Aspiring Youth Minister
Hello, my name is Anthony Davison and I am an aspiring youth minister. I am from Fremont, Indiana. Living in the United States has blessed me in being able to practice my faith and worship God in freedom. Having grown up in a religious home, I have always known who God is and who Jesus is. However, I never knew or had the understanding of having a relationship with Jesus. One Sunday while listening to my preacher speak, I felt a pulling at my heart. It was God calling me to Him and to the ministry.
I have spent time listening and praying to God to show me how He wants to use me. I feel Him guiding me and telling me to use the gifts He has given me to spread His gospel to the lost and seeking in this world. With the gifts and experiences I have had in life, I feel that I can reach the youth of my community. I believe that my generation has fallen away from God, so, instead of waiting for someone to change this, I have decided that I am going to do something to change it. That is what led me to Christian Leaders Institute for free ministry training. Not only will the classes I take give me the background knowledge and training to pursue youth ministry, but it will also help me to grow in my walk with Jesus. I know that I will have many challenges and obstacles as I continue down my road to ministry, but with God on my side, nothing can stand against me. Romans 8:31 “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Go to Christian Leaders Alliance to learn about ordained minister study programs that are offered.
My name is TracyAnn Schuur and I am from rural Alberta Canada.
I was raised in a faithful family, attending church regularly and always filled with the knowledge of God and His son Jesus Christ. I was baptized as a baby and lived a life surrounded by Christ followers.
As many people do, I hit a rather rebellious stage in my teenage years and started to stray. I found myself walking a very fine gray line, and I feel that I was about to make some very bad decisions…….. I believe that Jesus stepped in at the point, and gave me a little wake-up call.
At the age of 16, I found myself pregnant, deserted by all the friends that I thought I had. I was blessed by parents who supported my decision to have my son – yet felt so alone. It was a very bleak point at this time of my life that I had a dream and it changed my life forever. I was walking with Jesus, I couldn’t see him, but I knew he was there behind me with his hand on my shoulder. In my dream, I heard John 14:6 in my heart. (Yes I heard it with my heart, and it will live there forever now…) “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:7 finishes with “If you know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” My life changed forever that night as I finally understood that Jesus loved me and had a plan and a purpose for me and that I was not, nor ever would be again – alone. I made a promise to God that night, to live my life according to His will and to raise my unborn child knowing and loving God. I began a faith journey and started to build a personal relationship with Jesus rather than just having knowledge and belief.
God has blessed me through some amazing times like meeting my husband who completes me, and welcoming my three children into the world and He has comforted me through some terrible times of hurt and loss. The bible has always been a constant in my life and a support through tough times.
In 1998 we welcomed baby number three, at 25 weeks gestation and faced some incredible challenges. I can remember the exact moment, on the darkest night in Paediatric ICU, when I was faced with a daughter fighting for her very life, I found my way to the chapel. I prayed like never before that night and turned it all over to God who answered, graciously saved our little one and renewed her strength. Although my faith is where I turned, and what saw me through, it seemed to me that I felt closest to God when things were rough and somehow lost that when things were good though.
In 2010 I realized through various conversations and self-searching, that I was taking my faith and God for granted. I had become content just to know He was there but never turned to him unless I needed Him! I made a decision that I would no longer be that person……. I would reach out and have Jesus in my life actively and daily. I would share my love for Him and build on the faith that I already had and NOT take for granted His incredible presence in my life. I became a regular member of Heartland Alliance church in September 2010 and had had the pleasure of getting to know many of the staff and other members there. I have felt welcomed and loved at every turn as have my children.
Having been baptized and confirmed as a child, I was never sure why adult baptism was important. I had felt drawn to being baptized for about three years and had fought it, never fully understanding the purpose for me based on my previous baby baptism. It wasn’t until I heard the term “believer’s baptism” that it made sense. This term brought it all together for me. I stood before our whole church as a firm believer and follower of Christ, and I wholly and willingly pledged my life to Jesus Christ as my Savior, Redeemer, Father, and Friend. Proverbs 19:21 says “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” I walk in this knowledge every day and follow the Lord’s purpose for me. I know that this baptism was a step that He wanted me to take and I have followed where He leads me then and always.
Even previous to being baptized I was a small group leader for our women’s ministry as well as a couple of online ministries that I was a part of. Through encouraging others and lifting them up I began to feel prompted to take some ministry courses, and then eventually “shoved” for lack of better explanation. I was not in any position financially to begin bible college as we are currently on only my husband’s income due to some long-term health issues. Without Christian Leaders Institute I would be unable to follow where I feel like God is leading me and I am very grateful!
I am super fortunate to have my best friend and husband Mark for his love and support and encouragement in my beliefs and in being baptized. He, as well as my children who attend Heartland with me, share my love of Jesus and support and walk beside me in my goals of ministry.
I feel that given my experiences in life, I can connect with questioning young women and lead them to a Christ-centered life! I feel with this opportunity I can have a more solid foundation in knowledge and provide better ministry to the women I meet and mentor. Specifically, I see myself, God willing, as a women’s Pastor in the future.
As I believe in the power of prayer, I would ask that you keep my ministry in your prayers. I would love to provide outreach to teenage moms and provide Christian counseling with a pro-life perspective. I pray for guidance in determining if this is God’s will or mine and would welcome additional prayer in that area.
It is with a grateful heart that I close, and offer my most sincere thanks for this opportunity.
Servant Christian Leader
Three years ago, at the age of 49, in the middle of a very messy life, I was asked a simple question by a dear friend – “Don’t you understand that you are a child of God?” That question softened my heart and turned my life around as a wave of love overcame my whole being. Ever since then, God has been ‘catching me up’ and it’s been an amazing, beautiful walk so far. Now I am pursuing the call to be a servant Christian leader for the Lord.
I’m Karen Soeffker, born and raised in the United Kingdom and have always been passionate about being ahead. As a child, I was the first to finish a book, first to finish papers, first to learn an instrument and even the first of anyone in our family or my parent’s family to be able to go to college. I was smart, got good grades and graduated from high school at the age of 18 with top marks. I was also crazy in love with a boy in Germany that I had met during an exchange program. So instead of going to college, I packed some clothes and my record collection and ran to him, ignoring my parent’s pleas and tears. Of course, I couldn’t speak German but luckily I was able to land a job on a nearby British Airforce Base, cleaning bathrooms and dorms a leg in my servant Christian leader journey.
One year later, my ‘relationship’ with this boy abruptly came to an end after I caught him with another girl. I couldn’t possibly go home to my parents, I was both stubborn and ashamed so I dug in my heels and got to work. I needed to catch up. As soon as my German was good enough, I moved into an office position at the base and soon had enough work experience to apply for an office job with a German company. My next position introduced me to mainframe computers and many late nights as an ‘operator’ changing tapes to update the system during evening shifts. There was lots of ‘waiting’ during tape changes so I taught myself to code, hoping that one day I could be writing programs to run businesses instead of just changing tapes.
Coding led to programming, which led to implementing software and consulting, and at the age of 40, I completed my 22nd year in Germany as a Director with a large software company.
I had a great job, I had an amazing life and married a wonderful man along the way – I was all caught up! Wasn’t I? I had no idea how far behind I still was. After being together for 8 years, my husband and I decided to get married, it was just the right time for both of us. That was a Civil Service Wedding in August and the following January we found out that we were pregnant – I was 40 and my husband 46!
I had always wanted children, but I always managed to find partners that didn’t, including my husband. We struggled through the first trimester, confused and dazed about this new situation and for the first time in a very long time, I got on my knees and begged God to let me keep both my husband and my baby. That same night my husband came to me in tears, we reconciled and our life as we knew it was to be changed forever. Our son is an incredible gift! I get to be his Mom every day and I thank my heavenly Father every day for the blessing of my son.
So, am I caught up yet? Of course not! One thing that my husband and I had in common from the beginning of our relationship was our love of everything American. We filled our apartment in Germany with all things stars and stripes and spent most of our vacation time in the USA. When I found out that I was expecting, I told my company that I would become a full-time mom and wanted to resign. They asked me if I could take the project that I was working on and help it go Global. I took a chance and told them that such a task could only be performed from the USA, not Germany. They asked me where I would like to go and before I knew it, we relocated to Austin, Texas with a 1-year-old! My husband became a stay-at-home dad at the age of 47 and I was blessed to be able to work from home. Perfect!
The next few years were full of wonder and ‘first times’ as parents, flying past at lightning speed. When our son turned 5, my husband and I decided to open a toy store, filled with wooden, battery-free, educational toys. It was a learning curve for sure and after 3 years we were burned out. Parenting, my full-time job and the stress of running our own business put a strain on our finances and our marriage. It felt like we were strangers sharing the same house and I was lost and felt as though I was losing everything. And that is where my friend found me and asked me the question that changed my life – “Do you not know that you are a child of God?” My friend is also a Christian Counselor, although I didn’t know that about him at the time.
In the last three years of my servant Christian leader journey, God has led us to a wonderful church, surrounded us with Spirit-filled pastors and friends, and we as a family have never been stronger. My husband and I renewed our vows under the cross in our church on our thirteenth anniversary. We have all been water baptized and our business is flourishing. Awesome, all caught up!! Er, no….
At the age of 52, I felt the call to move to a leadership position in the marketplace. Remember that I didn’t go to college? Well, THAT is catching up with me now. I originally searched for online business degrees, but when I found the Christian Leaders Institute, I was glued to the page for hours. I felt the Holy Spirit whisper to me and remind me of leading small groups and mentoring both staff and church members and repeating my testimony to customers in the store. I realized that I wanted to be a servant Christian leader in my next position, leading individuals and teams to success in accordance with His will.
The ‘Getting Started’ class has already answered so many questions and helped me to understand that the yearning I feel is my God-given desire to be closer to Him. As a late starter, I am particularly excited to dive into the Bible, anxious to soak in His word.
My current job is our sole income and I really cannot afford to go to college. I also need to be able to study online, in between being a Mom, Wife, Business Owner, Employee, and friend.
My prayer: “Heavenly Father, help me to listen carefully and talk freely to you, help me to be more of the gift that you have created me to be and to be an expression of your love.”
I don’t ever want to have to catch up again on my servant Christian leader walk, I always want to be one step behind my heavenly Father who leads me with his love and wisdom. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 (NIV)
Learn about ordained minister study programs at Christian Leaders Alliance.