Free Christian Classes
Start taking free Christian classes today. 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 was a motherless mother and saved by Grace and found CLI as a tool to rediscover the pathway to Christ:
My name is Ashlee Peckham. I live in a small town in the U.S.A. Proudly married to the love of my life and biggest fan, and blessed to be the mother of two amazing boys. Living in the U.S is a difficult country. We have so many different religious cultures, some that idolize other figures besides God. We have believers and we have the non-believers. Where I live the population is small but we are nowhere short of a number of churches. In my area, the biggest problem would have to be those who don’t support your religious freedoms. Suddenly praying over your lunch in a restaurant is wrong, saying the name “God” is offensive, and people actually harass you for having faith. Even though I will proudly stand up and confess my love for the Lord, some are scared to even be caught with a bible.
My calling was none the less short of a blessing in disguise, and involving a major traumatic experience in my life; it made my calling so much more emotional. I am 22 years old, and my whole life has been like walking the plank every time I turn around. Growing up I had a far from perfect childhood. The one I wish I could just forget. All through the hardships, my mother was my best friend. We never left each other’s sides, and if we did we had made a promise to always tell each other where we were going even if it was to the grocery store. Life carries on, like mother and daughter relationships we had our ups and downs but never growing apart. Fast forward a couple years, newly engaged, pregnant with her very first grandson and tragedy hits. The day after my baby shower 9 months pregnant and my mother was killed in a car accident. My life is shattered. A motherless mother. At first, I did what most any human would do I begged God to bring her back to me, and when he didn’t I resented him, but not for long. A year later I find myself back in our hometown making a whole congregation cry at my confessions because of God’s Grace I was saved. A couple years later, I look back on how much pain, fear, and just how alone I was and now I don’t see how anyone could walk through their day to day lives not knowing God.
My dream in ministry is to spread the love, word, and belief of God to whoever will listen. I can see myself as a preacher or a youth leader being my age is close to most troubled teens. As mentioned before the thought of people who do not know God is simply heartbreaking to me. They do not know how loved they are, what God has done for them, what Jesus has done for them, they do not even know his story or what he represents. They do not know there is an end to their pain, to feeling alone, being scared, and even if they do know God they think their sins are too much that how could any God love them? They feel guilty, ashamed, unworthy, but the worst pain which I know the feeling all too well, the feeling that you have let God down. I want to show them there is light at the end of the tunnel; I want them to feel that sense of relief and redemption that I felt when I gave my life fully to God. I let the old me go, my old sins, my fears, I gave it all to God. I want others to feel the peace and love God gave me. I know I will be able to start on my journey to my dream through CLI’s free Christian classes.
None of these dreams would have even been set in place if it wasn’t for the support of my church. One couple, in particular, has made the biggest impact on my life. They have always been there to support me, helped pick up the pieces of not having a mother and try their best to be good role models for my children. When I told them that I wanted to pursue my ministry dream they were more than ecstatic. At that very moment, I knew they were proud of me and even told me so. It came as a surprise to me but my preacher believes that I can make an impact on so many lives, and by him believing so much in me I feel like I can do just about anything. The greatest part about all of this is the impact it has made on my family. I have a new found love for my husband and my children. I find myself walking, talking, and acting like a minister student. It has helped me to grow my relationship with God and set certain things aside that are no longer irrelevant. I even see a change in my husband; he wants to be the reflection image of me as I am of him. We are doing everything as a team, and those daily “I am so proud of your messages” really boost my confidence that I can and will succeed.
Where I am located, colleges are very few to none. Especially a Christian college, and with working full time, and two little boys to raise; a scholarship to CLI would be the biggest blessing. I can work, raise my boys, and take free Christian classes during my free time every day. By gaining this scholarship it will be giving me access to more knowledge of things I do not know or understand yet about God, Jesus, and the bible. I want to take all of the free Christian classes possible, learning and growing every day. My goal in taking classes at CLI is whenever I go to tell people about the word of God, I can answer them knowledgeably, with proof from the Bible, and answer them in a way God would want me to.
In my ministry journey, a prayer I ask for most of all is understanding. Please pray for my understanding of everything I am being taught, knowledge and strength to endure it all no matter the cost. How many times I fail to never let me loose hope or faith in myself, that I ever forget why I am doing this in the first place. That in the end, I will be able to help and reach as many lives as possible. That my dream of saving the lost souls will become true. That everyone that I cross paths with will know God and will know his story. That no person has to ever live without knowing God.
Check out more stories about student’s testimonies about CLI’s Free Christian classes the CLI facebook page
Brazil English Ministry Training
Brazil English Ministry Training in now made possible because of the Internet. Milena found this training on a google search. There are not many opportunities to study ministry in Brazil. Here is her story
I’m Milena Rangel Carvalho and I was born in 1998 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
I am currently living in Brazil and by the Grace of God here we’re allowed to spread His Word wherever we want, but unfortunately the country has suffered with many false prophets that use the faith of believers only to get their money. But, hopefully there are also many who are faithful to God and are blessing us with their ministry.
I started living with Jesus when I was 12. I was going to my Mom’s church and there I gave my life to Jesus and accepted Him as my Savior and Lord. Few years later (when I was around 15) I started having experiences with God and knowing more about the ministry calling. Today I know I’m called to the ministry and I want to be as much prepared as I can to be used by God wherever He sends me. My heart is burning for this calling and that’s my dream: to be used by God to bless people and to be a bridge to connect Him to those who are lost.
One of the things I love to do is to read the Bible searching for more information about our God, and these classes have helped me a lot with some aspects I didn’t know very well before. The word Pastor really touches my heart. Being someone who guides a church, is extremely connected to God and always looking for knowing more about the Bible and pursuing wisdom to do the things in a way that pleases Him.
Called to Brazil English Ministry Training
Since I turned 18, God has given me some experiences which have made me realized that, even though I am nothing, God can use me. Even though I have many failings, He is only worried only about my heart. In my geographic area, we have a lot of people that was once a believer but have turned away from the Faith, especially young people who have being deceived by the things of this world and have turned away from God. We also have those who were frustrated with their Christian leaders, and because of this, they have also left the church.
In my Church, we have the habit to read the whole Bible every year, and that’s really helpful to keep us connected to the Word of God, which is usually where He talks to us. The Bible it’s most important guidance I have, specially because in my age I’ve seen that those who live without it are mostly lost and making wrong decisions for their lives.
I love my local church, it has supported me a lot in my ministry and walk with God, it always motivates us to increase our relationship with Him and let our lives be guided by Him. My Family isn’t very supportive of my ministry life, but actually they don’t know a lot about it. I live with my Mom, who is blessing in my life, but my Father doesn’t support me very much in my dreams and He isn’t a follower of Christ yet. I usually just talk about these ministry goals and dreams with my mother.
Called to Brazil English Ministry Training
Unfortunately, in my town, we don’t have many courses like Bible Colleges and Seminaries, and the ones that exist are at night, but I have college at the same time so I can’t be there. Someday, I was looking on the internet and then I found the Christian Leaders Institute and I thought “Oh my God, this is perfect for me! I love English and I want to be prepared for the ministry!”.
I believe the CLI is helping me to know more about the Bible, the leadership, and especially about Revival, and it’s also preparing me to the challenges I might have leading people to Christ.
Please, pray for me to never forget God’s purposes for my life and to always persevere in His Way, and also for my family so they’ll support me more in this area of my life.
How God Found Me in the Dark
Earn your Bachelor’s Degree in Divinity today. 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 explains how God found her in the dark. She found CLI as a tool to rediscover the pathway to Christ:
My name is Christine Winn, I was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Now I live in Springfield, Missouri, the USA with my American Pitbull Terrier “Baby Girl”. I am a certified medication technician and I have been working in the nursing field for 10 years. In 2015 my father and I published the first book in a Christian fiction series titled “Rapture Theory Book I: Rise of the Anti-Christ”. At first, my family’s religion was Catholicism until my grandfather converted to Christianity. Therefore my parents, who were both baptized, raised my siblings and me as Christians.
When I did attend church as a child I remember waiting with anticipation for Sunday school to end so I could hear the preacher’s sermon. I also loved listening to my father and my uncle’s debate over each of their own interpretations of the Bible. The first time I asked Jesus into my heart was at church summer camp. Even there my favorite thing to do was go to Chapel. As I got older my family suffered tragedies that caused me to fall away from my faith.
My 18-month-old sister died in a fire when I was six years old. My parents grew angry at themselves and one another over the accident. They eventually lead our family to another accidental tragedy of my mother’s death by struggling over a gun she was trying to use on my father than herself, I was 13 years old. That lead me down a very dark path as a teen and young adult. A life full of sexual and physical abuse, premarital relations, alcohol, and drugs. A life I never thought that I would have. After a scare with the law, I prayed a promise to God if I got out of it I would give my life over to him. Not long after that prayer I was set free. I decided it was time to clean myself up and finish school, so I did.
I was doing the right things by societal standards but I was still living my life the way I wanted to live it without regard to building a relationship with God. My Earthly relationships were more important to me. I ended up with a failed marriage, a suicidal attempt & cancer before I began a reassessment of my priorities and purpose in life. All this by the ripe old age of 27. I never had children before cancer took that possibility away so I found myself needing to do a soul search of why I am here. During my surgeries, I was helping coauthor the book I wrote with my father. It helped me from falling apart at that time altogether.
Still, I did not have a proper relationship with God. I moved away from my whole family to live alone in a new city over 2 hours away. As I’ve been digging within myself and my heart I have felt the call. I thought about all the terrible times in my life and looking back I can see how God was there and called out to me. I’m ashamed that it all comes down to the same reason why I ignored those calls, fear of what others might say or think about me. More so fear that given my history they would ridicule me for even thinking I could ever walk with God. I know now none of that matters. I’m ready now, after enduring my own personal trials and tribulations, to answer God’s call. I am amazed at how God found me in the dark.
What I hope to complete is the Bachelor’s Degree in Divinity. I will then use my training for many different purposes. I believe God has given me the gift of being a great listener and speaker. I also feel a deep empathy for those in the world who are suffering. Some things I’d like to do would include going on mission trips all over the world, help bring back God into what seems to be a godless society more and more every day, as well as participating in local ministry through non-profits for those suffering alcohol/drug addictions but especially being a child abuse prevention advocate. I know the Bachelor’s Degree in Divinity would help me accomplish my dreams and goals. I’m only just now getting involved in attending a local church since I am new to the area but I know I’ll find the perfect one to help mentor me to accomplish these goals as well.
That all being said I couldn’t accomplish any of this without the Christian Leaders Institute scholarship. I have to work full time in order to provide for myself. It’s hard to find a quality and affordable program that is flexible with the scheduling demands of healthcare. God has his purpose for me in life and I am ready to pursue that. Without the Christian Leaders Institute scholarship and the Bachelor’s Degree in Divinity, I couldn’t even dream of being able to accept that journey and answer God’s call. I thank CLI for being a tool in how God found me in the dark. It will also greatly enhance my walk with God to build a strong relationship that can be tested time and time again. God bless everyone involved that’s helping make people’s dreams like mine become a reality. For that, thank you and bless you.
Christine’s story of how God found her in the dark is just one of the many stories. Check out more stories about the impact Christian Leader Institute and the Bachelor’s Degree in Divinity is having in student’s lives on the CLI facebook page