Heather Watts
United States of America
My name is Heather and I am currently living in the United States of America. I just recently moved back here after spending several years living in Oxford, England.
I came to know the Lord in my early twenties through a friend of my family, a missionary with a huge heart who sought to impact the lives of everyone he met with Jesus. I grew up in a Catholic family believing fully in God but completely disconnected and without relationship just religion. Our friend’s passion for sharing the gospel with my husband and I as young parents lead us to Christ and Salvation and has now changed the course of our family forever.
Since the very early days of my salvation, I had a strong desire to walk closely with the Lord and serve Him. I immediately jumped into the world of church ministry eager to serve and share the gospel. I can remember the exact moment that I knew this was a calling on my life. I had just been asked to refresh a ministry for a Baptist Church that previously had a Children’s Ministry but it had literally fallen into neglect and ruin. The rooms were filled with dusty curriculum, broken toys and mouse poop everywhere. I came in and cleaned, painted, set up the lessons, found some teachers and got ready to launch. I remember Church that day when we were ready to start the ministry again. Our Church was electric everyone was so excited, including me. The kids entered the room that day I knew right from the start something was just a little off. This church was set in a low-income area, and it came to my attention quickly that I had 4 kids who were literally starving. There was no way possible these kids would be able to do anything until they got some food in them. Which we did right away. I even changed the whole way that ministry ran for that church on Sundays. We started each Sunday sharing breakfast first. I learned so many valuable things that day messages straight from God. But more than anything it stirred in me such a deep compassion and love for children. That would today still fuel the passion I currently serve with. That’s what I call a calling. When you know in the depths of your being that God has marked you for something specific. And I see that every day as it plays out over time just in the longevity of it.
I have participated in Children’s Ministry for the last 20 years. I have served in various roles from writing curriculum, starting a children’s ministry in a church that did not have one, refreshing a ministry that is not functioning well, new church plant, teaching children, VBS, Children’s Director, Children’s Pastor, Pastoral Care for Families, Communications, Creative Team and the list could go on probably for a long time. I have worn many hats over the years. I am currently part of a local church in New Jersey that is a global church which is the same branch of the one that I attended when I was in Oxford, England. My heart and dreams are to continue to be part of this church, to continue to lead and teach and be part of the kid’s program here where children learn about Jesus and Impact the world for Him. To continue to be effective for the Gods Kingdom, loving people and sharing the gospel.
The challenges we face in the area I am currently living in are poverty, humanism, and spiritual apathy. The community in this area has some great divides in it with race and income. Any church in this area to be effective with the Gospel will need to be a church with Jesus as the cornerstone that welcomes everyone and is active within the community. It will need to be a church that is intentional, relational, and compassionate (grace filled). People are desperate now more than ever to find where they belong in this world, to know their life has a purpose and value. The gospel will need to be communicated clearly not in a way that is confusing or hard to understand. I believe the Church I attend does just that it.
My current church has a played a huge part in helping to continue to develop me as a leader as well as support and encourage me as I seek to grow and lead within my community so that I am effective in sharing the gospel and in ministering to others. I have also learned that part of the journey of becoming a revival leader is not just leaving it up to the church to make sure you are trained but taking responsibility and being accountable for your own growth and walk with Christ. So that you are effective in the areas you lead, which will ultimately make a difference for those that you are serving and for sharing the gospel. Which means being effective for the Kingdom. Being active with our faith.
I am also passionate about believers spending ample time in the Word as they seek to walk closely with God and lead in this by example. I love to encourage others to seek God out in the Word. I think it is fundamental. You can’t know who you are if you don’t know God and how much He loves you and the plans and purposes He has for your life.
As I mentioned earlier the choice my husband and I made to follow Jesus has made eternal changes within the course of our family. My husband and I are the first Christ followers in both of our families. This has altered our genealogy forever. We have had the blessing of raising our children in a Christian home covered in prayer and grace. We have homeschooled all 3 children. I am still homeschooling my 3rd child who has 2 more years of school left. Our other 2 children actively serve and lead in ministries in their Universities and their Churches. They have the same passion that’s within us to follow Christ, to love God and Others.
This Scholarship is so important to my ministry dream because it enables me to continue to run with my passion and calling but in a way that is effective to those God places in my path. I recently had been feeling like more training was needed for the areas I have been going into as I have taken on more pastoral responsibilities. But I thought maybe my time for that had passed that it would not be an option for me to do that now. I have been actively looking for ways to get training and had not found any until I discovered CLI. CLI has made it possible for me to continue to learn and grow as a Christ follower and leader in my community and still be able to be a wife and mom. To be able to still homeschool and serve within my church. And to not go into an exhaustive amount of debt that would strain my family. And that I think is so exciting. It has opened up some amazing possibilities for me. Every good and perfect gift comes from above.
I could use prayer that God would continue to give me strength and courage to stay the path. To continue to have endless amounts of energy and compassion for my community and the people God places on my path and to never grow weary of what He has called me to do.
Bible Study Leader Training
Join today and receive a scholarship towards pursuing Bible Study Leader Training and becoming a leader in Christian ministry. Christian Leaders Institute (CLI) offers free high-quality online ministry training. CLI accepts any individual anywhere in their life to learn about Christianity. Read a student’s testimony below who found CLI and is using the scholarship for pursuing youth leader training to spread the word of God.
I live in Monrovia, Liberia where doing ministry requires self-empowerment and self-support. But praises and honor be to God who has been faithful and caring from the very beginning till now. Growing up in a Christian family was joyous and wonderful because it gave me the sense of direction and relationship with Jesus Christ and God. My family’s daily morning and evening devotions drew me closer to the things of God and obtain an understanding of living for God through the Bible discussion we had. I have always loved and wanted to share the word of God and God’s love and kindness with other young people, which I now do. So for me, I am now living my dream.
The class has empowered and nurtured me with good ingredients to grow in the things of God and to spread the Gospel to other lost young people. The Education, I received through the class is very valuable and worthy to be kept and lived by. As a youth leader, I have come to know that young people need direction and guidance on life issues. I see myself as an instrument to be used to direct and lead young people on a godly platform that make their lives fruitful and God’s glory will be revealed in their lives as well. This is my passion and ego.
Getting young people who are frustrated by the economic, political, social and illiterate crises from the path of ungodly to a godly path is a major challenge. One must be able to identify in whatever way the crises these young people are going through be it providing education, food, shelter or job for them. Many young people in my country are alive striving for these things daily as their ultimate goal and have forgotten about God and Heaven. But through the local church workshops and training, many of the young people are gradually changing their minds and giving their lives.
Obtaining CLI Scholarship is like a stepping stone to bridge the many crises in my country. It will enable me to receive the Biblical education and materials and tools that I cannot afford to buy or pay for. It will empower and strengthen me to reach the young people with the Gospel of Jesus Chris. Keep me in prayers as I reach the Gospel to the lost young people of this world. May God win them at all cost.
Check out more stories about CLI students pursuing Bible Study Leader training and becoming leaders in Christian ministry and much more on the CLI Facebook page
Pastor and Youth Leader Training
Join today and receive a scholarship towards Pastor and Youth Leader training and many more studies. With CLI, you can become a leader in Christian ministry. Christian Leaders Institute (CLI) offers free high-quality online ministry training. CLI accepts any individual anywhere in their life to learn about Christianity. Read a student’s testimony below who found CLI and is studying pastor and youth leader training. He is using the scholarship to make a difference in individuals’ lives and to spread the word of God.
My name is Tristen Wells. I’m from Houston, TX. I am blessed to live in the U.S.A., where we are blessed to have freedom of religion. With that being said, we also have a lot of churches that do not teach sound doctrine. This is one of the main reasons why I choose CLI for my education so that I won’t follow in their footsteps.
I began my walk with Christ (consciously) when I was 17. I was a knuckle head student at Romulus High School at the time, and I stayed in trouble because I lacked attention and love. My mother around that time had just attempted to commit suicide and was classified as bipolar. I also was involved in the street life selling drugs and almost lost my life in a drug deal gone bad. Fortunately, God always sends his helper to get those who have gone astray. I had a teacher named Mrs. Brinston who took me under her wing and started to preach Christ to me. She started to treat me like her own son and took me to church with her every Sunday whether I wanted to go or not. From that point on I had a lot of questions about the gospel which most people could not answer. I was really critical of the word and didn’t understand much about it, besides going to church. One day, I got so frustrated with the lack of knowledge of the people who claimed to know Christ. I started to read the bible from beginning to end (mostly looking for in consistents because Jesus sounded too good to be true) but the more I read the more interested I became in getting to know Christ. Of course, I was a stubborn and prideful teen, so I didn’t abide by any of God’s commandments or statutes. Once God starts a work in you, he will see it to completion. So after mistake after mistake, failure after failure, and one time many trips to jail, I began to accept the fact that my way wasn’t working. At that moment, I chose to depend on God completely.
My ministry dream is to preach and mentor kids and teens that were like me. To help them find Christ and develop a loving relationship with the one and only true God
This class has blessed me with affirmation. Everything that CLI represents I am about. My favorite lecture so far is the 7 connections. It explains to me the balance in relationships required to have a steadfast and productive relationship with God in every aspect of life from family to the world. I’m blessed to have found the school after hours of searching the internet and school tours. I thank God for CLI.
Honestly, I’m not a fan of titles but I believe I identify mostly with youth leader and pastor, but when I asked my wife she told me I was evangelist
The main reasons I choose to pursue ministry is because when I started to go to church on my own, I was met with so much judgment and neglect that I was discouraged from pursuing a relationship with Christ. I promised myself that I would study the word and become knowledgeable in the scriptures. I would never turn away a hungry soul seeking guidance. For all you know, you could be the closest thing to Christ a non-believer has ever seen.
Some of the challenges in my geographic area are the inner city youth, who are often neglected when it comes to ministry. The bible connection has brought encouragement in my life to continue my pursuit in ministry. My church has help me by offering oppurtunies to serve in the church and not just be an ideal member. I also thank God for a supportive wife who believes in my God given purpose. She witnessed me convert from sinner to saint and she continues to love me through it all. That is why I need a scholarship for CLI because without it I can not afford traditional seminary school. This scholarship will give me access to what I need to become a leader and teacher of sound doctrine. I will be able to study pastor and youth leader training to follow my calling. The main thing that I ask you guys to pray for is that I remain steadfast, hungry for Christ, and to remain humble through it all.
Check out more stories about CLI students seeking pastor and youth leader training and becoming leaders in Christian ministry and much more on the CLI Facebook page