Evangelist to the Homeless
Join today and receive a scholarship towards becoming an Evangelist to the Homeless or 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 to become an Evangelist to the Homeless and spread the word of God.
June 23, 2017
Greetings, my name is Paul Hess. I live in Menlo Park California, it is about a half hour drive from the city of San Francisco. My story begins 20 years ago I had just moved to California from New York for a job as a Private Chef for a wealthy family, it’s also where I met the love of my life, my future wife. I had been searching for God for quite some time, I knew there had to be something more to life than just work, friendships, and all that worldly stuff.
I had searched for God in many books and Bibles, I read new age religion books, Buddhists books, I lit many candles and prayed to many saints, I watch many different evangelists on TV and I found nothing in any of those things. One day I was driving in my car and accidentally hit the wrong button on the radio and it tuned into a Christian radio station. I drove around all day and the next listening to these pastors talk about how The Father loved me so much He gave his only Son to die for me. That day while driving in my car I gave my heart to The Lord.
I joined a church and over the years I served in many ministries but never felt called to do them. I continued to pray to the Lord to serve in a ministry where He wanted me to serve. Then one day I was reading Romans chapter 10:14 and then I looked up and I had a vision I saw my family and I walking in the streets of San Francisco evangelizing the homeless. I looked down at the Bible and the next verse jumped out at me verse 15 says And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” and I knew this was the ministry The Lord had for me. We provide clothes, shoes, blankets, and most important the opportunity to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified to what the world considers the lowest of the low, but I consider it an honor and a privilege that the Lord would use to evangelize the poor.
My dream is to start a mission where the homeless can come and have a place to eat, shower, do some laundry, and have a place to hear the word of God and have bible studies. They can come to a place where they will feel the love of Jesus who is the true shelter from the world where they are treated badly.
I consider myself called to be an evangelist to the homeless. I cannot describe the feeling that I get when My wife and I and my three children go out and serve the Lord together. I am a truly blessed man. We currently assist a homeless church on Sundays that is held outdoors on a wharf on the San Francisco Bay. I have never been to a church where there is so much love amongst the brothers and sisters. After service on Sundays, we serve breakfast and pass out clothes and shoes to them.
I would love to study more of God’s word and take classes to become a better leader and Chaplain/Evangelist but I am disabled and in a wheelchair and cannot physically spend a lot of time to go to a bible college and I also am on disability and do not get enough money to afford to go to a college. Being able to get a diploma online is perfect for my situation, I have researched other online Bible schools and they also are very expensive. Receiving a scholarship from CLI would be an answer to my prayers. Please, I ask for your prayers for my ministry and that the Lord provide me with a building to start the mission, The Lord even gave me a name for the mission “Throne Of Grace Mission” after Hebrews 4:16. Thank again CLI for making it possible to study and I know the Lord will make my ministry dreams come true.
In Christ,
Paul
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Bible Study Minister Education
Join today and receive a scholarship towards free bible study minister education. 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 to earn free Bible Study Minister Education to answer his call from God.
My name is John Blevins. I live in a small town in North East U.S.A. I was lucky enough to be born in the Bible Belt. It seemed as if everyone I came in contact with believed in our Lord Jesus Christ. So my entire life I was exposed to religion and knew from the very start that Jesus died for me.
In my youth, my Mom and her parents kept us in the Church of Christ.I didn’t agree with the way they saw women. Women were very limited in what they were allowed to participate in. This made no sense to me since I was being brought up by my mom, her sister, and my grandmother. They were very tough and kept me and my siblings safe and secure, plus in the Bible, I remember reading about women prophets.So I began to look at other denominations.
I got married to a young lady who was brought up in a Baptist church so I started going to church with her. I couldn’t believe they allowed music played in their church service. I went from sitting quietly in a church to music being played, and people shouting and praising God.I was in shock. This made my soul catch on fire. I felt God so strong. I went to the alter and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I wanted to keep this feeling forever. It was not long before I felt the call to preach.I so wanted to tell the world that Jesus was alive and well. He was so much more than history stories He was a walking, talking being as real today as He was in the stories.
Then enters the Devil to throw fear into me, smothering the fire that the love and grace of our Heavenly Father so carefully built in me. Telling me I was worthless. That God didn’t want the likes of me representing Him and presenting His Word to the world. I must have imagined all this. People will think you’re silly etc. I never told anybody what I had felt.
Shortly after all this, my wife of seven years left me providing proof for Satan that I was worthless. I left the church for about five years. Then I met my current wife. A true gift from God. We moved to Vernon Florida and started going to Church with my dad and stepmother. This church was an Assembly of God. They had the music, the shouting and they spoke in tongues. You could feel the Lord all over this Church. We became involved in the outreach ministry. We were singing in the church choir, we were very involved. We were in a close walk with the Lord. life was so good.
We had to return to Alabama and ended up with many mouths to feed and my priorities got all messed up.Work and the all mighty dollar took center stage. I was working 60 to 90 hours a week to put food on the table and keep a roof over everyone’s head and God took the back seat. This went on for several years till the Lord decided to get my attention and suddenly I didn’t have enough money to put food on the table. I had no choice but to try to catch enough fish to feed everybody. I got to the lake bright and early sure in my ability to catch fish. I had never gone fishing and caught nothing. But, about 8 hours into this fishing trip and I started to really worry. I started talking to God. Please God you know I have to catch something to feed these babies. Time continued to pass and nothing. People were leaving, boats pulling out of the water and I didn’t have one fish, not even a bite had I gotten.Then this boat pulls up and they start loading it on the trailer. This young man says” hey mister you want these fish?” I was so relieved. I thanked them for the fish then I began thinking God. I had forsaken Him many times but He never left me.
This got me back in church and in short, the order got that fire burning in my soul again. I still felt like I was not worth to preach the word. I didn’t know enough. I had not been faithful enough.. My wife helped me understand that nobody is good enough but I still felt I didn’t know enough. Then I found your website. I hope to gain as much knowledge about the Bible as possible and spread the Good News to as many as humanly possible. I am so blessed to have come across CLI and the opportunity of Bible Study Minister Education. I love the Lord and I want every man, woman, and child to know the peace and unconditional love that knowing Jesus Christ puts in your heart and soul.
Check out more stories about CLI students becoming leaders in pastoral training ministry and much Bible Study Minister Education and much more on the CLI Facebook page
Online Ministry Training in Switzerland
Join today and receive a scholarship for free online ministry training. 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 her scholarship to study online ministry training in Switzerland and to answer her call from God.
I am currently living in Switzerland and attending an English-speaking international church which is made up of people from over 40 different countries. There is a large international community around Geneva and so we are focused on reaching out to them. Ministry here is very transient as people tend to come here on a short-term basis. Coming from so many different transitions, cultures and backgrounds have its challenges but it is amazing how we learn from each other and use this to our advantage in furthering God’s kingdom.
I came to know Jesus a little over three years ago at this same church. I had just moved to Switzerland and was going through a very difficult time when I met some missionaries who attend my church. There was clearly something different about the way they loved people and I wanted to know more so went to church with them. As I began to learn about Jesus and read the Bible for myself I experienced some deep healing from things I had been going through and gave my life to Christ.
My ministry dream is to be able to show the love of God and to disciple others the way that others have shown me his love and discipled me. I have experienced a lot of difficulties in life and I would love to be more effective at reaching out to other hurting people.
This class has been a really good foundation to the training and has deepened my awareness of how to form reproducible, faith formation habits. I did not grow up in a Christian household and so the teaching on family devotional times was something I am so thankful to have learned! I currently and a youth leader and run the youth activities for the younger youth (11-14) at my church
I was given the opportunity to preach at my church for the first time a few months ago. People had been telling me for a while that I should consider full-time ministry but until the evening I first preached I wasn’t so sure. I was really nervous, but the second I stepped up and began talking I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. Nothing fills me with so much joy.
I live in a very affluent area and therefore many people see themselves as not having a need for Jesus as they already have everything they need. There is a sense of taking the freedom to practice our faith for granted. Coming from a church with many denominations, cultures, and languages also has its challenges.
I became a Christian when I opened my very own Bible for the first time and read about the healing power of Jesus. Every time I read the Gospels, I find myself transported back to that moment when I first gave my life to Christ. It refreshes my spiritual walk.
My church has been my cheerleaders from day one! They are the most encouraging and supportive group of people I have ever met and I am so thankful for them! They really have become my family! I live in Switzerland alone, my parents are back in the UK and they have had a harder time understanding my desire to go into ministry until they recently listened online to a sermon I had preached and they called me to tell me they wanted to support which was an amazing thing to hear!
Ministry training is something I have been looking into, but there was just no way I could have afforded it! I live in Switzerland, this has completely become my home. With CLI offering online ministry training in Switzerland, I am able to stay here in my home. But it is a very expensive place to live and I really struggle financially. CLI also means that I can stay serving at my home church and don’t have to move away from the ministries I love and my church family who support me in order to receive training. Please pray for peace and being able to assess priorities as I undertake this online ministry training in Switzerland.
Check out more stories about CLI students becoming leaders with our online ministry training in Switzerland and much more on the CLI Facebook page