Christian Ministry Walk
I am Jameelah R. Wright and I am on a Christian ministry walk. I am from the United States of America. Although I attended church as a child, and then sporadically throughout my teenage years, I did not begin to attend church regularly until after I graduated from college in 2003. My husband, who was then my boyfriend, grew up in a Christian household, and it was he who encouraged me to go to church. He invited me to attend with him, and so I did, and I have been in church ever since.
The church we regularly went to was Christ Church in Montclair, New Jersey, led by Pastor David Ireland. After one particular service, Pastor Ireland did an altar call, and my fiance and I walked to the altar together to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. After that service, we began to go to my fiance’s family church in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Mt. Calvary Church of God, a Pentecostal church, was built by my husband’s great-grandfather, James Leak. His great-uncle, Samuel McCrae Leak was the Bishop of Mt. Calvary. I became a member of Mt. Calvary Church of God by attending membership classes taught by Sister Cynthia Whitley. I taught Vacation Bible School. I was baptized at this church. I married my husband at this church. And my son, James, was christened at Mt. Calvary.
In 2012, for my son, I had to make a difficult decision. Although I loved Mt. Calvary very much, they did not have a children’s church program outside of Vacation Bible School, which only ran during the summer. As a mother, I wanted to ensure my son had proper education and training in the church. So, after returning to Christ Church (their Rockaway, New Jersey campus) for a few months, I found a comparable church much closer to home – The Life Christian Church in West Orange, New Jersey. The Life Christian Church had just moved into their new building, which was around the corner from my home. After attending for a while, I became a member of this church and taught in the children’s church for three years. I attended informative classes at this church. I read the books recommended by the pastor, Terry Smith. Inspired, I led a Bible Study group at my job for teachers during our lunch break on Fridays. The Bible Study group at my school ran for three years. I was very happy at The Life Christian Church.
At the same time that I was at The Life Christian Church, my husband and his parents (both ministers) were planting a church in West Orange called Cathedral Kingdom Living Church. One morning in December 2015, I felt God instructing me to leave The Life Christian Church and to join my husband and his parents at their church, so I did. With this church, I was able to participate in activities such as feeding the hungry in a nearby soup kitchen as well as giving Christmas gifts to children with incarcerated parents. At Cathedral Kingdom Living Church, I currently teach Sunday School for adults. When the pastor, Steven Deaver, asks me to deliver homilies, I am obedient.
I am interested in my Christian ministry walk to learn more about the Bible and Christian Ministry from Christian Leaders Institute. I feel it is necessary in order for me to be an asset to our growing church. I want to be more grounded in the Word of God so I can teach and speak about it confidently.
Learn about ordained minister study programs at Christian Leaders Alliance.