Ordained Pastor
My name is Joseph Edward Legg. I am a pastor at Church on the Rock in Wasilla, Alaska, USA, and feel called to be an ordained pastor. I have been in multiple ministries over the last 20 years, including the local church and para-church organizations. The U.S.A. is definitely a mission field, especially here in Alaska. Ministry here is very relationship based and it’s easy to involve the entire family.
I grew up going to church but didn’t form a relationship with Jesus until my late teen years. I had been a church pianist/organist since age 12, and I had been basing a lot of Christianity on works and ability. When my father passed away after a long battle with cancer and heart disease, my world was changed and I began looking in different places for comfort. Another local church invited me to a concert, where I first began to know that Jesus loves me and desires a relationship. This began a change in my life to have a close relationship with Him.
I have five children; they and my wife Jennifer are very connected in my ministry. We try to include the entire family in as many things as we can ministry related. My wife and I have a passion for mentoring men and women. We love rural Alaska. Although we currently live and pastor at a larger church in a more developed area of Alaska, we would love to plant and pastor a church in more rural Alaska as an ordained pastor or even have a camp/retreat center.
This class has reminded me to take time in my walk with Jesus and to develop it to a point where it is reproducible to others. I am re-settling into Bible Study and reading for the relationship and not just results.
Most of my ministry experience has been in Music and Worship Ministry. I also spent about 4-5 years as a Guest Services Director at a Bible Camp in rural Alaska. This and my IT experience have given me a unique experience. I am currently a staff pastor in Worship, Guest Services, and some operations. I mostly relate to the position of Pastor.
I was married at age 22 to Mariah. She was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer soon after. She died when I was 24. At that point, I had been a high school band director. I moved 100 miles away to Arkansas and took a Music Pastor position at a small church. Once again, I was reminded of the brevity of life and I wanted to spend mine on something worthwhile like ministry.
Ministry in Alaska is unique in many ways. Here in the Valley, theft and drug abuse are rampant. We want to be able to help and minister to the lost and broken. Our church is considered to be a generous and safe place for people. However, we have to work hard to balance being that safe place while not enabling them or being an easy target for theft and drug deals. We also deal with very cold temperatures and large amounts of snow in the winter and beautiful weather and extended jobs during the summers. A large part of our population is “slopers” who are 2 weeks at home and 2 weeks at work thousands of miles away. We have developed an online streaming campus for them to stay connected while away.
One of my colleagues often says, “Everything rises and falls on your hermeneutics.” I had joined a small group of men that were going through Systematic Theology and Redemptive History together. Connecting with awesome mentors like that really showed me how important it is to be connected with God’s word during ministry. It changed how I connected with others in ministry and relationally.
I am currently a licensed pastor at my church. I have been encouraged to become an ordained pastor. After much research, our education staff recommended Christian Leaders Institue (CLI) as a path of ordination study.
Since I am older and have an extensive resume and education in music, a big challenge for getting more education has always been the financing. A scholarship at CLI makes my ordained pastor ministry calling achievable! Please be praying for wisdom to be able to balance my family, my ministry, and my education here at CLI over the next few years.
Learn about pastor ordination with Christian Leaders Alliance.
Closer Walk With God
I was born and raised in the United States of America and I am developing a closer walk with God. I am married to my husband Reverend Luke for going on four years now and we have four beautiful children. Though not all of them are biologically his, the three oldest are from my previous marriage that ended due to domestic violence. Our ministry thus far has consisted of assisting people in their happiest of times and in their darkest of times. We (my husband and I) officiate weddings, funerals, and other events around our state.
As a very young child, I was adopted. I was raised in the Lutheran church and attended a Catholic elementary school until I was in the fourth grade. I attended a public Middle School and Highschool. When I was 8 years old, I was attending church one Sunday and the Pastor was preaching salvation. There isn’t much that I remember from my childhood, but I do remember that sermon and him telling me just how to be saved. I remember thinking that I wanted that. I wanted salvation and a closer walk with God. That night I went home and after our usual bedtime routine and prayers, I remember the room being dark and I crawled out of bed, got down on my knees and prayed the prayer that the Pastor had guided us to pray. At that very moment, I felt a rush of warm come over me. I felt all the dark leave me and I was filled with something so beautiful that to this day I can’t put words to it.
My ministry dream is to help as many of our couples to be sure that God has chosen them to be married and to guide them in how to be a married couple in Christ. My ministry dream is to help my local church in opening up to the community and allowing a safe place for people who may just need a place to warm up or a warm meal. My ministry dream is to do God’s work, to help when and where I am needed. I desire to share a closer walk with God with those I meet. I want to see a need and fill that need with the love of God shining through me so that others can see and feel God’s love through me to them.After my mother’s passing, I had lost a part of my walk with God and this getting Started Course has renewed my desire to not only walk closer with God but to make it a habit to do so each and every day. It has given me the tools to learn how do be successful and the encouragement to know that I CAN DO IT!!
After my mother’s passing, I had lost a part of my walk with God and this getting Started Course at Christian Leaders Institute has renewed my desire to not only have a closer walk with God but to make it a habit to do so each and every day. It has given me the tools to learn how do be successful and the encouragement to know that I CAN DO IT!!
Learn about ordained minister study programs at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Ministry Calling Journey
Hello, my name is Guy Wolff and I am on a ministry calling journey. I am from a small town in Pennsylvania. We have many churches in my area which is wonderful that God has such a strong following. I’m in a small business with my bother doing trash collection, not a very glorious job but a very humbling one, to say the least. We have been blessed with growth and donate what we can to our local church and some of the local groups. My brother and I are both saved. I began my walk with Christ at the age of 13. I am 36 now. I’ve slipped away many times but he has always drawn me back to him. My brother is actually one of the reasons I came to Christ. He was going to church and invited me along. I enjoyed it very much until it closed due to lack of people tithing and showing up. I found other churches to attend but never one like my original home church. Many years passed, I married, had children and got divorced which ended up leading me to my current and now permanent home church, Halton church of Christ.
I have a ministry calling to do many things: counsel, teach, minister, and where ever else God decides to take me. I have a deep love for people and always try to help where I can. My ministry dream is to help people and show them Christ’s love. I can’t put a title on what I’m hoping to do at this time. I have to say that beginning this first course at Christian Leaders Institute has been a little bit of a challenge due to the number of hours I work. But it has opened my mind to the fact I can accomplish this quicker than I thought. As of the time of this writing, I am already ahead of schedule on this course. Reconnecting with God and the Bible has been such a blessing in my life. I’ve begun some serious self-analyzing and am beginning to come to terms with sins that I have been needing to deal with for some time now. Being called back to God and a walk with Him has been a tremendous help with that. I’m hoping with the training and a scholarship I will be able to go further and do more, God willing. I would love and be thankful for any prayers. Thank you, God bless.
Go to Chrisitan Leaders Alliance to learn more about minister ordination.