Abused Children Ministry
My name is Joy and I am called as a chaplain with an abused children ministry. I’m a 28-year-old stay-at-home mom of two beautiful daughters and a wife to a wonderful husband.
My mother always sent me and my siblings to church. But due to over a decade of sexual abuse at the hands of my stepfather and some wrongs done to me by the church, I strayed away. My biological father abandoned me shortly after my first birthday. My mother even blamed me for the molestation I endured, mentally abused me for years over it, and ensured I had no contact with any other relatives. For many years, I felt like unwanted garbage. I had no sense of family and had totally lost my faith.
I ran away from home at the age of 17 when I just couldn’t take the abuse anymore. I was also being bullied by neighbors and classmates. I very much consider this the same type of wandering in the desert that Moses did. I suffered two miscarriages, became wrapped up in worldly problems, and was angry with God for many years. I have been diagnosed with PTSD which makes it almost impossible to function in basic routines. I used to fear to leave my home or to even simply walk outside to grab the mail. I’ve been to several psychiatrists and have tried every medication you can think of which all made my symptoms worse. So I gave up on seeking medical care. The enemy had me under the belief that I would surely die and that my life was meaningless. In a night of panic, I decided to call upon Jesus and received prayer from a chaplain even though I believed the Lord had given up on me. However, I felt the Holy Spirit taking away all my discomforts as I prayed.
I used to wallow and feel sorry for myself. But I now feel deep in my heart that the Lord allows us to go through these things so we can use them as tools to help others dealing with similar issues. I also believe the grace of God enabled me to survive the whole ordeal. I now feel God has called me to be a chaplain and advocate working with an abused children ministry. There is still much ignorance in identifying the signs and symptoms of a child suffering abuse. There’s still far too many slipping through the cracks. Many never see the justice and genuine compassion they so greatly deserve. I intend to change that with the help of Jesus.
I am still currently studying the first program at Christian Leaders Institute. After I earn my scholarship, I will go for either the Associates or Bachelors degree program utilizing the chaplain courses as well. I currently volunteer as a mentor for abused children at Marygrove Crisis Center. I hope to eventually open a crisis center of my own which would provide shelter, legal counsel, medical services, and counseling. I have total faith in God that, if this is my call, He will make a way for it to happen.
In closing, I would just like to send my love and respect for all my brothers and sisters in Christ who are students, teachers, pastors, etc. I would also like to thank CLI for giving me a chance to take my life back and serve God.
Learn about minister ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Youth Minister Training
I am Benoit Koch and I am receiving youth minister training at Christian Leaders Insitute. I was born in France. However, with a surge of adventure, my father took us to Canada. We left everything we knew, all which was comfortable and safe. We settled fairly quickly in a small town in the northern part of British Columbia. After 20 years, I decided it was time for a change. So I moved my wife and son to the lower mainland of British Columbia. That is where we reside now.
When people bring up Christian ministry in the western world, they don’t think of it being in any sense terribly hard or surrounded by darkness, waiting for the perfect time to consume everything Christian. With the freedom of religion and freedom of speech act, how indeed could it be in jeopardy? I would answer that by telling you that our Christian youth are leaving the faith at an alarming rate. I could go through several explanations on why this is happening and how to mitigate this tragedy. But I would rather leave you with a quote from Frank Turek an American Christian author, public speaker and radio host, who said, “Three out of four Christian teens walk away from the church after they leave home.” Isn’t that frightening? That is why I feel called to get youth minister training to equip me.
Let’s move on to the journey in which I came to know the Lord. I will start by saying that I believe the Lord has walked with me throughout my life. From my infant baptism to my atheistic teenage self to my finally acknowledging his presence in my life. You see I have always felt protected and guided. Of course, I didn’t have a name for it for most of my life. At that point, I was being naïve and solely listening to what my father taught me. One of his famous lines, a similar line that all atheists or agnostics use:” I only believe in what I can see.” Without going into why this is a delusional belief to hold as a standard of measurement for what is real and what is not, I will leave you with only one question “Are your thoughts real?”
I was in and out of drugs, alcohol, and crime as a teen until the age of 18. Then, I became more mature. My wife also had a part in the reprogramming of my behaviors. She took up the project the Lord presented her with: me. After many years of researching God’s existences, I could only see his works in everything. I could no longer say the world was made without an intelligent designer. After a terrible situation, in which we lost our second son in the womb, I came to pray at the base of a church for guidance. While I was sitting there praying for guidance, I felt what I can only explain as a hand on my head. Surprised, I got in the car and drove away. I told my wife what happened and after that day never brought it up again.
Shortly after that incident, we decided to move to Kamloops, BC with nothing but our son and our clothes. I was working for a low wage and we were living in a small apartment in a rough part of town. Our faith in the Lord was the strongest it had ever been even if we were in what people would call poverty. I remember the day I came to know the Lord clearly. It was dark, gloomy and a storm was brewing. My wife asked me to get our son some diapers, so I was out driving, talking out loud to God by myself. All of a sudden, I had a feeling that I should be hiking a mountain. I couldn’t understand why I had this feeling but I knew I had to follow it. My instincts lead me to the base of a mountain, on which I started to pray on my knees. After the prayer, I started my climb up the mountain without lights, just me and the Lord. I was praying to the Lord all the way up to the peak, asking for a safe passage. When I finally got to the top, I yelled out loud, “ I am here Lord!” When I turned around, the sky was opened and a rainbow was in it, and on a tree under this rainbow was a shadow of a human figure with its arms out. That is when I came to know the Lord.
I would like to share my goals. If you remember, I spoke about the youth and how we are losing them at an alarming rate. In my youth minister training dream, I would love to create a live podcast in which I preach the word of God to the world. The CLI Getting Started course has given me the basic knowledge and illuminated my path. Not only that, but it has forced me to think outside the box about the different ways God works in our lives. We have started reading the Bible as a family, every day.
A youth leader is what I strive to be as I receive my youth minister training here at CLI. I want to help people to come to know the Lord and help the people struggling to grasp difficult questions about Christianity. There are hard questions out there, and this training will educate me so that I can equip the youth with the right tools to defend their faith. Please pray that my endeavors will be realized. And that the youth of the world will come to know the Lord, not only through my work but through the good work of Christian Leaders Institute.
Learn about minister ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.