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.
Radio Ministry
My name is Kimberly J. Carson and I have a radio ministry dream and call. I am currently living in the United States of America. I was born in Okinawa, Japan. My father was stationed there as an officer in the US Army and my mother was a teacher of English. I am the younger of two daughters. My family moved back to the states and my father began his second tour in Vietnam. My first memories are of my mother being upset because my father was severely wounded on the battlefield. He was in the hospital for 11 months and almost died several times. Even as a young child I heard my mother pray for him and our family.
I don’t think there was ever a time in my life that I didn’t believe in God. I had health problems and spent a lot of time at home as a child sick and unable to go to school. I had a lot of time to ponder existence and why I was always sick and caught every childhood disease, but my sister never caught anything. Not even chickenpox. I learned about having a more personal relationship with God when I was in high school. At the time, I didn’t quite understand how very different that was from just believing in God and that Jesus was real and had died for my sins. I gave my life to Christ when I was in college and then began studying the Bible for myself. I married while still in college and my husband and I joined a church with a strong young adult ministry and thus began my personal journey with my Lord. My husband died shortly thereafter in a car accident. Our daughter was only 6 months old and I was only 25. I then had to search my heart and I realized if I truly believed what I confessed then, I had to have faith and know that my husband was with the Lord. I trusted God with my very life and strived to become the woman that He would have me be.
Fast forward to now, many years later, I can look back on my journey and see how God has used each situation in my life to bring me ever closer to Him and His will for me. I was encouraged by my church leadership to become a worship leader in my church and eventually lead the drama ministry. God gave me an opportunity to share my love for music, the creative arts and my love for Him in a new way. I am the creator and host of a radio show that shares inspirational jazz music to a global audience. During my show, I share things that God has placed in my heart for His people. My radio ministry dream is to expand my radio show into a website and blog to share scripture and music to bring people closer to God and provide a source, of peace, joy, hope, and love for those who are seeking.
With my day job (I am an IT consultant) and my radio gig, I do not have the time to attend a traditional theological seminary. But I am feeling and accepting the music ministry call that God has placed in my life, and I realize that I need more knowledge and training to be even more effective in people’s lives. When sharing with others about my love of the Lord and what I have learned on my walk, I have had various people ask me if I am a Pastor. This made me laugh and smile because God has a funny way of showing me what His will is for me. I am blessed to have found the Christian Leaders Institute and look forward to all that God has for me and His blessed children.
Learn about minister ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Christian Leader Call
My name is Joshua Webster and I have a Christian leader call on my life. I live in the United States of America and I work in law enforcement. I was born and raised in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. As a child growing up in this big city of excitement and partying, I always felt like something was wrong about the activity that took place here. As I grew older in age, I started to understand why I felt the way I did. I noticed my interests in life were pretty much the complete opposite of everyone else around me. While crime and sinful behavior grabbed the attention of others, my interest grew stronger in Christianity and the works of God. I felt a growing desire to learn more about living for Jesus Christ and making an impact in my community here in New Orleans.
I was blessed when I found Christian Leaders Institute online. Free ministry training at Christian Leaders Institute has built my confidence. My Christian leader call is being strengthened daily. This education equips me with the proper training and tools needed to pursue my dream of being a Christian leader in my church and community. With the scholarship provided by Christian Leaders Institute, I can now start my journey towards being the solution to the issues in my city and community instead of adding to the problem. I desire to be a witness for Christ and to make a difference for Christ in my home, my church, and my community. I pray that God will continue to lead and guide me on this Christian leader call and journey to help and save His people. And all God’s people say, “Amen!”
Learn more about Deacon Minister Ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance. Also, learn about offered ordained minister study programs.