuing to go further in my online ministry education through a faith-based program. It really has been a blessing!
Learn about minister ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Ministry Calling Training
My name is Robert Donaldson and I am receiving my ministry calling training at Christian Leaders Institute. I live near Atlanta, Georgia in the United States. I feel blessed to live in the USA, especially in the southeastern region. I live in an area known as the Bible Belt. The church is a major part of life, where I live. Even as a public educator, I can openly talk about my Christian faith with other teachers. I am actively involved in a church who truly demonstrates the love of Christ by reaching the lost, serving the least, and raising up future leaders. In addition, we have the motto One Matters, which means since one person matters to God, they matter to us. I believe it is this environment that really sets up an effective experience for my call to ministry. We have over 500,000 people in our immediate area that do not know Christ.
At the age of 5, on the way home from my Grandpa’s birthday celebration, I told my parents I wanted to get saved. My parents walked me through the sinner’s prayer and soon after I was baptized in my home church. My pastor said I was the youngest person he had ever baptized. My excitement carried over into my school as I told my teachers and classmates I was saved. Over the years, I have rededicated my life to the Lord.
My key ministry dream is to spread the love and Good News of the Gospel to those in my community. Ideally, I want to do this through officiating weddings and funerals, in addition to offering premarital and marriage counseling. I am open to entering vocational ministry full time if I feel God is calling me in that direction.
Over a year ago, I felt God calling me to the ministry. I knew I needed to pray on which direction that would be. I spoke with both of my parents, my wife, and my pastor. My dad was supportive and offered to pray for me. My mom said she knew at an early age God had called me into the ministry and was excited that I felt the call. My wife was supportive of this decision but kept me grounded so I would not just jump into the first type of ministry that popped into my head. My pastor counseled me through this calling and encouraged me to stay in prayer about it. He did say that being called into ministry did not necessarily mean vocational ministry.
Although the call was still there, I was not actively seeking ordination. Recently, I felt God prompting me towards becoming a wedding officiant. Upon further research, I realized I could easily become an ordained minister with a few clicks on the Internet. I did not go this route because it was not Christian based and I wanted my faith to be the foundation of this. Additional research led me to other Christian organizations, which would ordain me, for a small fee. Although this seemed attractive, I did not feel that this would prepare me for what it takes to be a minister. It was at this point I discovered Christian Leaders Institute and knew that this was the path to take. I was immediately impressed at the quality education offered at no cost. Even during the first class, I knew that I will come out of this educational experience better equipped to answer the calling God has placed upon me. When this ministry calling training is completed, I could see me identify more with being a Pastor or Evangelist. However, I am open to that changing as I become more trained with the help of CLI.
I believe through the support and encouragement from my family, my church, and CLI, I will truly find my calling during this process. My family prays for me and understands the time commitment needed to complete my ministry calling training. They are making sacrifices for me. My pastor has offered to serve as my mentor and to have the conversations needed to grow in my class to ministry. CLI is providing the training and education needed to better answer my call to the ministry. If this scholarship was not available, I would not be able to afford a more formal seminary training. My wife and I are both educators and we have four children, a 16-year-old daughter, and 5-year-old triplets. FInancially, this scholarship will truly be viewed as a gift from God with through the help of those who generously give to CLI.
I would ask anyone reading this to lift me up in prayer for God’s guidance throughout the process. Pray that I do not get discouraged or distracted, as Satan is known to do, during my training.
Learn about minister ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Ministry Woman Training
My name is Rebecca and I am receiving my ministry woman training at Christian Leaders Institute. I live in the United States and my heart is in women’s and children’s ministries. I first came to know the Lord when my marriage was on the brink of divorce. I wasn’t raised Christian, I didn’t know God, and my parents had both been divorced several times (twice from each other). My husband and I were both ready to file divorce papers and call it quits when our oldest son started asking us to take him to a church. It wasn’t hard for either of us to come to the decision to divorce after several years of struggling and having similar family backgrounds, neither of us knew what a healthy marriage with God in the center looked like.
With Easter approaching, our son became more insistent that we go to church. We found a local church and God touched our hearts so powerfully in that moment, that we walked out forever changed. Walls were broken down that stood for years. We were given hope, our love was restored to a point it had never been before, and the impossible became possible because of Jesus!
God has since led me to a mentorship which He continues to use to stretch and grow me. He has broken down my insecurities and has shown me who I am in Him. He has given me a vision of where He wants me to be. My dream is to become knowledgeable in the Bible and the history behind it so that I can further the Kingdom by working in women’s ministry. I want to mentor women to be women that are driven to grow the Kingdom of God and who grow more women to be on fire for God! I also want to be able to stand by women who are learning how to put God in the center of their families. I want to help them apply that to their marriages and children. I dream of helping women see past their insecurities and watching them as they begin to only care who they are in Christ.
I recognize the strong need for Jesus in my community, and God has given me a passion to spread the Gospel and build relationships with women and families to show His love. There are so many women struggling to find love and fulfillment in the wrong places, not realizing that Jesus is waiting to give them a love, peace, and joy that is far beyond anything they ever could have dreamed!
My church is supportive by offering opportunities and being open to new ideas. I find great support in knowing that we are being fed the true word of God and I can trust them to deliver the truth which is important not only for myself but for those who are new coming into the church.
It’s important for me to receive my ministry woman training degrees at Christian Leaders institute because I want to have all of the knowledge I can to know God personally and to help others know Him as well. I also have a fresh interest in the history of the Bible and of the world and am looking forward to my faith coming to a whole new light. I’ve wanted to start classes years ago, but it was never affordable. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to learn in an affordable way here at CLI!
I would appreciate prayer that I stay focused throughout my program and that I stay strong when Satin tries to change my course.
“The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.” -Proverbs 18:15
Learn about minister ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.