Ministry Vision
My name is Joseph DeClemente and I have a ministry vision for my life. I live on Long Island, New York. Ministry here is very different than other parts of the United States. What is successful in the southern parts or western parts of our country, probably won’t work here. People here are not only very leery of change but if they do not like the direction the ministry is taking, they are not afraid to let you know.
My ministry vision story begins in 1984 while attending Northern Frontier Camp in upstate New York. Even though I had heard the Gospel over and over, I never felt the need to respond. In August of 1984, at a campfire, I responded to the call of Jesus Christ. Tears flowed down my face. Even though I was young, I could feel this sense of overwhelming joy and peace. The excitement of this new life continued even after I left the camp and returned home.
Unfortunately, this did not last as I went into my teenage years. Those years were years of anger and hatred. I was angry at God for taking my grandfather and I hated life with a passion. For three years, my life was an up and down turmoil of emotion, angry this day, hated life the next. In 1990, my father encouraged me to go on a missions trip to Haiti with our church. I fought and fought but decided to put God to the test. I prayed that evening and told God that if He wanted me to go to Haiti, He would have to provide everything. Within a few weeks of that prayer, I was notified that all was paid for. I kept to that commitment and went to Haiti. It was that trip that changed my life forever.
During my time in Haiti, God revealed to me that life isn’t what TV makes it out to be. It is much greater than any of us can understand. I watched as people who were freed from witchcraft were consumed with the love of Jesus Christ and shared that with everyone they met. It was that experience that led me to return to my ministry vision, to a life of service to Jesus Christ.
My calling to enter ministry is multilayered. I wanted to be a pastor in my early 20s but was unwilling to give up everything to get the education I needed. So, I entered the secular workforce but continued to serve in my home church, now called Living Hope Christian Church in Bellerose, New York. Over the years, many pastors and people have told me to go into full-time ministry, however, due to family circumstances (the need to support a wife and 3 kids), I have been unable to do so. In addition, I still did not have the education necessary in the United States.
Over the last number of years, I have served as a teacher, sound crew chair, Trustee and Elder in my church. Within the last year, my Pastor has encouraged me to preach not only at our home church but at churches whenever needed. He connected me with a church on Long Island that desperately needed sound doctrine. This experience allowed me to hone some very valuable skills and learn about the struggles that pastors go through on a daily basis.
It was also through this experience that I began to understand that ministry in church does not supersede ministry in the home. I stepped away from preaching at that church due to not spending enough time with my family. I continue to preach whenever possible, but my focus has been directed to those God has entrusted me with caring for, my wife and 3 sons.
This opening class at Christian Leaders Institute has solidified my understanding of the importance of home ministry before public ministry. It has renewed my desire to continue my education even if it means working and preaching for the rest of my earthly life. I was impressed with the scholarship opportunity because I cannot afford to go to college. I had been seeking various online schools, but all of them were completely out of reach. It was only the Christian Leaders Institute that was within my current financial budget, free.
My personal ministry vision is to get my degree and use the education for the benefit of others who desperately need to know about the saving grace of Jesus Christ. My desire is to one day be able to retire from full-time “secular” work and enter the ministry full-time. Please pray for my family and me as this education does take time and some minor resources. Please pray for strength for my wife and patience when dealing with me. Please pray that my children see whom I am doing this for, our God and Father in heaven. Please pray that I am given more and more opportunities to share the Gospel with others and that others may see Jesus in us.
Learn more about minister ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Music Minister
My name is Brian Harkrider and I am called to be a music minister and possibly a pastor. I am 49 years old and I live in the United States of America. Living in a major metropolitan area, the hustle and bustle of the hurry-up lifestyle seem to be a large impairment to ministering the Word for me. Currently, I am blessed to be able to serve in the praise and worship group in my church. This is a tremendous blessing for me, as music is a huge part of God’s calling for me.
I was saved at an early age. Praise be to God, my mother made sure that older sister and I were firmly grounded in church. Some my earliest memories of are of the church and activities centered around the church. I fell away from the path, however, as a teenager and young adult. But as God is faithful, He called me back and used me for His purpose while I was working overseas in Iraq.
My ministry dream is, of course, to follow God’s call wherever and however He desires. For me, though, I have and use the gift of musical talent, bestowed by Him, to bring praise, glory, and honor to His name as a music minister. Also, I desire to be a leader of the congregation in some capacity, possibly as a pastor.
I feel that this Getting Started class with Christian Leaders Institute has prompted me to take an introspective view of myself and my motivation to serve Christ. To ask myself questions if I am up to the task before me, and, to accept where I have been found to be lacking. This has, in turn, helped to strengthen my reliance upon the Lord to be the guide and provider for all my needs. To rely on the hope given that He is faithful to complete the work He has started.
I relate to call of pastor the most. God has used me in that role. He has given me the ability to speak in a public forum and present His message in a concise/understandable manner. I also feel that He has given me a heart of a servant leader through my life experiences.
The challenge for me isn’t geographical. It’s more a question of walking in faith and overcoming the hesitations from within myself. It is my hope that the learning/training offered through CLI will embolden me to take the steps of faith to become a more effective instrument of God’s kingdom.
I was pulled to the Word with the need to know of my standing with God. It has shown me my utter dependence upon Him and my desperate reliance upon His grace and mercy. Through the Word, I have been granted a peace that brings me comfort from deep within. It is by hearing the Word that faith is grown. It is through faith that hope is born. It is the Word, and the Word is love.
Currently, I serve in the praise and worship band. The church has been very welcoming to me, in that role. It is my honored duty/service to be able to serve God, bless God, and hopefully others through music, praising and worshiping our Lord and Savior.
CLI was recommended to me by one of my pastors. He believed that it offered me the median to take my service to the next level. I prayerfully hope that the knowledge/training will enhance my ministry for the furtherance of God’s kingdom. That I will gain confidence, through the training to be a much more effective minister of the Word. Please pray that God would bless me in this venture. To be persistent, diligent, and faithful to His calling.
Learn about ordained minister study programs at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Small Group Missionary
I am currently living in the United States, but I lived for two years in Japan. I was teaching the Bible, teaching English, and working in the office of the mission organization with which I was in Japan. My desire right now is to return to Japan as a small group missionary with TEAM. I will be encouraging local believers, leading Bible study and working in the mission office supporting missionaries in the field.
I became a Christian in my teens. And then became a high school math teacher. But I loved to travel. As I got older, I felt God calling me towards missions and to unreached people groups. I spent two summers working with street children in Bolivia which is where I was born. But I didn’t feel a strong calling to Bolivia. Later through a conversation with a former missionary to Japan, I felt that that was the place where God may be calling me. I pursued a short-term missions experience in Japan. And now I am considering returning full-time.
This class at Christian Leaders Institute has reminded me of the importance of having a daily quiet time. I used to incorporate the reading of a hymn each day in my devotions, but for some reason, I stopped doing that. I was reminded through the Getting Started class that that would be a good thing to incorporate back into my daily quiet time.
I would say I identify most with a small group leader. As a teacher, I work well with small groups. When I was in Japan before, I led small group Bible studies with one or two or up to five or six students. I really enjoyed that experience. I learned so much from my students. I especially loved hearing their questions and interpretations of scripture coming from an honor-shame culture.
One of the key experiences that prompted me to pursue ministry was living and working in Japan. There was such an openness to hearing the gospel. Yet, so many people have not heard the gospel. I felt like here in the United States many people already have a negative connotation of Christians. Yet in Japan, they see Christianity as a western religion but they’re very interested in learning more. There is an openness to the gospel that I haven’t seen in the United States.
One of the unique challenges in Japan is that Buddhism is so ingrained in people that it is more of a cultural religion than a faith religion. People find it hard to make a profession of faith because of many of the customs of Buddhism. There are many people that I have met or heard of who must worship in secret or attend Bible study in secret because if their family finds out that they attend church or study the Bible or have become a Christian, they will be disowned. Being disowned by one’s family is even more difficult in an honor-shame culture. Sharing the Bible with friends and students in Japan, though, does transform lives. One of my favorite stories to study and teach is Ruth. The story of Ruth really resonated with many of the women I taught. Although my church would like to see me return to Japan as a church planter, I know that I can use my skills to help in supporting missionaries who are on the field or are called to the field.
A scholarship at CLI allows me to complete the Biblical studies classes I need in order to return to Japan. Please pray for discipline in time management to complete the classes and all the things I will need to complete in order to return to Japan as a small group missionary.
Learn about local “ecuministry” ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.