Debt Free Ministry Dream
I live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. I was born into a church going family with Baptist roots in the deep South. By the age of nine, my family had migrated to Wisconsin and joined a Baptist church in the inner-city of Milwaukee. While attending a regular Sunday morning service, I was led to Christ. At 14, with a better understanding of what it means to be led to Christ, I rededicated my life to Christ and received my calling of a debt free ministry dream at 15, which has since been confirmed by several leaders of the local church. At the age of 18, I learned who the Holy Spirit is and what an infilling of the Holy Spirit is.
My debt free ministry dream is to lead a newly planted church. The details of the church are still being laid out for me by God. However, I do know that a component of it will include a ministry to the homeless as this is something that my family has personal experience with and I have an understanding that homelessness can hit anyone regardless of social and economic standing.
Prior to taking this course, I felt stagnant in my walk with Christ. I know that a large part of that surrounds knowing that God has called me out of the fold of another church to stand and follow my debt free ministry dream. This course has renewed my desire to walk into my calling and not let people, circumstance, or doubt stand in the way.
I identify most with the role of Pastor. I have heard, clearly, the voice of the Lord call me to that role. This role aligns with my heart’s desire to lead and mentor those within the Body of Christ. The other roles have some interesting components but don’t fully align with the vision God has given me.
I’ve lived a life of ministry. From early childhood in choir and holiday pageants to adulthood as a member of Praise and Worship teams and Choir, distribution, youth leadership, director of creative arts, usher board, and so on. I have lived my life serving God.
One of the biggest challenges in Milwaukee is the popularity contest. People in this area tend to only support those that they know and like. There is a “no new friends” mentality going around that is preventing people from accepting something new and going after what God has for them especially if it is not coming from someone that they have known for a while. I’m hoping to change that and win those people over with the Love of Christ.
After my divorce, I felt lost. I felt like a part of me had died. I wasn’t sure which direction to turn. Admittedly, I was off track for some time. But when I turned my face back to Christ, I found the hope I’d lost. The void that I was trying to fill had been filled with the love of Christ. He told me, “Remember why you first fell in love with Me. And I’ll take care of the rest. Just focus on me.”
My local church has been encouraging me for some time to walk into my debt free ministry dream calling. Under my current pastors, I attended a 16-month training program for those that have been called into the five-fold ministry. Since then, they have started their own Bible training school and have encouraged me to attend. However, the time commitment and the financial cost don’t align with my current employment situation.
My family is very encouraging. In particular, my mother has been there with me in prayer. They have all offered to help as much as possible in the beginning.
I’ve put off walking into my calling for so long because of work conditions, finances, and lack of training. To get the training needed, I’ve been asked to relocate with financial assistance or job placement assistance or to pay out of pocket an astronomical amount of money that I don’t have. This scholarship will give me access to training that I can complete without relocation or financial hardship. If I am awarded this scholarship, I will be forever grateful.
I ask that you pray that I continue to decrease, that God is increased in my life and in the lives of those that I will touch on a day to day basis as well as through my ministry. Pray that all of the pieces of God’s plan come together in a timely fashion and that my ministry operates debt free at all times.
To learn about local “ecuministry” ordinations, go to Christian Leaders Alliance.
Ordained Minister Calling
Greetings Friends, I am Shane Novy. Currently of Glennville, GA. I am an Army Infantry Veteran of ten plus years, then became diabetic and was released from the Army. I am originally from Madison and Green Bay, Wisconsin. I grew up in a single parent home and my mother felt it important that my siblings and I grow up knowing the Lord. I was baptized in the Methodist Church and attended a Catholic School. I spent much time with my best friend’s youth group of the Lutheran Denomination. As a teenager, I felt a strong ordained minister calling. However, as a younger man, I began questioning my beliefs and turned to Paganism and Druidism. I spent many years in that place. Recently, with the loss of my only son, I have felt a pull back to my beginnings and a renewal of faith.
My dream is just to learn as much as I can, become ordained and the share the word with any and all who will participate.
With the Getting Started and Christian Basics classes, I have opened the Bible and my heart together and have found new meaning to words I have long forgotten. I spend several hours a day reading and praying and relearning the relationship I had walked away from all those years ago. I feel more content and happier just having God back in my life.
I would say that I identify with the role of Pastor and Church Planter more than anything. It seems that no matter what I do I strive to be the best and end up sharing with and mentoring those who are just beginning in an area which I find myself in. The idea of starting a new church fascinates me.
My time as a teenager and the mentoring I received from Pastor Miller was the beginning of my ordained minister calling. He and his wife had a huge impact on my young life. It is from them that the desire to serve God arose. I still remember singing the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy” while mowing my rather large yard after coming home from church on summer Sundays.
Living in Southeastern Georgia is a challenge in itself but religiously speaking you are hard pressed to not find a church within a mile of any place you find yourself. Another challenge will be to find a location and a group who wishes to partake in a new church experience.
Reconnecting to the Bible and actually reading it and finding meaning in it has opened my eyes and reawakened my relationship with God. With it, I feel whole again and do not have any doubts or questions as I had once before.
Honestly, I am still looking for a local church to attend. I speak with my friends and acquaintances about God and my renewed belief and a few have already suggested that they may be interested in attending a church that we start together.
I am divorced and the loss of my son has reignited my desire for the things of God and following my ordained minister calling.
The scholarship at Christian Leaders Institute offers me the ability to attain my goals while I also can work and pay the bills, yet I still may have enough to donate back to CLI. It seems that it may be a circle between us.
To learn more about Minister Ordination go to Christian Leaders Alliance.