Local Church Pastor
My name is Jim Jablonski. I have been blessed just about all of my life with opportunities to serve in church ministries in the United States, but it was only recently that I answered God’s call to do ministry. Thanks to my local church pastor, who also serves as my mentor, I am gaining experience as a ‘doer’ of ministry. He provides opportunities for practical experience in ministry to supplement my Christian Leaders Institute studies. He identified CLI as a viable option for ministry studies in our shared hope that others in our local church will follow.
My mom and dad brought me to the Lord in the Roman Catholic Church. My parents, along with various nuns and priests, nurtured my faith during eight years of Catholic School and beyond. I am so thankful for the faith planted in my youth that has grown on my journey.
I identify most with the term ‘pastor’ after a lifetime in local churches with pastors from whom I learned so much by simply observing. I have been especially inspired by my current local church pastor. Our small church faces somewhat unique challenges. It is located near the end of the road on a barrier island and serves a small year-round population that increases exponentially in summer, but it is doing well!
While I have felt a tug toward ministry at various stages of my life, my pastor recently challenged me to explore that tug. Aware that I was about to retire, he told my wife and I that he believes I have what it takes to do ministry. God has opened so many doors for me throughout my life, so I asked Him to let me know if His tug was really a calling. God chose to use CLI classes to help answer my prayer and confirm His calling.
My local church pastor believed it critical to involve and seek the support of the congregation as I answered the call to ministry. The council and deacons were informed and are 100 percent in support. While I was away one Sunday, my pastor informed the congregation of my call and asked for their prayer and support. So far, that has been 100 percent as well. It is all very humbling. I am especially thankful that my wife has been fully supportive since day one.
The CLI scholarship was also critical to me. God has richly blessed us, but my wife and I are retirees on a fixed-income. My pastor didn’t discover CLI until after I told him I felt God calling me to ministry and that I would answer. The scholarship is another blessing from God and yet another door that He has opened for me.
Scripture references in the CLI Getting Started sessions solidified my belief that God was and is calling me to the ministry. It has reinforced my dream to serve right where I am as a local church pastor, in support of my pastor and small non-denominational church congregation. These classes broadened and deepened my connection to the Bible and the Lord and made me want to run to and, then, run with God. The ‘Sending Called and Trained Ministry Leaders’ session was especially impactful. It spoke directly to me as a potential leader raised from the local harvest by my pastor.
Although I have attended weekly Bible Study for years, recently I have taught in my pastor’s absence. Study and preparation to teach, attend Bible Study, and deliver sermons have transformed my life as a Christian. The grace I feel extends beyond my connection to the Bible; I pray, examine my conscience, and confess each night; I look for and sense God’s presence throughout each day. I have always believed in God’s presence but genuinely feel Him more than I ever have. It is an overall consciousness that is difficult to describe, except to say that it has to be God’s grace. The call to ministry and CLI classes to date have further enhanced that grace and resulting consciousness.
Learn about minister ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Pastoral Calling
My name is Alejandro Salvi and I have a pastoral calling for my life. I reside in Parkland, Florida in the United States of America. I was born in Miami, Florida and have lived in Florida most of my life. I first attended a Christian school, but then later went to the public school system in Miami. After graduating, I attended the University of Miami and Clemson University and received my Bachelor of Arts in Economics. After graduating, I attended the United States Navy in the aviation program and received my training as a pilot. After my discharge, I became an Airline pilot in which I still practice today.
I did not become serious about pursuing a walk with God until I got to know my wife’s family in Colombia. I saw how the people in Colombia had such passion for Jesus and God that it intrigued me further. I became good friends with a pastor named Rodrigo in Dos Quebradas, Colombia, which is the town next to where my wife grew up. The people in Colombia have so much faith and are content with what they have. I began to realize that there is something for me to do here, to better their lives and to better mine spiritually. After many visits, I became more involved and realized that Father Rodrigo and his church need my help. I have been and still am fortunate to be in the position that I am in. I heard the call to do something and never from that day is there any turning away. Father Rodrigo and I have become the best of friends and it is my honor to follow God’s leading as I help this small church in a less fortunate neighborhood in Dos Quebradas, Colombia. This is my pastoral calling and I am answering it.
My ministry dream is to eventually take Father Rodrigo’s church to a level where he can provide a better service to his members. However, my long-term dream is to provide not only a difference in people’s lives but to open a church that will provide free services for people who can not afford funeral services for their loved ones. It is important to show respect to a family’s loved one once they pass on. I noticed how these people are stressed out for not being able to provide this to a dear loved one in a grieving moment.
This course has given me the opportunity to strengthen my walk with God and I follow where He leads me in my pastoral calling. I will do the calling of a pastor. I am a good leader and willing to work. I have commanded many missions and I am a captain of my aircraft. In addition, my access to these benefits in the airline has opened more doors to get items and myself to these areas that are in dire straits.
These people do much with little and I respect them immensely for that. God put my wife in my path, which in turn brought me to Father Rodrigo through my wife’s grandmother. Father Rodrigo, believes that God sent me to rescue his church in Dos Quebradas, Colombia, to help him get his church to the status it needs to be to better serve his members. So these events in that order brought me closer to God and eventually to Father Rodrigo. He has told me that I have been sent to him for his people at his church. Since my involvement in his church, members have become very acquainted with me and look to me for leadership. It makes me feel grateful to be able to take my blessed life and spread it to these people one at a time.
Obtaining a scholarship with CLI will not only benefit me but countless people in Dos Quebradas, Colombia that I have been sent to help in many ways. I desire to take it to the next level. God is guiding me, and my only reward is to see these people rise higher and give them hope through God, Father Rodrigo and myself. I ask that you pray for the people of this church and every church, every person that needs our help. Thank you for offering this incredible course and opportunity. I have never been so excited to learn and do the Lord’s work.
Learn about minister ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.
